“Gluten Free”: Overblown?
 

What do you guys think of all this 21st Century gluten phobia going down all around us? Is gluten REALLY all the food allergy problem that it’s ginned up to be or is this some kind of bull crap to gouge the consumer into paying more for “gluten free” products? And man those products are WAY more expensive than stuff with gluten in it. Maybe it is legit, I don’t know, but it sure seems to send my red flags a flyin’.

Well, for SOME people gluten is seriously bad, but the number of these people with diagnosed issues is tiny.

There does seem to be some general issues with wheat itself, although the science is not definitive.

I personally think it is overblown, except again for those who indeed DO have gluten intolerance. For them, yeah, it is a real thing.

For those genuinely affected by this it is a very serious pain but unfortunately this is set aside by those who find it fashionable to be gluten intolerant.

Some people are gluten for punishment.

I actually read an article recently about the number of people who are allergic to gluten and it said there weren't any really hard numbers, but they estimated that it was only about 0.6% of the American population.. serious problem if you have it, but I'm not sure that justifies the media hype surrounding the topic...

I also heard a comedian say that people in California were so afraid of gluten that you could hold up a bank with a bagel... :)

Gluten for punishment, good one!

If you have celiac disease, avoidance of gluten is an absolute must.

If you do not have celiac disease you are probably better off with gluten in your diet.

If you know someone without celiac disease and they swear how much better they after dropping gluten from their diet, it’s probably because they are eating healthier over all.

I couldn't agree more. My mother was diagnosed as celiac some 20 years ago - she's 91 now. Her sister (my aunt) is also celiac. I know, from first-hand experience, how serious this is for them. My first question for anyone who has self-diagnosed as gluten-intolerant is 'have you been tested?'

I have a friend that is a celiac and she loves it. She has WAY more options now. For those that aren't truly allergic but are avoiding it and eating healthier, good for them too. I'll gladly put up with additional items in the grocery store for those benefits.

My brother changed to gluten free and it changed his life. Lost 25 lbs, and no more IBS symptoms.

Going gluten free changed my life.

The sometimes unkind speculation, and always unhelpful innuendo about the "reality" of someone else's health problems is much more overblown, IMO.

Unless someone posting here is in a position to diagnose or to treat a health problem that is claimed to be gluten related, it is really NONE OF OUR BUSINESS!!!

And the history of medicine has proved time and again that something is "all in the patient's head" until a new specialty dawns, and new specialists develop a diagnosis (and, if they are lucky, they eventually discover an effective treatment), as well as demonstrating that treatments that are not understood are labeled "placebos" until they are proven effective (acupuncture for pain is a fine example).

:mad::mad::mad::sick::sick::sick:

Do you remember in the 50's when doctors used to advertise cigarettes as good for you? They did. Why? Because there was a tobacco industry making a lot of money off it.

Do you remember in the 90's when Ritalin was the most prescribed drug in America and doctors were pumping it down kids throats in shocking percentages? Why? Because there was a pharmaceutical industry making a lot of money off it.

Do you remember when Americans were convinced that regulated and safest drinking water in the world was dangerous and they had to buy and landfill plastic bottles of water eight times a day? Why? Because there is a bottled water industry making a lot of money off it.

you get my point......

Anywhere someone can latch on to rare problems to make money and they will.

Prudence , my Airedale , has a serious allergy to gluten . Long story short , it nearly killed her .

I know about celiac disease, it’s serious stuff. But gluten-free has been sold to customers as a healthy alternative “gluten is bad for you”. It’s all nonsense. Those who go gluten-free and claim to have lost weight because of it, is mostly because they cut off most simple carbohydrate foods off their diet after realizing that things like gluten free bread, pizza, and beer tastes terrible, and decided to also get off the couch and move a bit more.

The gluten free diet is a common treatment for those suffering from Celiac's disease and leaky gut syndrome.

My son has autism and for a time we consulted with a neurodevelopmental pediatrician who had us get blood drawn for a number of tests for a biomedical treatment plan. Among them was the IgG antibody test for elevated antibodies. I don't completely understand the theories behind this but it was my understanding that the presence of these antibodies indicated an intolerance to the gluten protein found in most wheats, as well as the casein protein in dairy, as well as a sensitivity to soy which is also a common allergen. While Celiac's was not a concern, leaky gut syndrome was. It was shown via blood test results that my son's antibody count was elevated beyond the norm and that doctor's belief that it was causing a sort of autoimmune response that was literally eating holes into his intestinal tract. This is turn was believed to be causing an inflammation in his gut that was also causing inflammation in his brain via the vagus nerve, leading to delayed development in speech and causing him emotional distress.

I should also add that in addition to cutting out gluten, casein and soy from his diet we were also told to give him magnesium, DHA Omega 3 fish oil and probiotics - in addition to other supplements such as vitamin D3 and CoQ10 and vitamin B12.

So for a year we did the gluten/casein/soy free diet and it helped briefly but not significantly so we ended the diet after about a year. FWIW, we do notice that our son can overcome a viral illness in hours, so I do believe that his immune system is indeed overstimulated but we have also since stopped advising with that doctor.

Do I think the gluten free diet was helping? Probably. Would I have done it without a blood test? No.

In our case though, it was not a fad and I don't think it's for everybody. Do I think that it's overblown? Not any more than any other placebo that the desperate turn to.