Controversy: the lie about gluten –

You may have already heard about the gluten-free diet, the benefits it offers to health and, above all, the extra pounds it promises to shed. But, do you really need to cut this wheat protein from your menu forever? In an exclusive interview with , the North American Alan Levinovitzassistant professor of religion at the University of Virginia and author of the book The Gluten Lie – and other myths about what you eat (Citadel Editorial Group), warns: “People who have celiac disease (an autoimmune disease in which gluten triggers a reaction in the body against its own intestine) need to avoid this substance in order to survive, and those who are sensitive (present certain discomforts when consume it, such as bloating and stomach pain) also do better without it. But that doesn’t mean we should all cut it off the menu.” The publication is a critique of this and other beliefs about the wave of definitely excluding bread, pasta and any other wheat product from your diet if you don’t have – in fact – any health problem.

What if the diet is followed just to shed a few pounds? For Levinovitz, it is not the absence of gluten that promotes weight loss, but the removal of excess carbohydrate-rich foods (hamburger buns, stuffed cookies, beer…) from the menu. “It’s important to emphasize that it’s not exactly the protein in the wheat that makes you fat, but the way you eat it,” he explains. Another warning given by the author: cutting out gluten just for a fad and going too long without it on the menu can cause the body to stop producing the enzyme responsible for digesting this protein. Then, yes, the symptoms of gluten sensitivity can appear in the next piece of pizza. So, if you are going to follow a gluten free diet to lose weight, keep it brief.

Levinovitz himself was without this substance for three days during his research work and reports that, in the first 24 hours, having breakfast was a different experience. “I would look at people eating donuts and croissants and think, look how strong I am – I managed to resist but they didn’t.” But on the third day, he gave up. “It was difficult to cook a meal with so many restrictions”.

But why would a professor of religion write about gluten? The author of the book wanted to demystify the famous diets. That’s because he identified a faith component in food fads. “I realized that many people are fanatical about food. The terms villain and guilt, used to describe certain foods, influence the way we behave towards certain foods. Today, food is as demonized as sex was in the past ”, he compares. Levinovitz believes that radicalism gives people the false feeling that they are doing what is best for their health.

For that reason, for anyone thinking about adhering to a gluten-free diet, he suggests looking for a professional capable of making an accurate diagnosis of the existence of celiac disease or evaluating any type of sensitivity. “People also need to be careful not to be influenced and, with that, manifest symptoms that did not exist before.” And for experts in the area of ​​food, Levinovitz warns of the need to approach the subject with caution and humility.