The reason (most) people go gluten-free isn't because they're allergic

[HuckleB]

http://www.sciencealert.com/the-reason-people-go-gluten-free-isn-t-because-they-re-allergic

"Gluten-free bread. Gluten-free cookies. Gluten-free cereal. With all of the new options to avoid gluten, there’s got to be something about the ingredient that’s bad for you, right?

Wrong. As Alan Levinovitz points out in The Gluten Lie, the scary-sounding ingredient is not to be feared. Far from a dangerous toxin, gluten is a type of protein found in wheat and other similar grains, from hearty barley to bitter-tasting rye. It’s what makes bagels chewy and lets fresh-baked bread rise.

Still, a minority of people can’t eat the delicious stuff. Roughly 1 percent of Americans have coeliac disease, a genetic, autoimmune disorder that causes people who eat gluten to experience damage to their small intestine.

...

So while cutting gluten may seem like it causes weight loss or clearer skin, in reality, something else is probably the real cause, like swapping fast food for cooking at home. Peter Gibson, Monash University Australia’s Director of Gastroenterology who’s led multiple studies on gluten, tells Levinovitz:

..."

-------------------------------------------------------


So many food marketing fads get out of hand, and so many of us keep jumping on the next bandwagon?

Why don't we learn?

[sense]

1. Why don't you learn?

You are the only one on a bandwagon, and we all know which one it is.

[HuckleB]

2. You don't think other people like accurate information?

Hmm.

Why don't you like accuracy in science?

Why don't you think I should point out deceptive corporate marketing practices?

[Atman]

3. I totally agree. My wife is into "gluten free" everything.

Drives me nuts. She never had a problem. Then she started reading fad diet books and gluten kept coming up. At 52 years old, suddenly all of her woes were because of gluten. Now, it's gluten-free this, gluten-free that, even gluten-free vodka. if she eats a spicy dish at an Italian restaurant and get a tummy ache, it couldn't possibly be because of the portions or the spicy Italian sausage...it's because she ate a slice of the bread before hand. It had gluten!

She's an otherwise very smart woman, and I'm not sure how she bought into this. It hasn't done anything for her. Hasn't cleared her skin or made her lose weight or anything. But she's fully invested in the bullshit.

[CountAllVotes]

4. I know someone like that too

and to top it off said person is allegedly a "vegan" ...

Too weird the whole thing IMO.

Was invited over for dinner and was given a slice of watermelon and that was it too.

Good luck is all I can say ...

[HuckleB]

6. I'm sorry, that sucks.

A huge proportion of the public seems to buy into various food fads, so it's not just about being smart. Many parents of kids on local sports teams seem to be into this type of thing, too. Though, funny enough, it's not as obsessive. Still, they'll pay twice as much for gluten free pretzels, and then pound down the pasta later. And, yeah, they believe the gluten free pretzels are somehow healthier.

Schools might need to teach questioning of any and all claims made by people and companies selling things. Somehow, we just don't connect that they might be telling the truth, and they might even be trying to scare us into buying their products.

Good luck, and take care!

[kaliamanita]

5. broad sweeping generalizations are rarely true

many people who are not genetically predisposed to gluten allergy do react poorly to glutenous foods. there is allergic and there are levels of tolerance/intolerance that fall along a spectrum. it's not an either/or situation.


diminishing or negating another's experience just because we don't understand it is unkind.

[HuckleB]

7. If you read the whole piece, you'd know that we understand that it's a very small percentage...

... of people affected. We also understand that anecdotes don't tell us much of value. Use of the phrase "In My Experience" tends to lead people astray, including for the very individual sharing said experience.

https://sites.google.com/site/skepticalmedicine//the-plural-of-anecdote-is-not-data

Even the original researcher has shown the sensitivity piece to be wanting.

http://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-who-found-evidence-for-gluten-sensitivity-have-now-shown-it-doesn-t-exist

Welcome to DU.

[djean111]

8. On the other hand, no one NEEDS gluten. So, IMO, it's all good - and it is good we can all make our

own choices about what we eat. Last I looked, no one was running around grocery stores and restaurants grabbing bread away form Gluten Eaters.

I think it very strange that some get so obsessed and angry about what other people choose to eat.

[HuckleB]

9. I think it's strange that fear-based corporate marketing gets a pass.

It shouldn't, and that's what this is...

[djean111]

10. Hey, it really is just the free hand of the market.

Sometimes I think that you, personally, would like to decide what everyone should eat and how they should medicate. As if you know best for everyone else. A wee bit authoritarian.

Were you upset about the corporate marketing that said high fructose corn syrup is just like sugar? Or the corporate marketing that says those over-priced boxes of sugar-laden cereal are good for us? There is a whole lot more corporate marketing of junk and processed foods than there is of gluten-free or organic or GMO-free foods. Exponentially more. Why is that okay?

[HuckleB]

11. Wow! Why are you at DU?

BTW, the science shows that HFCS is just like sugar.
https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/high-fructose-corn-syrup/

No one ever pretended bad cereal is good for anyone.

No one ever said bad food is ok.

You make personal attacks upon me, instead of acknowledging that I am simply advocating for more honest marketing, and, when we don't get that, I am criticizing the dishonest marketing. That shouldn't bother you so much. Unless...

[djean111]

12. Oh, haha, the ominous and telling ellipsis....

What I am saying is that there is exponentially more advertising for processed foods full of chemicals and devoid of nutrition, encouraging Americans to be pretty much the most obese country in the world. "Gluten-free" is not BAD for people. Won't make them fat. It is just a choice. You seem to be interested in limiting choice, really.

Personal attacks? Just because you denigrate entire groups of people, that makes it okay? Less personal?

Oh, and yeah - HFCS is just like sugar in a very important way - no nutrition. None. Just less natural, really.
I just believe you are going after the wrong bad marketing.
Unless...

[HuckleB]

13. In other words, you're not paying attention to the full picture.

Or so it seems, or so you claim. And then you employ the natural fallacy, on top of ignoring the reality of that product and its counterparts. I think you should go hit the books before you try to pass on your propaganda again.

[djean111]

14. I am not passing propaganda. That's kinda conspiracy theorish.

I am saying I cannot turn on the TV without seeing massive advertising of processed and nutritionally empty food. I rarely see anything about organic or gluten-free or GMO-free. It is like you resent that fact that they exist, and don't want others to have a choice. All it is, is a choice. I don't even push my cart down the cereal and cookie aisles, others can zip right past the organic vegetables. I could see someone being upset if eating puffy cheesy chemical things was advertised heavily - and that they cost an amazing $4 or more a bag! - oh, wait, bad example. Oh, maybe being upset that corn is advertised as a vegetable - oh, wait, etc.

In fact, I just saw a commercial that says I can get all kinds of protein out of this breakfast cereal! If I pour milk on it!

The problem is the heavily advertised foods. The cheap shit. I guess that's the easiest stuff to turn a profit on, though.

[HuckleB]

16. No conspiracy theory.

Just noting what you're doing here.

You're trying to justify scam-based marketing by noting other bad marketing. They're both worthy of criticism, and both are aimed at increasing profits without ethics.

It's time to stop pretending that you have any actual, viable point.

[Oneironaut]

15. A lot of gluten free food is actually worse for you.

It has things added, which means more calories, more sugar, etc.

[djean111]

17. I think that if we tried to get rid of all the foods that are not good for you,

there would likely be howling winds scattering tumbleweeds through today's supermarkets!
As a low-carber, I agree with you - yes, you are correct. But I don't see the big deal about people not wanting to eat gluten.

[HuckleB]

18. Has someone done a piece on this?

If so, could you link us to it?