Gluten and lactose: does taking them out of the diet reduce measures? – GOOD SHAPE

When she notices some fat around her waist, the actress Leticia Spiller, remove foods with gluten and lactose from your diet. In a few days, the abdomen deflates and the excess goes away. Juliana Paes cut gluten to get back in shape after the birth of their first child, Pedro. Giovanna Antonelli does the same: controls gluten consumption to keep up to date with elegance. Luciana Gimenez claims to have regained measurements after pregnancy with Lorenzo, her second child, guess how? Removing gluten.

Publicly repudiated by beautiful and admired women, gluten and, in the background, lactose have become the great enemies of those who want to keep fit in recent months. Is fame fair? listened to experts to investigate whether it is worth doing the same – and whether the result will be as visible as that of celebrities.

life without bread

O gluten It is a protein present in wheat, rye, barley and oats (to a lesser extent). It is what gives that fluffy consistency to industrialized products, being used especially in breads, cakes and pasta. Foods as different as beer, cream cheese and ice cream can also contain gluten. Based on this, it is possible to think that, yes, by suppressing it from the diet – and, by extension, excluding caloric items, such as pasta on Sunday and French bread for breakfast – you lose weight naturally. But the issue is not that simple, since, in terms of caloric exchange, gluten-free bread, based on potato starch or manioc starch, is practically equal to traditional bread.

So how do celebrities lose weight by taking this substance off their menu? “Although Brazil has little research on gluten, it is known that a large part of the population has some difficulty with it”, informs nutritionist Samantha Enande, from São Paulo. This protein may not be absorbed by the body, causing bloating and discomfort. It is also responsible for slowing down metabolism, as it takes longer to process. That’s why, without it, the tendency is to deflate and reduce measures. “The simple subtraction of gluten can yield 3 kilos less in three months”, calculates Samantha. However, after this period, the body gets used to the new situation. Either way, going a little while without bread and pasta works as a kick-starter to a leaner body. Take the test: remove these foods from the menu for 30 days and observe your body’s response.

Just to remember: obesity is an inflammatory process of the organism with multiple causes. “Anyone who has a high consumption of a protein that is difficult to digest, such as gluten, is at risk of triggering inflammation in the walls of the intestine and, with that, compromising the absorption of important micronutrients”, explains nutritionist Denise Madi Carreiro, author of the book Food, Problem and Solution for Chronic Diseases (author’s publisher). Excess weight can be associated, for example, with a lack of omega 3, vitamins and minerals, and not with an excess of them. “Removing gluten from the menu balances the body, especially for people who are sensitive to it. This decreases the inflammatory processes, improving the absorption of micronutrients, which paves the way for weight loss”, says Denise.

Disadvantages
There are people who get fat when they cut gluten, so be careful! “If the person does not have an intolerance and eliminates gluten to lose weight, they may feel more hungry and overeat”, warns Samantha Enande, who accompanied experiences like this in the medical clinic. “In this case, the solution is to return gluten to the diet to ensure satiety. But it is important to give preference to the whole version and, for weight loss to occur, it must be combined with sources of lean protein (fish, chicken, egg) and good fat (extra virgin olive oil, chestnuts, chia seeds and linseed) in proper proportions.” Another problem: gluten-free foods tend to cost up to twice as much as their traditional counterparts, in addition to being high in calories.

Will it be good for you?
It depends. According to Samantha, the response is good in most cases, with loss of measurements, which shows the existence of some degree of gluten intolerance.

People with mild sensitivity may also experience a feeling of well-being and disposition. Memory and reasoning can also be benefited, since the difficulty in

Processing gluten consumes a lot of oxygen. And, without this source of stress for the organism, reports of improvement in brain performance are common. “From the point of view of physiology, removing gluten is not harmful, but you need to be careful with what you put in its place”, warns Denise. “Carbohydrates in bread and pasta are essential sources of energy and, if they have to be suspended, they should be replaced by varied foods, with good nutritional value and with calories close to those of wheat, such as tapioca, rice flour, arrowroot , potato starch, sweet and sour starch, corn, cassava and buckwheat.

Is allergy the same as intolerance?

They are two different situations. We speak of an allergy when an adverse reaction to a food triggers an immune mechanism. “The reactions can be mild, such as an itchy skin, or severe, such as anaphylactic shock, in which life is put at risk”, explains doctor specializing in allergies Loraine Landgraf, from Curitiba. It can be triggered by several foods, but the most common are: cow’s milk, egg, wheat, fish and crustacean. To reverse the allergic condition, in addition to specific medications, it is essential to suspend the consumption of the triggering food. Less serious, intolerance causes malaise, discomfort, gas and abdominal distension and can be treated only with adjustments in food.

Gluten no way!

Another story is celiac disease, an autoimmune disease, triggered by gluten, which profoundly alters the texture of the intestinal wall, impairing the absorption of nutrients. “The intestinal mucosa, which should be wrinkled, is practically smooth or atrophied in stage four of the disease, the most advanced. And, with that, the absorption of macro and micronutrients is impaired”, explains Loraine Landgraf, a doctor specializing in allergy and immunology, from Curitiba, director of the Brazilian Association of Allergy and Immunopathology (Asbai), regional Paraná. Result: the person does not gain weight and has symptoms such as frequent diarrhea, abdominal swelling and gas. Intestinal biopsy is the test that confirms with 100% certainty the diagnosis of celiac disease. There is also a blood test that tracks the presence of three antibodies related to the disease.

life without milk

Even those who love this food and find it difficult to live without it should pay attention to the body’s signals. According to the American Association of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, 85% of the adult population has some degree of food intolerance. lactose, milk sugar. “We were not made to consume milk after the first years of life”, says the doctor Loraine Landgraf. The production of lactase, the enzyme responsible for breaking down this sugar, decreases over the years and, without it, lactose, poorly digested, causes abdominal distension, fluid retention and a feeling of fullness – which decreases a lot when you express milk from day to day. day. “It’s not a guarantee that there will be weight loss,” explains Loraine. “What happens is that the body eliminates toxins better. With this, the person deflates and has the feeling of the body getting drier. Cutting out milk can even improve the appearance of cellulite.”

Also in the case of milk, it is not decided to change the whole for skimmed, because what is removed from it is the fat, not the sugar. If this food is impossible to give up, then it is better to look for a type of milk without lactose. What about derivatives? Cheese and yogurt contain much less lactose, and most lactose-intolerant people can consume them, according to Canadian professor and nutrition expert Joe Schwarcz, author of the book An Apple a Day: Myths and Truths About the Foods We Eat (Zahar ). Anyway, it’s good to do a test: cut out derivatives for a while (from 20 to 30 days) and, when you include them in the menu again, observe how your body reacts.

Disadvantages

Although nature is rich in sources of calcium, such as dark green leaves and legumes, Loraine Landgraf recommends oral supplementation for cases of intolerance, associated with a dose of vitamin D, responsible for driving calcium into the bones. Nutritionist Denise Madi, on the other hand, argues that the regular consumption of vegetables, greens, whole grains and seeds (including quinoa, amaranth and sesame) guarantees an excellent absorption of calcium. That’s because these foods contain minerals and vitamins in adequate proportions to act in partnership with calcium. “The ideal is to eat vegetables for lunch and dinner every day, in addition to five or six servings of fruit (one every two and a half hours)”, guides the nutritionist.

Will it be good for you?
When the symptoms are very severe, it is worth having a blood test to detect lactose intolerance. It consists of three collections

blood intervals: the first in fasting and the others after milk consumption. “Glycemia, that is, blood sugar, is measured. If it increases, it is because the organism has digested the lactose. If not, intolerance is characterized”, explains Loraine.