Gluten-free diets — beneficial but not right for everyone HEALTH & WELLNESS

BY BRENDA EGGERT BRADER

Gluten-free diets may be popular in theory, but may not be for everyone, cautions CJ Gerndt, a local food and nutrition strategist.

“Foods that contain gluten are highly processed,” Gerndt said. “When you stop eating something that is bad for you, you feel better. You logically control eating by not calling it a diet, but by doing your research and reading your labels.

Learn what foods to avoid.

If you cut out your regular diet for two weeks, going to a gluten-free diet, and you feel better and your skin looks better, stick with it.

“Everyone is different, with a lot of people eating ultra-processed foods,” Gerndt said. “Lunch meat is salted and cured and is not a good food at all. If you want lunch meat, cut up cooked chicken. Deep-fried foods are processed with ultra-white flour, the protein found in wheat. Rice crackers and cakes, plain corn chips are good alternative selections. A good go-to is a Mediterranean diet, basically fish, oils, olives, chicken, fresh untreated meat and vegetable broth.”

Leave out the gluten.

“A gluten-free diet excludes any foods that contain gluten which is a protein found in wheat and several other grains. It means eating only