I Am Not Gluten Free

Or wheat-free or diary-free or soy-free. We all have friends who have stated their preference for a certain type of restricted diet. Not the diagnosed celiac or person with a nut allergy, but those who feel that their body functions more smoothly without a certain irritant. It's the reason behind the increased prevalence of "x-free" items on restaurant menus, and the specialty baking sections at the grocery store. And, beyond making it slightly more difficult to cook for a crowd, I really don't have a problem with anyone doing what they feel helps their body (although I do feel that it's helpful to read stories like this New Yorker article, that address the science behind the reactions and try to cut through the fad-isms).

 

I think, without any sort of official diagnosis, that I am lactose intolerant. I can eat cheese and yogurt, but milk and ice cream give me stomach aches (trust me, I've tested extensively, and it's just not worth it to me to eat those two). Having looked into the food science a little, this aligns well with a mild lactose intolerance: the culturing processes for cheese and yogurt decrease the amount of milk sugar (lactose) in the end product. The processes for milk and ice cream don't. Therefore, it's not surprising that a mild intolerance would still allow for cultured dairy products.

 

Other than those two types of dairy, I really don't limit what I'll try. I tend to think that it's healthier for the average person to eat a variety of foods (real, unprocessed or minimally processed foods), than to cut out a type of food entirely. After a decent bit of research (I love a good food book), the best advice I've found is from Michael Pollan:

 

Did that stop me from trying Whole30, where you spend a month eating meat, fish, vegetables, nuts and fruit? No. It was a short enough period of time that I didn't think it'd do any harm, and I was curious to see if I had a negative reaction to reintroducing any of the potential irritants it has you remove from your diet. But my takeaway from that process was that I am not soy or wheat intolerant, and that the increased energy and fitness I felt could probably be best attributed to the increase in home-cooking and vegetable intake. And from avoiding baked goods.

But that's all basic knowledge: we should all eat more vegetables, cook at home, and avoid massive amounts of desserts. The general goal in our house is that things come without wrappers or with minimal, easily pronounced ingredients. I also try to make sure that my meals are at least 50% plant matter, with an emphasis on vegetables over fruit. That seems to work pretty well for us, without limiting our ability to eat food other people have cooked, or requiring "replacement" ingredients that are more processed than the originals. What's your food philosophy?