Thank You, Dr. Oz from this Gluten-free Chick

I am CERTIFIED Gluten-Free (My Doctor Says So!)

I have been gluten-free since June 2010. I didn't want to be gluten-free. I didn't care that I might lose weight, but I was told I was "intolerant" and that gluten was making me sick. Sick is one thing I really don't like, so I took gluten out of my diet.

As I took the gluten out of my diet, the weight melted off of me. For this reason many people - friends, acquaintances, co-workers and family - who were not quite interested in any other treatments I have received from any other doctors started asking questions and lots of them. It did not take me long to realize that the people that had all the questions were the same people that have always been looking for the next stage in their battle of the bulge.

Why Is Gluten-Free Becoming SO COOL??
 
Now that I have been living gluten-free and am always on the hunt for information and tips for this new lifestyle I keep stumbling upon websites, books, "professionals" all touting the new weight-loss trend: gluten-free. I can not deny that I lost weight when I took gluten out of my diet, but I have always felt when that happened that the weight I lost was more of a reaction lost - I felt like my body was no longer reacting to something it couldn't handle.

I didn't lose weight, I healed.

I have tried to explain this to others. I have even explained that eating gluten-free can be less healthy than a standard diet if you are not careful, but people do not hear me, they only see me. I was, therefore, overjoyed when I saw that the first segment of Dr. Oz's Show today was dedicated to the "Gluten Myth."

Dr. Oz Chimes In About Gluten

The first part of the video (Gluten Myth Part 1) begins with a brief description of the protein gluten. Dr. Oz and Dr. Mark Hyman discuss the reasons why some people need a gluten-free diet, and how even when medically necessary it can be unhealthy if not approached correctly.

Gluten-free Can Totally Be Fattening

The doctors are then joined by Samantha Cassidy (Gluten Myth Part 2) from Good Housekeeping (Dr. Oz is on the cover of the April 2011 issue which will also address the Gluten Diet) to discuss the three reasons gluten-free labeled foods can make you fat. In short, the three reasons are

• they contain more calories
• they contain less fiber
• they contain more refined carbs

This is why it is especially important to avoid boxed foods and, instead choose more whole foods or, as we've been saying as of late: EAT REAL FOOD. (Yes, I note the irony that this is coming from the same person who wrote a post all about gluten-free cereals yesterday!!)

The Dr. Oz/Dr. Hyman TWO WEEK Plan To Determine if You NEED to Be Gluten-free

In the final portion of the Gluten Myth segment (Gluten Myth Part 3), Dr. Hyman walks us through a healthy looking gluten-free diet. Not one of his options include something that was labeled gluten-free, instead, he selects ingredients that are naturally so.  He says that in order for you to determine if gluten might be the culprit in your weight and in other ill feelings, you need to eliminate it COMPLETELY for two weeks to see how it feels. When you reintroduce gluten, if you start to feel not-so-good, then you know you need to talk to your doctor about getting a blood test.

I think this is a very good idea for people to try. I had no idea I had this intolerance and I know my life has changed because of my knowledge of it. I miss gluten, but the trade-off is worth it. If you aren't feeling well, there is no harm in trying it for the sake of your own health, but please don't do this just because you are trying to lose weight. There are far too many deliciously healthy food items that can help you in that fight that you would have to eliminate just to be gluten-free! (Check out the Gluten-free Diet Plan provided on Dr. Oz's website!)

Do you have a gluten intolerance or know someone who does?

Have you thought that gluten-free was a sure-fire path to weight loss?

For you gluten-lovers out there - what do you think you would miss most if you had to go gluten-free?

Dr. Oz and the GMO Debate Part 3

In the first part of The Dr. Oz Show Segment on GMO foods, the discussion began about non-GMO food labels and a short education of what GMO actually means. In the second part, Dr. Oz began a discussion with three expert panelists discussing the viewpoint of both proponents and opponents to the GMO debate. Here, we will take a lok at the third and final part of the segment.

Dr. Oz Takes the Conversation International and Then, Back to Labels
Genetically Modified Foods, Pt. 3 (The Dr. Oz Show video clip is 4 minutes and 11 seconds long)

Dr. Oz continued to probe the one proponent of GMOs on his panel, Dr. Pamela Ronald, by taking a look at the international community. He raised a pretty good question.

Why are GMO crops banned in a number of  European nations?

image from The Dr. Oz Show originally aired on 12/7/2010

This is the point where I always start to take sides. Perhaps I am being naive in some way, but why would an entire country ban a farming practice if it was safe? Dr. Oz asked this question - I just wished some scientist from one of these countries could have been there to answer. All we can do is speculate.

And then Dr. Michael Hansen, piggy-backing off of Dr. Ronald's statements about using the best science for determining GMO safety in part 2, piped in and said what someone needed to say during this entire debate:

"One thing that should be pointed out is that we do need more science... in this country... the FDA does not require any extra safety testing at all."

This, of course, had me thinking, again, about that pesky Food Safety Bill and whether or not it truly was up to snuff. I am going to have to go back into that one and see if there are any things I would like to speak out about before it makes it to the House of Representatives. 

To finish the segment, the conversation turned back to labeling and what the benefits are and what the drawbacks might be. They each can be summarized quite simply. The labeling of GMOs benefits us with informing us, we then have the opportunity to use our "capitalist vote" to decide what types of food we wish to support and, ultimately, consume. The drawbacks of any labeling system are two-fold; (1) who does the labeling, and (2) the limitations of the labeling process. Even the Non-GMO Project we looked at in Part 1 of this series, clearly states on their website that they can not guarantee that the products labeled non-GMO are 100% GMO free.So we are left, once again, making a leap of faith, only this time, when armed with a label the leap should be over a puddle, not the Atlantic Ocean!

My Final Thoughts About The Dr. Oz Show's Panel on GMOs

First of all, I am extremely happy that Dr. Oz devoted a segment of his show to this topic. I wish it were the entire episode, but there was a lot of info in this half of the show, regardless. When I first found out about this show, I was excited at the prospect of hearing Dr. Pamela Ronald's viewpoints, but, due to lack of time I feel my curiosity is not yet satiated. I think, due to this fact, Tomorrow's Table is going to be on my reading list. I am also curious about Dr. Michael Hansen's work and will be on the lookout for more word from him, as he seems to be a rational man opposed to GMOs, rather than an extremist opposed to GMOs (I believe there is a significant difference).

For now, personally, I am still going to try to maintain a GMO-free diet when possible on my search for sustenance. I have two chronic conditions, one of which is idiopathic (unknown origin) in nature and I don't believe I have the body or the time to waste waiting for science to decide which way to go. So, unless some GMO seed is going to cure Intracranial Hypertension or eradicate Crohn's disease from my family tree, I'll take my genes unmodified, thank you.

Resources, Links & Further Info:

•  Even MORE resources from The Dr. Oz Show about Genetically Modified Foods
• A must read: Dr. Pamela Ronald's Response to her time on The Dr. Oz Show 
• Search results of Dr. Michael Hansen's writings for ConsumersUnion.org
• Opportunity to win a copy of Jeffrey Smith's Seeds of Deception
  
• Books written by people on the show:

Dr. Oz and the GMO Debate Part 2

After Dr. Oz introduced GM (genetically modified) foods to the audience, as well as some of his concerns about them in Part 1 of this segment of show, he introduced the three expert panelists invited to speak on the topic of genetically modified foods.

•  Jeffrey Smith, author of two books on the subject of GM foods,
• Dr. Michael Hansen, who works for Consumer Reports and has studied GM foods, and
• Dr. Pamela Ronald, a Plant Pathologist and author of the book and blog of the same name: Tomorrow's Table

Dr. Oz also mentioned that he extended an invitation to someone in the Monsanto company, but they declined, providing a statement, of which he shared this bit:

image from The Dr. Oz Show episode originally aired on 12/7/2010

 Part 2 of Dr. Oz's GMO Segment - The Debate begins
Genetically Modified Foods, Pt. 2 (this video clip is 5 minutes and 29 seconds long)

As Dr. Oz began to engage each of the panelists in their viewpoints of the place GMO foods have in our world and in our diets, he paused to give voice to the major questions raised by the proponents and opponents of this technique of food/crop development. I think it is very important to take note of them, here, again:

image from The Dr. Oz Show episode originally aired on 12/7/2010.

What struck me as this graphic hit the screen was the question marks. So often, being exposed to extremist views in a topic of debate, it is easy to forget that they actually belong there. Are these benefits? Are they always true? Are none of these things possible with non-GMO food? Why does it provide a cheaper food supply? How do they improve the lives of farmers?
More questions rose the more I let these settle...

image from The Dr. Oz Show episode originally aired 12/7/2010

And then the opponents' questions hit the screen. Where is the evidence of each of these harmful effects? I have heard them all before, it is one of the reasons I avoid GMO whenever possible, but when I heard about them, there were no question marks. I began to wonder, what is the flip side to this story, sure Monsanto did not show, but what does Dr. Pamela Ronald have to say? I would like to hear both sides to the story and then make my decision.

I had really high hopes for this episode when I first heard about the panel of GMO experts - for once, I thought, I'll be hearing both sides of the story, even if it is on a short segment of a show! However, I was disappointed by the seemingly one-sided nature of the show (even if it did lean in my direction). Jeffrey Smith spoke of all of the things that he learned through his research for his books (he worked with doctors and scientists, he is not one himself). His claimed that evidence was found to for all of the maledictions in the graphic above, he actually said at one point that all doctors should, "prescribe a non-GMO diet to all of their patients." When he was done, Dr. Oz asked Dr. Ronald to chime in. She claimed that all of Mr. Smith's evidence has been refuted and listed a number of websites (bioforitifed,org, ucbiotech.org and academicsreview.org) to go to in order to see those studies. I thought to myself, "Here we go. This is going to be good," and then Dr. Oz cut her off! I was shocked. He said people don't want to hear about websites, "...they think either you're full of it, or Jeffrey's full of it." That's true.

Her response was spot on, she said, "...Science does not make policy, but we need to make policy based on the best science..."and then got in one more dig that Mr. Smith is not a scientist.

The question in this debate: WHAT IS THE BEST SCIENCE?

I agree with Dr. Ronald. I understand the suspicion of Jeffrey Smith's results, but what about Dr. Hansen?

This debate continues in Part 3 of Dr. Oz's Show on Genetically Modified foods...

Books written by people on the show:

 

Dr. Oz and the GMO Debate Part 1

On the December 7, 2010 episode of The Dr. Oz Show, the topic of genetically modified foods was addressed and some excellent questions were raised. If you missed the show, don't fret, the show has put the video segments on their website for all to see and share in three parts. I decided to also approach my blog discussion in these three parts, as dealing with it all in one post would be an incredible amount of information to digest in one sitting.

 Genetically Modified Foods, Pt. 1 (video clip is 4 minutes 34 seconds long)
Dr. Oz's intro to GMOs and the Non-GMO Project


Dr. Oz began his show about genetically modified foods by saying the fact that we hadn't noticed the "Non GMO product" label on the bread he displayed bothered him. Well, Dr. Oz, it bothered me too. I am a label looker! I am constantly searching for evidence of a food-stuff's value and I had never seen the label he showed before the airing of his show! I immediately took note of the website on the label and got to investigating.


The Non-GMO Project

The label to look for.

I am still trying to figure out how I missed this one. Here's a blurb from the Non-GMO Project website explaining who they are:

The Non-GMO Project is a non-profit organization, created by leaders representing all sectors of the organic and natural products industry in the U.S. and Canada, to offer consumers a consistent non-GMO choice for organic and natural products that are produced without genetic engineering or recombinant DNA technologies.

It sounds like a great idea, in fact, it sounds like exactly what I've been looking for, so, I asked, "Where the heck is it?" The website is very useful to this end as well as it provides links to find participating products sorted by brand, category and/or name. They also provide a link to find participating retailers by location and/or name.

While this is a step in the right direction, it is important to know how the non-profit organization determines which products get the label. In the Understanding Our Seal portion of the website, a brief explanation is given. I will summarize even further:

• every ingredient is tested, but not necessarily every product.
• testing happens at various stages in product development.
• the test must indicate that the ingredient is below 0.9% GMO, which is evidently in line with the European Union laws.

Finally, if you are impressed, perhaps you feel that you will not buy GMO products now that they are labeled and you are informed. When asked the same question, 80% of the studio audience at The Dr. Oz Show said they wouldn't. The non-GMO Project wants to hear that commitment from you - they provided the Non-GMO Consumer Pledge on their website.



Before We Get Into the Panel & Part 2

While you are making that commitment, you may also want to do your part to stop new genetically modified foods from making it to the market. I have written about various opportunities to contact your representatives about genetically modified fish and organizations to follow for the latest information in the "food fight",  let today be the day you take one of those actions!


Next up: From The Dr. Oz Show - Genetically Modified Foods Part 2: A Panel of Experts on Both Sides

Dr. Oz This Week: Panel About GMOs

I am always on the lookout for more information on genetically modified foods, seeds and animals in my search for healthy, safe foods to eat. I am displeased with the current state of our food industry that sells many GM foods without labeling them at all. I believe that if the public was made aware during the purchase process how much of their food actually did come from a GM product, then they would, in fact, be energized to take action on this topic. I have written before about shopping guides you can use to avoid buying GMOs, actions you can take to stop new GM foods from making it to our tables and how my eyes first began to open to these horrors. However, I am still no expert and, in my endless calling as a life-long learner, I seem to have found two new resources today in one glance at my computer screen.

Tune in to The Dr. Oz Show on December 7, 2010

Here is the first announcement that caught my eye on the Foodie Blog Roll website today:

"The nation will be watching when Jeffrey Smith takes the stage at the Dr. Oz Show this Tuesday, December 7th, to share the health dangers of genetically modified foods with Dr. Oz and his audience. Rounding out the non-GMO side of the panel for this segment will be another outstanding non-GMO advocate, Dr. Michael Hansen of the Consumers Union. Dr. Pamela Ronald, a pro-GM scientist who has been proposing that organic foods include GMOs is also included."

This panel sounds fascinating. Jeffrey Smith is a well-known expert in the field of genetically modified organisms, having written the book Seeds of Deception and Genetic Roulette: The Documented Health Risks of Genetically Engineered Foods. Dr. Michael Hansen has also been outspoken against GMOs concerning allergy risks and unethical acts of Monsanto. Dr. Pamela Ronald also seems to be a super intriguing guest - a Professor of Plant Pathology, married to an organic farmer. I just discovered her blog Tomorrow's Table, and am curious about her views. Her specialization seems to be in genetically modified rice, using genetic to help the rice survive flooding. I won't only be tuning in to this episode, I will be recording it on my DVR.


An Opportunity to Win A FREE Book

Along with the notice about The Dr. Oz Show on the Foodie Blog Roll site, is a contest to win a copy of Jeffrey Smith's book Seeds of Deception. I have not yet read the book myself, so I can not give you a quick review, but I can say that I am entering the contest and if I don't win, I am going to get this book. What this book and The Dr. Oz Show offer are more perspectives on this topic. I find it important when learning things to hear about them from as many perspectives as possible in order to come to my own truth.

For now, there are two ways to see if this book is for you:

• Check out the book's web page, and
• Check out the author on The Dr. Oz Show this Tuesday

I imagine there will be more to discuss later in the week on this topic, but for now it would be great to hear from you!

Where do you fall in the GMO debate? Is it on your radar yet? Have you picked a side yet? If so, what is it and why? I am, as I mentioned above, intrigued by Dr. Ronald's perspective and am wondering if anyone else feels the same way. Thanks.

Other Book By Jeffrey Smith: