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Many misconceptions have been spread in recent years by gluten-free guru authors, and their celebrity devotees, whose anti-gluten rhetoric borders on religious fanaticism. The bombast and nonsense has spawned a billion-dollar gluten-free foods industry almost overnight. A gluten-free diet is certainly important for people diagnosed with celiac disease and serious gluten intolerance. But to claim that avoiding gluten will prevent bloating, Alzheimer’s disease, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and autism is, as one author calls it, “fear-mongering.” A major misconception is that gluten-free foods are healthier. One nutrition counseling service says sometimes gluten-free foods have more sugar, fat and calories than gluten-containing foods -- to make up for lost taste.
"Against the grain: When not to go on a gluten-free diet", FoxNews.com, May 15, 2015
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Adding extra virgin olive oil or mixed nuts to a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and fish -- and low in animal fats – improves cognitive performance in older adults, according to a study. But the researchers in Spain cautioned that the findings are preliminary and more research is necessary. The randomized clinical trial included 447 cognitively healthy volunteers who followed a low-fat diet (the control group), a Mediterranean-type diet supplemented with olive oil, or a Mediterranean diet supplemented with walnuts, almonds and hazelnuts. After four years, the cognitive functions of the low-fat diet group had declined. But memory improved in the Mediterranean diet plus nuts group, and frontal (memory) and global cognition improved in the Mediterranean diet plus olive oil group.
"Mediterranean Diet and Age-Related Cognitive Decline. ", JAMA Internal Medicine, May 11, 2015
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