Fad Diets - We've all heard of The Atkins Diet, Nutra-Blitzing vegetables and fruits into a slurry and the latest fad, The Clean Diet. If the latter is a new concept to you, it's basically all of the above without the wheat, dairy or meat content. Hmmm Cabbage soup, sounds so appealing. So let's all be clear on this. These are clearly Fad Diets and are generally spawned by those wishing to sell products, gadgets or possibly books. Or idiots on the Internet who think it's fun to play with social trends.

Food Intolerances – This is where you has an intolerance to a specific ingredients. These might not be life long conditions and some cases are much worse than others. My step father had an issues with Sesame Seeds for a couple of years. In that he felt that his throat was closing and he was choking. So he stopped eating them, wisely. Only to find that the transient intolerance had passed after an unexpected meal out. So all is good. Peanuts on the other hand can cause death for some unfortunate folk. That's the worst end of the scale. There's not a great deal worse that can happen to you than having a great meal out and ending up dead. Well actually there is.....

Immune Disorders – The worst of the worst and not generally understood. Again it's probably best and least biased if I use a person example. Sue my partner has Coeliac Disease. In the simplest terms this means that if she eats anything with Gluten in it, in almost indeterminable proportions she will be violently ill for days, but also cause irrevocable damage to her intestines. This is because her immune system is in some way triggered to kill the Gluten. Unfortunately this also kills cells in her gut which cannot be replaced. Ever.

So what do I do? Firstly I eat the same diet as Sue. Not because I'm on a Fad Diet, but because cross contamination from my food could very well make her seriously ill. Strangely you can have a full and nutritious diets without wheat. It just takes a bit more planning. 

So next time you see that book. "38 deadly foods" or that Facebook post " 1000000 things to should eat - never" Think about the reasons why these people might be pushing these anti-science and unprovable ideas at you - Just a thought!

So if you see me with my glasses on looking at the small print on the back of packets. It's not that I've gone all "Fad" or making up some intolerance which I simply don't have. It's because I care about my partner. Don't judge me.

However. This is a note for those of you who might like to play with a "Clean" diet. Don't! Commercial GF breads are at best a very poor substitute. The Pasta can be acceptable, but you really need to know how to cook it and drain it in a very short time window. Pizza bases? Really why bother! If you are deluded in that way, just cook everything fresh and you might grow out of your Fad. But there will be another one just around the corner to sucker you.....