Is the Gluten-Free Diet Just Another Fad?

A gluten-free diet excludes foods that contain gluten, a protein in wheat and other grains. People with digestive issues sometimes go gluten-free to avoid symptoms.

Over the past couple of decades, consumers have seen the gluten-free section in their local grocery stores grow from a few boxes of mostly unappealing products to whole aisles of gluten-free food. Online communities of folks touting the benefits of being gluten-free have sprung up. Marketers have seized the opportunity to let us know their products are gluten-free, even products that have never contained gluten.

For example, you might see “Gluten-Free!” proclaimed on olive oil bottles at your supermarket.  Olive oil is made from olives; it doesn’t contain wheat or any other gluten containing grain. The only reason for the “gluten-free” label is to sell the product to people who tend to reach for products that are advertised as “gluten-free.”

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What is gluten? Why do some people avoid it?

Gluten is a protein found naturally in wheat and some other grains. It is also extracted and added to food products to add texture and boost flavor and protein. That’s why it’s used as an additive in processed foods: Gluten helps shape and hold processed foods together.

For most people, consuming gluten causes no problem. For those with celiac disease, however, it’s imperative to avoid foods that contain gluten. For them, gluten can trigger a severe autoimmune response involving unpleasant symptoms and potentially health damaging consequences, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK).

Symptoms of celiac disease, when triggered by gluten, can vary, ranging from mild to severe, including:

• Abdominal bloating and pain
• Constipation or diarrhea
• Damage to tooth enamel
• Fatigue
• Headaches

If you have the condition and don’t avoid gluten, your intestines may become damaged.

The NIDDK estimates about 2 million people in the U.S. have celiac disease. The American College of Gastroenterology reports “there has been a substantial increase in the prevalence of celiac disease over the past 50 years and an increase in the rate of diagnosis.”

The U.S. Office on Women’s Health points out that women, in particular, may have symptoms of a condition known as gluten sensitivity, also called gluten tolerance. Researchers are trying to determine what this condition is. There’s no test for it.

It is known that people with gluten intolerance don’t test positive for celiac disease. They also don’t suffer serious consequences of eating gluten, including possible intestinal damage.

People with gluten intolerance report they often have gluten intolerance symptoms, such as tiredness, headaches, and gas and bloating after eating food containing gluten. Those symptoms are common in many people for many reasons, further complicating who may actually have a true non-celiac reaction to gluten.

But taking celiac disease and even gluten intolerance into consideration fails to account for the tremendous increase in popularity of gluten-free foods and the numbers of people who have gone “gluten-free.”

Some controversial claims over the years suggest gluten is unhealthy for most people and that consuming gluten could cause several unexplained symptoms, from weight gain to anxiety and depression. Some claims include gluten raises the risk of cancer.

Publicity over those unproven claims has resulted in books and websites about the supposed benefits of going gluten-free.

There’s no solid evidence that, unless you are allergic to wheat or other gluten-containing grains or have celiac disease or gluten intolerance, avoiding gluten will boost or protect health.

A large long-term study involving almost 160,000 people, reported by the American Society for Nutrition, reported that only those with verified celiac disease had consistent, documented symptoms and health problems associated with eating foods containing gluten. No connection linking cancer to gluten was found, either.

Gluten is everywhere

For people with celiac disease, an allergy to wheat or other gluten-containing grains, or with gluten intolerance, avoiding gluten isn’t a fad. It’s important for avoiding gluten-linked symptoms and, for those with celiac disease, potentially serious health problems.

One of the objections to eating gluten-free without a clear diagnosis of a health condition is that you don’t consume good sources of protein, vitamins, minerals, and fiber.

Furthermore, many of the foods that are heralded as “healthy” because they are gluten-free are little more than their own class of junk food. Gluten-free cookies and crackers are still cookies and crackers, and the starches that replace highly-refined flour are also, often, highly refined.

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