With free reign for anyone to have a say what foods are good for your health and which are harming you it is unsurprising to see many people restricting food groups which are, for many, unnecessary. Fads, trends and cool ways of eating may seem harmless but restricting food groups unnecessarily may in fact be harming your health. Taking two common restrictions of dairy and wheat as an example, one study found 1 in 10 people in Australia are avoiding wheat and 1 in 6 are avoiding dairy.
The problem here is if this restriction is not advised by a professional like an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, your GP or a specialist, the removal of these foods may not be unnecessary, or potentially your symptoms may be something more serious. To further enhance the risk of developing nutritional inadequacies, many go even further than simply restricting wheat or dairy to ensure these food groups don’t slip into their diet. These trends are more common for women making up 2 out of 3 following these types of restrictions and the most common in women in the millennial generation.
If you are one of many who takes the advice from the internet with the same worth as if you receive information from an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, it is important you see who is writing the advice, are they accredited to give this advice or are they just famous?
Cutting out food groups may seem harmless and with professional guidance you may be able to restrict food groups with adequate substitution. However, what can replace these food groups can provide gaps in nutrition for your body. Two common nutritional gaps found by removing dairy and wheat in one study was calcium and fibre. On top of this, those who removed wheat often substitution it for refined grains, sweets and biscuits. This could cause further harm to your health long term by overshooting the calories your body needs daily.
A common reason for removing wheat and dairy was the perception that these groups are ‘fattening’. Studies have shown the opposite with the whole grain of wheat providing slow energy release into your blood stream and prebiotics or the fuel for your good bacteria in your gut, wheat can in fact help you maintain a healthy weight. Dairy is a nutritional powerhouse of protein, carbs and fat which helps to keep you feeling full for longer with optimal ratio of these three macronutrients. On top of this dairy provides iodine which is vital for healthy thyroid health and a healthy metabolism.
So, what should you do to fight against the fads and unnecessary restriction? Break up with using the internet as your doctor and seek the support of an accredited health professional to seek further testing if needed. You may not need to remove wheat or dairy and by removing the group it may be hurting more than helping your health.
References:
- Thinking about going wheat‐free? Evidence of nutritional inadequacies in the dietary practices of wheat avoiders. Nutrition & Dietetics.
- Food avoidance in an Australian adult population sample: the case of dairy products. Public Health Nutrition.
- Managing symptoms and health through self-prescribed restrictive diets: What can general practitioners learn from the phenomenon of wheat avoidance? Australian Family Physician.
