Is "gluten-free" just another fad?

[Archae]

To those who have celiac disease, no.

But too many marketers are jumping on the "gluten-free" woo bandwagon.

"Gluten-free" fad criticized

The Wall Street Journal has published an article examining the extent to which Americans have become wary of gluten and how food companies and restaurant chains are taking advantage of their fears. [Jargon J. The gluten-free craze: Is it healthy? The Wall Street Journal, June 23, 2014] Gluten is a term for proteins that act to give dough its elasticity and enable it to rise. The article notes:

Gluten, found in wheat, barley and rye, is well-suited for baking, but triggers an autoimmune response that can damage the intestines of people with celiac disease.
A few years ago, some doctors began suggesting eliminating gluten from patients' diets to address mysterious maladies; celebrities jumped on the bandwagon, touting gluten elimination as a way to lose weight and boost energy; and best-selling books orchestrated concerns.
About 2-3 million Americans, less than 1% of the population, suffer from celiac disease. The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness says research states another 18 million Americans have gluten sensitivity, experiencing discomfort without the intestinal damage. But recent surveys found that about 30% of Americans are trying to avoid gluten.
Food companies are now marketing hundreds of gluten-free foods, some of which are less healthful than the foods they are intended to replace.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2014/06/23/the_gluten-free_craze_is_it_healthy_335164.html

[Marrah_G]

1. Does it really matter?

We don't need these foods nutritionally, so if people want to not eat them it's not a big deal. If it makes them feel better even if a placebo effect I don't see the big deal to be honest.

[hobbit709]

5. I've even seen fruit juice marked as "Gluten Free"

[cbdo2007]

10. You are correct that it's sad they need to lable fruit juice as "Gluten Free"....

but you are wrong on the reason. My wife and mother-in-law have celiac disease and there are a bunch of products that naturally should NOT have gluten in them (like fruit juice) that some companies put gluten or wheat products in for some reason, and it makes them sick.

The problem isn't that they are frivolously labeling....it is that they put so many additives and fillers in food and they make us all fat and intollerant rather than just making fruit juice out of fruit juice.

[Ruby the Liberal]

28. Wheat is the second ingredient in Twizzlers

behind corn syrup. Whoda thunk it.

You would be amazed at what all (including 'natural fruit') products use wheat as fillers, lifters, color enhancers, whatever

[hobbit709]

29. Fruit juice to me means exactly that. Not a flavored drink.

[Ruby the Liberal]

31. My point exactly

Yes, even broth and juice have wheat additives for lord knows what reason.

It makes some of us very sick. I for one applaud the manufacturers for jumping on the bandwagon, even if only because they saw the profit potential. Yes, I am selfish, but it really helps to not have to read every blasted label on every blasted item.

[pipoman]

11. The problem I see

Is everything gluten free costs more...then those who go gluten free start looking for alternative products. ..sometimes I think the alternative is worse than the gluten.

[Marrah_G]

12. There have always been fads/trends

If it isn't hurting anyone it's not my business.

[quinnox]

2. Funny this was mentioned, I noticed the "gluten free" marked prominently on some frozen food I

bought at the store the other day. I basically shrugged, because I have no idea what it means. But it does seem to be a marketing trend.

[hobbit709]

3. More of what I call Disease-of-the-month.

I have a neighbor who goes for all this because her CHIROPRACTOR told her so.
she only believes what the bone popper tells her, not a real MD.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. It's not "woo," exactly, because some people really can't eat gluten,

but I would call it more of a marketing fad aimed at persuading people that gluten is bad for everybody. Products that never had gluten in the first place are being marketed as "gluten-free" as if they were now better for you than the "old" version. It's good that people who have celiac disease or other gluten sensitivity can now buy food like bread and cookies that they can eat without having a bad reaction, but for everybody else it's just a fad, like the low-carb craze of a few years ago.

[upaloopa]

6. You need to study and learn about what you

are eating. IMHO don't rely on discussion boards such as this one. Don't rely on your doctor and most certainly don't rely on food processors.
Do your homework and make choices for yourself then pay attention to the results.
Our epidemic of obesity and heart trouble and some cancers are a direct result of diet and lifestyle.
Our food supply is full of chemicals that are there for the benefit of the producers not for our benefit. Read the labels. The best foods are unprocessed.

[Fawke Em]

17. I'm currently fasting to hit the re-set button.

I've been to the doctor and was told I didn't have Celiac's Disease, but possibly had a sensitivity to gluten.

Normally, I avoid gluten (by usually maintaining a low-carb diet), but because of some family issues over several months (it's so very hard to travel and avoid gluten!!!), I haven't been able to avoid gluten and bad carbs as much.

After a few weeks of this, I gained weight, my other allergies got worse and I started having any number of digestive issues.

It may be a "fad," but I, like you, feel so much better when I avoid it.

[Pathwalker]

9. Do you still believe global warming is fake?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[Archae]

13. Never said it was.

[Pathwalker]

16. This thread from the Lounge says otherwise.

Link: http://www.democraticunderground.com/1018609629

[Archae]

25. I was joking around, when it was still so frikkin' COLD!

[Sheepshank]

14. many equate Gluten Free with Wheat Free

While I am trying to avoid wheat, it seems the easiest route with prepared foods, is to eat gluten free...although since I tend to do my own cooking, it's not all that hard to eat wheat free.

I think perhpas there is a bit of a fad going on out there, but so very many people are having digestive issues (noticed the increase in probiotic ads?) many are feeling better eating gluten free. I happen to think the culprit is actually the wheat, but whatever helps people feel less bloated, crampy and poop more regularly is just fine imho.

[Archae]

15. "Probiotic" is another fad.

My sister has been suckered into it.

Tried to get me into it, I told her no.

[Fawke Em]

18. It may be over-used, but it's not unscientific.

There has been a lot of study done about the build-up of bad bacteria in one's intestines leading to any number of digestive ailments, allergies and issues that may lead to digestive-organ (liver, intestines, gall bladder, etc.) cancer. I'm not saying probiotics cure everything and people shouldn't jump into anything like that without seeing a doctor (I did).

I am currently fasting to rid my gut of some of the "bad bacteria" that I KNOW I've built up having to eat a diet that didn't suit me (see my above post) and I'll be replacing it with a good probiotic for a short time. I am also returning to the regular diet I've not been able to maintain for the past three months - a lower carb and low-to-no grain diet.

Having said that, I realize anyone can go overboard. Too much of anything can be harmful. Just don't go eschewing the science because you know someone that has gone off the deep end.

[pnwmom]

24. My doctor told me to use it whenever I take antibiotics. It's not a fad.

There's a lot of research supporting its use, if you'd bother to look into it.

[Fawke Em]

19. Grains, in general, not just wheat.

A lot of people don't realize that corn is a grain and not a vegetable.

And we all know that companies put far too much corn into foods as substitutes for sugar or whatever. We, like the cows featured in Food Inc., aren't made to eat that much corn (and grain).

I, for one, think our food chart focuses far too much on grain and not enough on fruits and vegetables. If we were all still living on farms or working out hours each day or are all staying 20 years old, then that much grain is useful. However, most of us are fairly sedentary as a result of desk jobs and don't have the time to work out hours in a day, so we simply don't need that many carbs and/or grain.

I make a really great muffin out of almond wheat, eggs and honey. Only problem is that almond flour is about four times as expensive as regular flour.

[Sheepshank]

34. If you have a Winco nearby it's pretty cheap

in the bulk bin section. They also have coconut flour that makes a mah-velous blend.

Of course it isn't as cheap as wheat flour, but much better than the prepackaged in the grocery store. In addition, you are supporting business that treats it's employees along the same lines as Costco!!!

[kiva]

21. For non-celiacs, yes.

Look at fads in eating, they go in and out of fashion regularly. I don't disagree that certain ways of eating can make us feel better even when there aren't allergies involved - I feel better eating low carb, but have no intentions of completely going carbfree.

I'm old, this isn't the first or last food fad to wander by.

[pnwmom]

23. Wrong. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is very real, and includes

people with gluten-sensitive Crohns disease, liver inflammation, migraines, seizures, and other conditions caused by sensitivity to gluten.

Celiac is just the tip of the gluten sensitivity iceberg.

[kiva]

26. Sorry, what part of my post are you addressing?

I said that many people feel better eating in a particular way, so in your example gluten free. That does not mean that it isn't a fad - for hundreds of years people have discovered that certain foods affect them in different ways, but often revert to a familiar diet.

In just the last few decades we're seen low-carb, no-carb, paleo diets, HCG, super low calorie diets, diets based on certain cultures, diets where you eat only fruit or only vegetables or some combination of both. Often the people on those diet will tell you they feel better eating that way, but the vast majority will default to their previous way of eating, perhaps with modifications.

Many more people eat a vegetarian diet for a time - months, even years - then change their minds. Again, many will tell you they felt better, but were still tempted by other foods, or found it difficult to maintain, or just changed their minds.

In the near future many people who have sworn off of gluten will go back to eating it. The companies who made a lot of money producing gluten-free foods will quietly cut back or stop manufacturing them, and a new fad will sweep through and people will jump aboard and manufacturers will gleefully begin producing whatever makes money.

A small percentage of gluten-free advocates will remain gluten free, just as there are carb-free advocates from the last craze...and life moves on.

[pnwmom]

32. You said that for non-celiacs, not eating gluten is a fad. And that's not true.

That isn't true for millions of non-celiacs who have other serious conditions that are caused or aggravated by exposure to gluten. Eating gluten free isn't a fad for them -- it's a medical necessity.

Going gluten free may be a fad for some percentage of the people who do it -- but not for millions of others who have non-celiac sensitivity. Calling it a fad is an insult to them.

[pnwmom]

22. To people with gluten-sensitive Crohn's disease, no.

To people with gluten-sensitive migraines, no.
To people with gluten-sensitive liver inflammation, no.
To people with gluten-sensitive seizure disorders, no.
To parents of children whose autism symptoms are worsened by exposure to gluten, no.

Celiac disease isn't the only real and serious problem that can be caused by gluten. So if you add up the people with Celiac disease, along with other people with other forms of damage caused by gluten, along with the people who "only" experience gas, cramping, and other forms of "discomfort," you end up with something close to the 30% who are trying to avoid it.

I'm not Celiac, but gluten makes me bleed. I'm very grateful gluten-free is now a "fad."

[elfin]

27. I used to think so, but now not so much

This is after learning that the grains now are completely different in many ways than grains of even just a generation ago due to GMOs etc.

The guts of many are not attuned to the "new" foods. My eminently sensible friend began feeling sick and achy about a decade ago. No clear diagnosis after many months. and after hearing about gluten free and health on an NPR program, she quietly switched. Took about a month to be back to normal. She told no one about it for a long time.

Now she says if she goes off it, she wakes up feeling like crap, and she does not have celiac disease.

Yes, some is faddish, but it is a healthy program. I just don't have the self discipline to do it myself.

[SidDithers]

30. If the gluten-free fad is creating a market for gluten-free products...

which gives my Celiac daughter more options, then I have no problem with the gluten-free fad.

Sid

[pnwmom]

33. Exactly. The more people who follow this "fad," the better for those of us who need it.

Whether we have celiac or another form of gluten sensitivity.