“Humor keeps us alive. Humor and food. Don’t forget the food. You can go a week without laughing.”

-Joss Whedon

This label doesn’t mean “healthy.” It means “Free of Gluten.”

As I write this, I’m surrounded by the smell of food. I’m at the Whole Foods headquarters in Austin, Texas standing along the windows facing the city while people around me eat on lunch breaks.

Sure, Whole Foods is a corporation that doesn’t do everything right, but it is still the world’s largest organic grocer.

I don’t buy 99% of what Whole Foods offers. But for the 1%, I love this place.

I didn’t set out with a point when I started writing this. But this makes me think of gluten-free and all the marketing gimmicks that the food companies use to dupe you into thinking that their food is “good for you.”

Putting food regularly full of gluten but labeled “gluten-free”—like cookies, cake, grain products, etc.—is not suitable for you.

It’s junk food. Period.

Food that doesn’t have to be gluten-free but often is because of preservation, shelf-life, and companies trying to save a buck—like sauces, condiments, and sausages—is better when it is gluten-free.

Let’s do a quick review:

Food containing grains, soy, or other food that typically contains gluten is still “unhealthy” when labeled “gluten-free.”

Foods that don’t usually contain gluten are better when labeled “gluten-free.”