Ryan Fernando is a big advocate of eating right and eating less and the celebrity nutritionist and life coach has come up with his debut book Wh(eat)less: A Guide to a Gluten-Free Life, to reiterate his philosophy. With this, he puts the spotlight on a gluten-free diet and creates awareness of personalised nutrition and science-based coaching. With an MSc in food biotechnology from the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, and an MSc in biochemistry from Goa Medical College, Ryan also has a certificate from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, New York, and holds an IOC diploma in sports nutrition.
With over 20 years of experience up his sleeves and having worked with stars like Virat Kohli, P.V. Sindhu, Aamir Khan, Fardeen Khan, Shahid Kapoor and Manoj Bajpayee among many others, Fernando talks about the early detection of gluten sensitivity in addressing many medical issues. Excerpts.
The title of the book says Wh(eat) Less. Doesn’t it contradict the popular perception that wheat is good viz-a-vis wheat flour?
As a nutritionist, I am constantly telling the human race to eat less. In my 10 years of practising at the QUA Nutrition Clinic, we have changed thousands of teenage lives and people suffering from diabetes and even hypertension. And the number one culprit that comes up for a lot of these people who test positive, I repeat, for people who test positive, is wheat. And because I work in the clinic and I am constantly at loggerheads with people who say we have been eating wheat for generations and how can you say that I have a gluten allergy and that the genetic test is not right. I emphasise that even though it might not be present at an early age but it will turn up sooner or later as one grows older, I can guarantee it. I wrote this book because I am hoping I can help have a better life; I can help that lady who is not able to conceive because she is not allowing her gut to have good absorption and therefore her fertility is lower. I also write about a boy, in the book, who didn’t have eyelashes because of Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune condition and how by avoiding eating gluten for six months his eyelashes started growing back.
Are we talking about wheat flour gluten or wheat gluten and is there any difference between the two?
Good question and an important one. Gluten is the protein that comes in the covering inside wheat. When you break up wheat, the gluten also gets broken up. So, whether you eat wheat as a whole, or you eat wheat partially milled or thoroughly milled into a fine flour or maida, every component of it will have the protein component of wheat, which is gluten. My book is looking to target people who have mild sensitivity but by giving up gluten they will have phenomenal improvement in weight loss, blood sugar level, BP and skin.
Our obvious choice, between wheat and wheat flour, has been wheat when we make our food choices.
I worked for a few bread companies as a consultant and what they claimed was fibre-enriched bread is nothing but wheat chaff and stuff. If the food is undergoing processing, it’s not healthy. So, with my first book, I wanted to tackle questions and create awareness and understanding of simple things like — gluten is grown with a lot of pesticides and insecticides, which affects your gut health. It also leads to a cascade of problems including skin issues. I had acne problems all my life and I didn’t know I was allergic to gluten till the age of 34. After six weeks of going off gluten, I got rid of my skin problem without using medicated face wash or creams. I wish I had read a book when I was 17.
We didn’t know gluten can be a cause of skin problems!
If you have the enzymes that digest gluten then you are safe. It’s just like some people are lactose intolerant. It’s the genetic ability of your body to process or not process a food molecule. People don’t understand gluten but they understand wheat in India and that’s why I choose the title wheat so that people can relate to it much more easily.
How do you intend to counter the simple and logical argument that wheat has been a staple in India, so why blame it now?
We have lived for centuries on this planet and science has evolved a lot. Now people know more about farming. What I am doing as a nutritionist is evolving the choices by which consumers can choose their food which is decided not by culture or the food palate but by doing deeper introspection that I want to take care of my health and start with my food. After 20-30 years people will turn back to my book and say Ryan said this first in India. I started personalised nutrition in 2010 and today every doctor is talking about personalised nutrition, which is now becoming a practice. Over a period of time, hospitals will give birth certificates along with a certificate about the consumption of food that is a liability to you.
There are a set of people who say that gluten-free and vegan diets are a fad. What do have to say about that?
I agree that diets come and go. As medical practitioner, our job is not to have a fashionable diet. When the person has the necessary sensitivity to the gluten we have to advise them. No one diet fixes all. If you ever follow the diet of your neighbour, colleague or public figure, it will not work for you. There’s something called bio-individuality. So I wrote the book so that people would read it and get the test done as early as possible.
How early should one get the test done?
I had my son tested at the age of six months. We don’t have the scope to do trial and error on our children when we have single or two children. Again, with so many preservatives, pesticides and insecticides in our food, the responsibility of parents of what to feed them, and when to feed them is more. If we do the test early it can solve many problems. Food can be used as a powerful tool, it can also be poisonous.
How open are celebs to this new science-based coaching?
I am currently working with Shahid Kapoor and Manoj Bajpayee and they are much more tuned into accepting scientific advice because they have realised that the body is the most expensive entity. Virat Kohli was one of the most disciplined clients I have worked with, which is why he is one of the best batsmen in the world. Shahid Kapoor is amazingly disciplined. He understood the principle of eating healthy.
The big question is, if wheat also has gluten, what is the alternative?
The book has chapters dedicated to gluten-free options in metropolitan bakeries and grocery stores. It also lists gluten-free ingredients and snack options in another chapter apart from gluten-free cereals in India and abroad. For people who are looking for recipes, the book gives out recipes and also a detailed meal list and a diet chart as well. Alternatives to wheat are millet, corn, rice, buckwheat and quinoa.