Author: No science to back gluten free diets

[Vegas Halo Fan]

Walk into any grocery store or coffee shop and you'll find gluten-free muffins, gluten-free chips, and gluten-free bread. Gluten has replaced fat as the ingredient we love to shun.

 

And yet, scientists can't find any good evidence to support this fad. Gluten is a protein composite that gives shape to grains like wheat, rye, and barley. And it's true that a very small fraction of people have celiac disease, a real medical condition that causes their bodies to violently reject gluten. But that's only a small fraction of people, and it's not enough to explain the craze. The rest of us are going gluten-free without any real scientific basis for doing so.

 

The real side effect of a gluten-free diet: scientific illiteracy

Edited April 25, 2015 by Vegas Halo Fan

[Blarg]

And people without taste buds.

[Sully151]

My wife has celiac and it sucks. It is a tough diet to stick to. She has lost quite a bit of weight. Not eating cake or the like for dessert is probably part of it,

[wopphil]

There are several types of food product I won't even consider eating, including anything gluten free, anything with tofu, anything with kale, and anything Paleo. I also refuse to eat at any restaurant that doesn't serve meat, like the veggie grill.

[Lou]

There are several types of food product I won't even consider eating, including anything gluten free, anything with tofu, anything with kale, and anything Paleo. I also refuse to eat at any restaurant that doesn't serve meat, like the veggie grill.

and Chipotle

[Schildog]

So Phil is left eating fruit, beans and wonder bread.

[Thomas]

It's the nature of food allergies. Some people may feel better because they end up not eating something else that they are allergic too. Or the change in overall diet makes a difference even if it isn't the gluten that makes the difference itself.

 

My youngest son has Celiac. Kid puked or almost did probably after half his meals until they diagnosed it. Yeah, not sure why anyone would willingly change to gluten-free if they had a choice.

[Sully151]

So far, I have counted 2 people on the forum who know someone. I would assume that as a collective group, we would know more than 200 people.

[Blarg]

Gluten free!

[deepdrive]

i don't have Celaic. But my daughter eats gluten free, so maybe she does (she says it makes a difference).

[Stradling]

You guys would be blown away by the number or percentage of protein (lettuce wrap) burgers we sell. It is partly due to celiac and partly due to no or low carb diets. When the Atkins diet was all the rage about 10-12 years ago it was one of our biggest percentage up years ever. We have had lettuce wrap burgers since the mid 50's, they use to be called whammies (no idea why).

[fan_since79]

Being a long-suffering Angels fan correlates highly with gastrointestinal issues. I always keep a large bottle of Tums handy during games.

[nate]

There are several types of food product I won't even consider eating, including anything gluten free, anything with tofu, anything with kale, and anything Paleo. I also refuse to eat at any restaurant that doesn't serve meat, like the veggie grill.

Paleo is just meat and veggies. It is stupid as a diet but nothing wrong with those things.

Gluten free is a joke. Just a way for whole foods to make more money off of idiots.

[Tank]

one of my colleagues at work is allergic to a ton of things but doesn't have celiac. she's been eating gluten free for several months now and says she feels better.

[Tank]

There are several types of food product I won't even consider eating, including anything gluten free, anything with tofu, anything with kale, and anything Paleo. I also refuse to eat at any restaurant that doesn't serve meat, like the veggie grill.

 

look, if you don't want to come over for thanksgiving, a polite little note would have been fine. 

 

and if you don't like the veggie grill, i'm afraid we can no longer be friends.

[Tank]

Low self-esteem.

 

possible. she also has memory trouble.

[mp170.6]

I took my elderly aunt to the gastroenterologist last year. 

 

He said people often feel better on gluten-free diets because their diet was horrible to begin with, not because gluten was the problem.  My aunt (age 87) doesn't have celiac disease.  She had the squirts for two months because her pantry resembled a 7-11 store minus the alcohol and Slurpee machine.

[The Ghost of Bob Starr]

I took my elderly aunt to the gastroenterologist last year. 

 

He said people often feel better on gluten-free diets because their diet was horrible to begin with, not because gluten was the problem.  My aunt (age 87) doesn't have celiac disease.  She had the squirts for two months because her pantry resembled a 7-11 store minus the alcohol and Slurpee machine.

 

single?

[Docwaukee]

Gluten intolerance is a spectrum.  It's not binary.  It's estimated to affect 5% of the population and that number is growing.  

[Tank]

Gluten intolerance is a spectrum.  It's not binary.  It's estimated to affect 5% of the population and that number is growing.  

 

can you explain why peanut allergies have increased so dramatically? 

[nate]

can you explain why peanut allergies have increased so dramatically? 

 

They haven't.  Just like autism, awareness has.

[Tank]

They haven't.  Just like autism, awareness has.

 

through my college years, i never knew a single person with peanut allergies. no one in my elementary, high school, or college. zip, zero, nada. in fact, no one even talked about such a thing.

 

now, you can't swing a dead cat without finding someone with a peanut allergy.

[mp170.6]

single?

 

Yes, she's single and would love to meet you.  Unfortunately, you will go deaf after a couple hours because the TV is cranked up to maximum volume.

[Vegas Halo Fan]

through my college years, i never knew a single person with peanut allergies. no one in my elementary, high school, or college. zip, zero, nada. in fact, no one even talked about such a thing.

 

now, you can't swing a dead cat without finding someone with a peanut allergy.

 

I was browsing the shelves at a Sainsburys in London looking for some stuff to take back to my hotel room. On said shelves was a jar of peanuts. On the label - I kid you not -  was a warning that said "Warning: Contains nuts". Really? Who would have figured.

 

I see the gluten free thing as like every other fad that has come and gone over the past several decades. There are conditions that didn't exist 20 years ago, and in my opinion don't exist now. Just like everyone was overweight because of a lack of chromium picolinate, and then green tea was the magic bullet.

[HeavenlyHalos]

through my college years, i never knew a single person with peanut allergies. no one in my elementary, high school, or college. zip, zero, nada. in fact, no one even talked about such a thing.

 

now, you can't swing a dead cat without finding someone with a peanut allergy.

 

Swing a dead cat?