The TRUTH About Gluten (DOES IT MAKE YOU FAT?)

Stop taking protein supplements loaded with gluten...

Gluten and gluten free diets are one of the most popular nutrition crazes right now, but do they have merit? In this video, I'm going to cover what is gluten, what a gluten free diet consists of and whether or not eating gluten could make you fat.

First, it's important to distinguish the difference between gluten intolerance (or celiac disease) and gluten sensitivity. Very few people are actually diagnosed with celiac disease but many are never properly identified as gluten intolerant.

Eating foods high in gluten like Bagels, Breads, Cakes, Pasta, Tortillas, Cookies, Crackers, Muffins, Wheat, Barley, Rye, Broth, Deli Meats, and more can cause you to have stomach discomfort and malabsorption. When you are trying to build muscle, suffering from nutrient absorption problems can halt your progress significantly.

What's more, can eating gluten actually make you fat? There is a lot of debate about this. Generally, since gluten rich foods are also almost always highly processed carbohydrates, cutting them out of your diet also tends to cut many calories. This could be the reason why those following a gluten free diet see such rapid changes in body fat levels.

The connection between gluten and body fat has not been clearly made, however that doesn't mean that removing the gluten from your diet wouldn't be worth a test if you struggle with losing body fat.

[setha]

I like how Jeff is brutally honest. lol "I don't know" That's an honest answer right there, he doesn't bs his way about it

[JasonBuchananW]

My family and I have not been diagnosed, but after just dropping gluten, we've seen significant results, including weight loss, positive energy/less fatigue
, recovery time.

[garythurber]

Thank you Jeff for educating and not making fun of those of us that have Celiac Disease. I was diagnosed with Celiac over 30 years ago. It's easier to deal with it today because of people like you that take the time to educate. Thanks for letting me know ALL the products at Athlean RX are gluten free.

[ancientkomputer]

I was just diagnosed with celiac about a week and a half ago. Altering the diet isn't exactly a huge blow, as I've been used to eating a steady bland diet of things like rice, chicken and broccoli for some time from prior years of powerlifting/gym-going. I'm looking at it as a way to get in the shape of my life, after 40 years old. Reclaiming my health after feeling like death warmed-over. In fact, receiving the diagnosis is kinda liberating, as it gives me a reason for all the horrible symptoms I've been going through for so long. It's more than just digestive issues. Chronic fatigue and inflammation, fogginess, anxiety and depression, headaches... the list is long. To illustrate, I found myself unable to basically walk half a year ago due to painful knee inflammation. Since cleaning up the diet and training once again, the recovery is noticeable and exponential with time. The biggest challenge, I feel, is to avoid cross-contamination. I just realized I probably can't consume things like bulk bin oats and stuff like that, stuff that I'm so accustomed to, and the GF stuff on the market that's certified seems to be 2-3 times the price. Anyway, Jeff has his info down. He just told it like it is and is right on with the facts. Kudos for that. Oddly, this diagnosis has kicked my butt into lifting again and I'm so glad I had years of a training foundation, because "muscle memory" seems to be a thing. I can only imagine how difficult and frustrating it would be to embark on a health/training journey after 40, being completely sedentary one's entire life. Thanks for the quality videos!

[mattdogg]

I'm a 19 year old male with type one diabetes and Coeliac disease (gluten intolerance) and I find it very hard for me to gain muscle compared to my mates that I gym with. I have a much healthier diet than most people but still do not have that "bulk".

[Teamshmo]

I think the main thing with gluten is pretty much everyone is slightly sensitive to it so avoiding it if possible can benefit everyone a little. However gluten irritates your intestines and makes it difficult to digest food because of it. This causes a lot of bloat and core weakness. This is a real weakness when it comes to gaining muscle or losing weight. It is very difficult to do squats if your stomach is bloated and slightly upset. Also you may be losing weight, but not looking better because of all the bloat. Like Jeff said most things that contain gluten are not the best for you anyway so there really is no downside to try and avoid it when possible. 

[ronhiett]

My wife attended a nutrition seminar and the nutritionist suggested, if your spouse is suffering from poor workout recovery, aching joints, snoring at night, poor digestion, gas, then he might have a gluten sensitivity. The nutritionist suggested that to convince your spouse to give up gluten foods for 2 weeks. So, my now two week experiment has turned into an obsession because my energy is better after a workout, no aching joints, stop snoring at night, I sleep deeper. Gluten is a definite out for me. You know I do not even miss the bread. Thank you for the video. :)

[chadwalton]

Read Grain Brain. Want to have an eye opening experience into what gluten, wheat, grains and sugars can do to not just your body but your brain.
Last year in March I was 250 lbs. I cut out all gluten, wheat, grains, and sugars. I have blown out disks in my back and can't work out. With that said from March 7th to May 1st I dropped to 215 lbs. Now I am down to 195. Lost my cravings for sweets and sugars. All these items cause chemical changes in your body.

[KippieTheKipster]

Went on a paleo gluten-free diet when I made my lifestyle change.  I no longer felt tired after lunch, no longer had the need to nap at work, and rarely needed to drink coffee while at work.  Not everybody is the same, but I do think that being mindful of gluten laden products is a good thing since the typical western diet is so "bloated" with gluten.

[jamaalfullylove]

I'm gluten intolerant (celiac). I found out about 4 years ago. I had to completely cut gluten out of my diet. I saw immediate improvement in my health after riding gluten from my diet (no more migraines, no more mental fogs, lessened digestive pain, and increased amount of sleep time from about 2-3 hours a night to 6 hours a night.

I am having difficulty with getting migraines during my workouts if I workout for more than 30 mins or so. Any suggestions?

[jmcsquared]

My favorite dish is a can of tuna on top of some semolina fettuccine alfredo with some veggies thrown in. Never dropped gluten, never seen a reason to. Although I do avoid sugary pastries and white bread.

[informationtechnology]

I was getting the sprouted grain HEB bread here in Texas, it has Wheat Gluten, I noticed I was having issues. That was the only bread I was eating at that time. I've since cut that out and my health has improved/ I was able to actually drop some belly fat that wouldn't lift off. I've cut out Dairy and Gluten, this has made a huge difference. I starve more but I feel better.

[angelalee]

Gluten is also found in some medicines both OTC and Prescription.  Ask your pharmacist about your meds if you have a gluten issue.  Gluten intolerance or Celiac may not show up on traditional testing.  And if you have already eliminated gluten, it will not show up on testing.  The more reliable tests available are the HLA DQ 2 and 8 markers - both alpha and beta.  I was not diagnosed until I got these tests.  My Celiac didn't show up on traditional tests.  I use Nitrofusion protein powder since it is gluten and dairy free.  Sorry Jeff, I am dairy intolerant too so no whey protein for me. :(

[markcotler]

Hi Jeff. I am gluten sensitive. I know when I removed both gluten and dairy from my diet is when I actually started losing body fat. The brain fog and tiredness went away and I just felt much better! I believe I was eating a healthy diet before, whole wheat bread and pasta, chicken breast, steak, fresh and frozen vegetables. When I ate anything with grains, particularly the wheat products, is when I would feel bad or tired. Thanks for the video!

Could you do a video on what the portion sizes look like for an entire day of your meal plan. I still think this is still something that I struggle with when putting my meals together. I used your meal plan and put on weight and didn't lose the body fat but rather packed on muscle. It seems putting on muscle for me is easy and removing the body fat is hard! When I do any of your programs, I am giving it all I got and I have nothing left when I'm done. I just want my hard work to pay off. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks again.

[katjaberndt]

i am celiac all my life (31years). and i used to hate it. but that was in my teens, i hated it because it made the everyday life sometimes so complicated. so i have eaten uncorrect for many years...sadly. it made me really sick.  the problem when you have the desease is that you dont feel it in that moment when you eat wrong. other with the sensivity, then you have digestion issues and so on right after you have eaten it.
so, i regret not eating healthy those years but i cannot change it and now i dont think the desease sucks anymore. its just something about me thats a bit different, not a big deal.
i stopped trying to find an alternative for bread because there is not really a good one. (i live in germany and here you can find so many good bread, its hard then to have a glutenfree one that tasts not as good.)
so now i am fan of millet, rice, corn, quinoa, lentils, buckwheat and so on. never again in my life i am going to eat some gluten.
and my boyfriend stopped eating it in a form of solidarity, and what happened with him was amazing, he lost all his pounds he had too much, and now feels better in his body then ever before! so maybe there is a truth about the "wheat-belly": :)

[anthonyprince]

Ok, back in August I went on unleash your thin. Johnny Bowden is one behind it, he feels that grains make you fat, more than that he feels diary and grains are two biggest food people have trouble with causing them to gain even more. The idea was to remove grains, processed carbs, potatoes, diary etc... only carbs I ate were from vegetables. Anyways within a week I noticed no bloat feelings, heart burn, upset stomach etc. About 4 weeks later I reintroduced some foods to see reaction. I ate 1 subway sandwich and right away felt bloated. Thinking maybe it was just a fluke I ate 1 slice of wheat bread couple days later, and though lesser, I felt bloated again. When I re introduced diary I had no reactions. So I have avoided carbs except fiber carbs. I've lost 90+ pounds to. Since starting Athlean-x I have added some good carbs like sweet potatoes but avoid processed carbs and grains 99%.

[antych]

After being diagnosed, I spent years researching diets and nutrition. Right now I'm on low carb ketogenic Paleo diet with intermittent fasting. I'm stronger, leaner and feel better than ever.

You just have to go after naturally gluten free food. Don't swap processed food for their gluten free version. It will only make a difference if you have Coeliac, but will still make you sick in other ways.

[andrewcalvet]

Hey, I recently started a gluten free diet a week ago. I believe I might be gluten sensitive. I have an auto-immune condition that popped up on me a year and a half ago called Alopecia Areata (random patches of baldness caused from my immune system attacking my tissues). I've done some research on the net that suggests it has something to do with a diet high in gluten. I will keep you posted on any results I may have. Thx for your video.

[mightyjoesingh]

Makes sense. Reading a great book by a neurologist called "Grain Brain". Good read and has lots of eye opening info plus great suggestions. Great to see some of the medical Community coming back to light from the dark side....

[lamichiganr]

I was just diagnosed yesterday with Celiacs Disease after my GP Dr. told me "not to worry I must have IBS." I was still always sick, I switched to an Internist and that Dr. did some tests discovering I had Celiacs. Get tested just to be sure. I've found out living with Celiacs can cause cancer, if left untreated. And a lot of people with Celiacs have problems with corn and soy too.