Grains are an important part of your diet.

         One of my friend’s 15 year-old daughters recently spent over 30 minutes trying to find hard-shelled tacos. You know the kind—the yellow corn shells standard in the Mexican food section? She found them, but it was the label that took forever; she wanted taco shells without a gluten-free label. In the infamous words of a teenager “Because it’s stupid they put that on the label, wheat isn’t in corn shells.”

         A teenager
clearly had a better grasp on gluten than most. Merriam-Webster defines gluten
as a tenacious elastic protein
substance especially of wheat flour that gives cohesiveness to dough. Other
definitions say gluten is a substance present in
cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of
dough.

         Milk, vegetables and water labeled have recently been labeled gluten-free. Why? If gluten was truly understood, would it need to be labeled? I think not. Gluten is undoubtedly the food fad du jour.

         Celiac is a
terrible disease. I would never question why those who have been diagnosed by a
medical professional as celiac would avoid gluten. As a person with a digestive
disorder, I understand how painful eating the wrong foods can be.

         However, the
number of products labeled “gluten-free” has skyrocketed. The gluten-free
market is now estimated to be around $6 billion with 20 percent of the
population buying these products. Bestselling books like Wheat Belly and
diets such as the paleo diet, have advised against eating carbs. As a result,
more people questioning the importance of grains like wheat in their diets.
Suddenly there is guilt over eating gluten.

         The Dietary
Guidelines recommend making half of the grains you eat whole, so try to get
some whole grains instead of a refined-grain product. When you select bread,
you’ll have to read the label because being brown or being labeled multi-grain
doesn’t make bread whole-grain. I’ve been tricked myself. Look for whole grain
wheat flour to be listed as the first ingredient on your loaf of bread.

         Quinoa is cool; I happen to love it. But wheat doesn’t deserve to be labeled as a “bad” food because of fads and false claims. Grains and gluten are an essential part of a diet. Grains can help reduce your risk of heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other health complications. Enjoy a diversity of grains in a balanced diet without the guilt!

         Grains are good
your diet. Grains provide fiber. Grains have been an essential part of
nutrition for centuries. Grains have not suddenly started poisoning people.

Read more at   Food Truths to Farm to Table  and take a trip around the grocery store to be
armed with 25 truths you urgently need to know about food so you can shop
without guilt, confusion, or judgment. Learn the truths so you can recognize
marketing and move on. A new book, Food Bullying, is expected late 2019.