In today's Good Food section of the Chicago Trib was an article titled "The Gluten-Free Phenomenon: Has Giving Up Foods Containing Gluten Become the Latest Diet Fad?" In the article, the writer wrote that "Gluten has become the dietary villain du jour, the new "carb," if you will."

I honestly don't feel this is a trend, or a fad. I know of some people cutting gluten out of their diets and remarked how much better they feel. I would say they have a gluten intolerance then if they felt better cutting this out of their diet, don't you think?

The writer interviewed doctors and nutritionists, one of the latter mentioned that this diet is very challenging because gluten is found in so many food products and if you don't cook, your diet can suffer. But on the upside, the nutritionist said that celiacs are better eaters because we consume so many fruits and vegetables. And that gluten is in fact fattening, so gluten-free diets can help you lose weight.

But the article taps into how some people feel gluten free diets help autistic children - which I've heard before - and these families support gluten-free diets for this reason.

The article was quite interesting. If you happen to be a subscriber of the Trib, or their .com version, it's a good read. PLUS, they had a recipe for Chocolate Banana Bread that looked might tasty !! I plan on giving it a try and will definitely share!!

It sounds like the article made a few positive points, but why the obnoxious headline???

I find it really disturbing that gluten-free diets are being described as "trendy" and "fads." This type of terminology makes people more likely to take gluten-free diets, which for many of us are a serious medical restriction, less seriously.

I can only agree,
Its not like people can't eat what they want .... or that aGF diet might not be beneficial but ... AAAGGG
It just makes it more difficult for us. Firstly getting taken seriously above the babble of "fad" dieters but then on what gluten-free really means. The "fad" dieters can quite happily get CC etc. and not know and the resto's etc. get more confused ... why are we sick when the person ast week had the ame dish and wasn't.. not to mention the "brush of the breadcrumbs and pull out the croutons" brigade.

The hardest thing I find being gluten-free is finding the food ... and his just blurs the gluten-free line ... IMHO

I think Jenny McCarthy being on Oprah introduced a lot of people to the bad effects of gluten and casein when she was talking about autism. No telling how many kids she helped that day because their mothers were watching. The more it's talked about, the less weird looks and the less disinterest people will show when you tell them you can't eat gluten.
I remember thinking that people who were gluten intolerant were weak. Like people with allergies. I just think the more press, the better.

I think it is labled trendy or fad because there is no standard rearch or medical acknowledgement beyond Celiac. So if you have Celiac, great it is a must for you. There's research to back up that. But if you are like us where we are neg blood, neg biopsy then this is "trendy" because there isn't anything to back up being wheat/gluten free beyond "I feel better". THere's no labs or test to show improvement or regression just your own common sense. Much like the Syndrome X described in the Atikens and Power Protein diet. Much like the famous "grapefruit diet". It isn't widely accepted, only looked at a by a handful of drs, and a large group of people who "feel better". I have done both of those diets and felt wonderful until I went beyond phase 1 and then I quit because I felt crappy again. WHy?? I added back small amounts of bread and grains. however, I could easily convince myself I had undiagonsised problem with insulin. Now I realize, I just need to get gluten out of my life and I would feel better and not have any problems. However, there isn't a test in the world to confirm or not confirm those results. Hence it's "trendy". In 50 years the medical community will look back and say at one time this ________ was unheard of and often considered to be Celiac when it actually was its own probelm. Much like they are doing with Celiac now.

We're not "trendy" We are just cutting edge!!!!
Stacie

Prevention publishers (Rodale, the organics/health/fitness company) has just published a book called The Gluten Solution that offers going gluten free as a "diet" that will "cure" your joint pain, bloating, fatigue, etc.... I was so shocked that a reputable company would join in on this "trend".

Certainly some people are gluten-sensitive. The book does seem to differentiate between allergies and sensitivity; I don't know where they put celiacs in all that. BUT my problem is this gluten-as-a-trendy-diet thing is that people who are celiac are that much less likely to be taken seriously. Need croutons off your salad -- well, just pick 'em off, if it's just a diet you are choosing to follow, that's easy enough, why are you fussing? I can hear it now....

Argh! and Argh! again

This would all be helped if research would include or start a new research on those who are neg blood, neg biopsy but resolve their symptoms on a gluten free diet and have their symptoms resume on gluten. RIght now my three kids and myself are "neg". Are we neg because we have subclinical Celiac, an allergy to certain grains, or something else involing the grains??? A different toxin in the grain? Same toxin in the grain but no villi damage because of ???? Like the hiv patients that never develop aids due to a blip in their system. Is that what is happening with us? Or is it a yet to be named whole another ball game?? Is that why mass people jump on the bandwagon? They feel better and know it's better but nobody can say why. The whole grain intolerance area is so under researched that until somebody studies very closely people like us and tries to figure out why we can't eat wheat/gluten but don't develop Celiac, it will probably never be taken seriously by the majority. Everybody likes to see numbers and cases. I wish I had better answers to my daughter's issues than "wheat bothers her and we have no idea why so it must be a very delayed allergy". But without that positive biopsy there are no answers. And stupid dribble will be published until the next major "fad" comes along. I'm still amazed at how few drs take the GFCF diet for autsim seriously since it's been labeled "trendy" and doesn't have the "right" research associated with it.
Stacie

I'm such a conspiracy theorist...
What if the agricultural lobbiests are influential in Celiac Research not being done because of the economical impact? I mean, there are dairy lobbiests... milk is NOT the best source for calcium or vit d as the FDA would have us believe. Do you every hear of vegetable lobbiests? Vitamin D is added... makes me wonder who was the first person to decide to drink cow's milk anyway? "Hmmm... I'm thirsty, that cow over there produces milk, I think I'll drink it." It's not like we drink breast milk as adults... just one of my random thoughts.

Anyway, maybe labeling this as trendy is another way to discount it. But if someone wants to label me as trendy because I am proactive in my healthcare, then fine I'll be trendy. But it surely does make it hard to convince someone at a restaurant that you are asking for no bread because you cannot eat it, not because you want it "low-carb".

And when the Dr's bend on the requirement of "must be currently consuming gluten" and listen more to dietary responses, I think we'll be moving in the right direction. When my doctor tested me, I told her I had already been gluten-free for a month. Of course the test came back negative, so she said you don't have celiac. Then what explains how in a matter of weeks I felt a significant improvement in my health? I agree, more research needs to be done on those of us who are "negative".

For what most doctors call among the most common disease, they surely don't know anything about it!!

Ok... enough ranting... I'll go sit alone in the corner with my thoughts... lol

I'm completely 100% fine with people thinking it's we're trendsetters......its our in to start educating everyone which will open tons of doors for us when the "trend" lessens.

besides..I'm pretty cool and trendy to begin with, as are the majority of you on this here little board..it's only natural for people to want to be as cool and smart as us!!

Food manufacturers are always looking for the next "trend" to make money from. There was the low fat trend for a long time. As irritating as it is, if they seize upon this new idea it will actually be a GOOD thing for so many people who remain totally clueless about gluten and how it might be affecting them. I'm sure a lot of people will jump on this possibly new bandwagon, but.....that will actually be a very good thing. I've become increasingly convinced that gluten is bad for everyone, not only for celiacs but also for those who are gluten sensitive but not necessarily celiac. I think everyone is gluten sensitive at the very least, which may account for so many illnesses as well as obestiy. There are a number of factors which influence all these things, and gluten is one of them. (Other suspects being sugar, vegetable oils (overused).

As for the magazines such as this one, it and others will always contain less than factual information written by people who are fairly ignorant about the whole gluten thing, so there you go.

Here's my two cents : I have mixed emotions when people call this a diet , it is a lifestyle out of necessity to live a healthy"normal" life for millions & more to follow. Dr.Fasano states we have only reached the tip of the iceberg & 2 to3 million are yet to be dx'd. I agree.
The old school is changing where as gluten intolerance may actually pass people with full-blown celiacs in the number game....
The gluten-free lifestyle has now been encouraged by different doctors who when they can't find anything else tell the patient, to try the gluten-free way of eating for three months & see how they feel.... if better then stay on the gluten-free, if not go back to eating wheat/gluten.
I personally do not think humans or pets can digest the wheat we have today, if it was the wheat our forefathers ate I think we all would be fine. Wheat has been changed so much since the beginning of the farming era to make it contain more gluten so the breads & bakery things have more fluff & soft texture..
I hear everyday about a doctor telling his patient to try the gluten-free lifestyle for numerous reasons.I have several doctor friends who will not feed their families wheat because it can not be digested properly .
I will never go back to eating wheat even if a magic pill or enzyme becomes available in the future. As with any new drug there are side effects. I see all the drugs that have been now taken off the market due to side effects that the FDA thought was safe.
Now if calling this a trendy, fad diet makes the mainstream mfg's take notice & rush to get into the gluten-free ring then so be it. It will make prices come down & that is a win win situation for us true gluten-free trendy,fad dieters..................................................

peace

mamaw

mamaw,

I totally agree, when I first started to eat gluten free, I had told my brother and he said that I am into a fad diet and it won't last long. I don't like to argue with people so I just backed off and did not say anymore. I agree for some people it is medically necessary who do have a true diagnoses. But for people like me who don't it does look like a fad diet, but I don't care because I feel better on the diet and if more and more people buy gluten free food that is fine let them they are just paving the way for us who do buy get cheaper prices out of it.

donna

That's why a restaurants I tell them I have a very severe allergy to WBRO..not the best for public ed, but when they hear food allergy, they perk up.