Gluten is so last season.
But bacon fat is in.
Apparently egg yolks don’t give you heart disease anymore. And switching to soy meat will save the planet, but it will also make your boobs hurt before your period and maybe make you infertile. Oh, and did you know gluten is making you fat? And actually, all grains will make tiny holes in your intestine leaking toxins into your bloodstream, wreaking havoc on each one of your bodily systems, causing everything from acne to arthritis.
Absolutes are a funny thing. My dad has always made fun of people who respond to everyday questions with “absolutely.” Will I see you at dinner tonight? Absolutely, you will. Can I get a table by the window? Absolutely, you can. Did the cavemen eat quinoa? They absolutely did not. It annoys me how funny he thinks this is, but the truth is, there’s very little in this world that’s absolute. If the mood swings of the nutrition industry are any indicator, nutrition “science” is no exception.
As someone who has dealt with minor, but bothersome, health issues since puberty, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to figure out the “right” way to eat. I’ve long prided myself on knowing the latest “ins” of food trends, proudly declaring my favorite foods back in style — real sugar for me, please! Splenda is making you gassy, people.
But see, I just did it too. Right now it’s looking like artificial sugars probably aren’t a good idea for anyone. But some people seem to do just fine with them. We all love our absolutes, and doctors are no different. It’s their job to diagnose your symptoms and give you proven ways of alleviating them. Although they won’t say that the laxative they gave you will absolutely alleviate your IBS pain, they know there’s absolutely a “75%” chance. That’s still in the land of the known.
But what about whether cutting out gluten will make your digestion work better, even though you don’t have Celiac’s? The science is inconclusive, but what if a few people think gluten elimination changed their lives? Okay, but what if it’s a lot of people? Like hundreds of thousands of them? Then we at least need to stop and wonder. Are we creating a space in nutrition science for nuanced answers? Maybe gluten doesn’t have to be good or bad, but rather good for some people and bad for others. Or good in certain circumstances or certain combinations but not in others. I’d like to hear more of those shades of grey. In the meantime, anyone looking to fill gaps in their doctor’s suggestions are relegated to pouring through health blogs and online forums, compiling their own custom theories of what’s good and bad.
Oh and a quick PSA before I forget: bacon fat is in! Did you hear? It stabilizes your blood sugar and curbs cravings. Go ahead, douse everything in “good” fats. These days, you may even pass for a health nut.
