Dieting fads, or healthy eating?

Are we succumbing to the latest foodie phase? Or worse, are our bodies missing out on what they need nutritionally because we have decided to cut out a food group? Natalie Mankelow speaks to three people with different views on the issue.

Cookbook author and blogger Eleanor Ozich changed her family’s entire diet because of her daughter’s skin condition. “After visiting countless doctors and specialists about our then four-year-old daughter’s severe eczema, we decided to visit a naturopath. She advised us that Izabella was suffering from GAPS syndrome (an imbalance of bad bacteria/gut flora) which was causing the skin condition.”

Eleanor says she was advised to remove wheat, refined sugar, and anything processed from her daughter’s diet, and to follow a strict wholefoods regime in order to heal her digestive system.

The family now follow a natural and wholefoods diet. They still eat dairy occasionally but only in moderation. “Our diet mostly consists of plenty of vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, organic and free range meat/poultry, good healthy fats such as extra virgin coconut oil, coconut cream, avocado, and a small amount of grains and legumes.”

Sometimes I’ll even say I’m allergic to the food just so it doesn’t look like I’m on a diet or like I’m being a snob.

Her daughter’s eczema has now almost completely cleared up, although she does have a small flare up occasionally. “This is usually triggered from a particular food which she might not normally eat. We all have wonderful amounts of energy, clearer skin, and an overall better feeling of wellbeing.”

Eleanor makes a living off the recipes she shares and is opening her own wholefoods cafe and juicery in the Auckland suburb of Kingsland. The recipes are sometimes gluten free, dairy free or refined sugar free and she now has a huge following. “I guess that my readers appreciate my recipes as they are simple and very easy to follow.

She says she would recommend a wholefoods diet to others and sees more people who have food intolerances and allergies and are changing the way they eat. “I think people are generally becoming more interested in their health and wellbeing, and are coming around to the idea that there are an abundance of more wholesome and nutritious alternatives.”

Sharlene Kelly suffers from the life-long illness coeliac disease. The disease means that when she eats gluten, her body produces antibodies which damage the lining of the small bowel and make it pretty much impossible for her system to take in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients from food. Gluten is found in foods most people wouldn’t even realise – pretty much anything with a thickener or binding agent on the ingredients list.

Sharlene Kelly and her daughters Brooke and Leah. Photo: Natalie Mankelow

Being gluten-free is not a lifestyle choice for Sharlene; it’s a necessity. “As soon as I would eat something with gluten my tummy would swell and I would look like I was pregnant. It also made me feel like I wanted to vomit. Just a simple thing like having a beer when I turned 18 would see me hunched over a toilet for a long time.”

She was diagnosed when she was two, had gluten slowly introduced back into her diet and then was re-diagnosed at 18. She found the change to her diet difficult. “I know what a lot of foods with gluten taste like – a lot of them are good. It was hard, especially living with a person who lives on beer and pizza.”

Sharlene has noticed the number of people claiming to be gluten-free has increased dramatically. “I know a few people who are gluten-free by choice. They think it makes them feel better. I think each to their own but it’s probably not something you should just do without having some professional advice or reason.”

She says people without a proper diagnosis should relish being able to eat gluten – even in small amounts. “Now when I go somewhere I feel like I want to tell people I have coeliac disease so they don’t think I’m just trying to be cool or something.”

“There’s plenty of worse things to have than coeliacs,” she says “but I don’t want to be considered a food snob. In social situations when people offer me a beer (yes, there is gluten in beer) or a piece of cake I say ‘oh sorry I can’t’ and I feel like I should explain myself more. Sometimes I’ll even say I’m allergic to the food just so it doesn’t look like I’m on a diet or like I’m being a snob.”

 Personally, I like to see a little self-experimentation with food, it’s one of the best things we can do for our health.

Sometimes Sharlene thinks having coeliac has been a blessing in disguise; it makes her more aware of what she eats. And the range of gluten-free products in restaurants and cafes has increased which makes her life easier. “The hardest and scariest part when you are first diagnosed is going out for dinner because you never know if you are actually eating gluten. I used to ask if things were gluten-free and you could tell straight away if waiter didn’t know what you were talking about.”

She says the range at supermarkets has also exploded. “There is so much gluten-free stuff but it’s not all good. You still have to be quite picky. If you’re conscious of sugar and stuff you still have to read labels. There’s plenty of gluten free food but it’s not all healthy.”

But is cutting out whole food groups healthy? Dietician and nutritionist Dave Shaw says, as a general rule, it’s not. “The food groups were established to provide what is thought to be an essential source of nutrients and completely removing any of these may compromise your diet. I wouldn’t recommend cutting out a food group, but for some people ‘cutting down’ on particular foods, especially refined cereals and grains, and processed fats, can be beneficial.”

Shaw has come across many people who have cut out foods or become dairy/gluten or refined sugar-free without considering the consequences. “Nutrition information has become ubiquitous and everyone is an expert. Naturally, everyone now has an opinion, whether it’s based on fact or fallacy. Personally, I like to see a little self-experimentation with food, it’s one of the best things we can do for our health. I just think people don’t understand the concept of a diet relative to specific foods, and believe ‘this nutrient’ or ‘that food’ will either make or break them. Nutrition is far more complex than that.”

"I just think people don’t understand the concept of a diet relative to specific foods, and believe ‘this nutrient’ or ‘that food’ will either make or break them. Nutrition is far more complex than that.” - Dave Shaw Photo: Jesse Meha Photography

He says people shouldn’t cut something out of their diet without consulting a dietician or reputable nutritionist because it can be bad for the body long term. “If the nutrients cut from the diet aren’t replaced with alternative sources, then future health problems or deficiencies may arise. However, there is proof of traditional diets consisting mostly of meat and animal fat or limited in cereals and grains that clearly show a healthy diet can be achieved without the inclusion of many foods. The body can thrive off many diets, however reckless dietary restriction can be harmful.”

Shaw thinks there isn’t anything too wrong with bread or dairy. Many New Zealanders eat both on a daily basis and don’t have any problems. But those things – that used to be staples of many people’s diets – have been demonised.

Shaw says bread can be a healthy contributor of energy, fibre and protein. “Although there is some evidence linking it (particularly refined wheat and grains) with inflammation (a precursor for heart disease), spiking blood sugar levels and gastrointestinal irregularities.

“Therefore, the amount and quality of the bread needs to be considered. So I would always opt for wholegrain and not having it as an everyday food.”

He says dairy is similar – some people think it’s bad and some people don’t. “From my experience, the evidence clearly stacks up for its inclusion in our diet – unless you are lactose intolerant. It may be my bias, but I very rarely go a day without a glass of full fat milk.”

The amount of diet information available can be overwhelming and understanding the latest food trends can be hard, especially with blogs, cookbooks, and cafes and restaurants joining the craze. Shaw says there are other steps you can take to get your health on track. “Get most of your food from everywhere apart from supermarkets, convenience stores and petrol stations. That leaves produce stores, farmers’ markets, butcheries and your own veg garden. Go to a supermarket once a week or fortnight, write a shopping list and stick to it. Cook from scratch. Eat traditional foods. Don’t believe everything you hear. Try whatever diets you want, but don’t push them onto others. Dine at the table. Be sensible, if a diet promises fast results, it’s probably lying. Make sure you enjoy what you eat and always try to dine with someone else.”