Why are gluten-free diets so popular?

Gluten is an important nutrient, not potassium cyanide. A gluten-free diet is a special type of diet intended for people with celiac disease.

Dangers of gluten free diets

A review of existing data shows that there are detrimental effects to going gluten free, including loss of the dietary fiber, deficiencies in dietary minerals and vitamins, and potential heavy metal exposure. Healthcare practitioners should query patients about their dietary choices, and in cases of questionable adoption of gluten-free diet, patients and parents are educated about the detriments of a gluten-free diet, and in cases where patients continue to insist on gluten-free foods, referrals to nutritional counseling are warranted in order to minimize potential harm.

Why people are blindly following fad diets? Herd Instinct?

Robert H. Shmerling, MD, is the former clinical chief at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center now practicing in Boston, MA. He has over 37 years of experience in arthritis and autoimmune diseases than other specialists in his area. He graduated from Harvard Medical School medical school in 1983.

“The dangers of gluten have probably been overstated – and oversold. Don’t be swayed by an elite athlete or movie star to restrict your diet when there’s no medical reason to do so.”

Gluten-free diet – truth, myth, diet fad, or a commercial trick?

Dr. R.H. Shmerling says that a diet could be identified as a myth, or diet fad, if:

• There is no compelling scientific evidence to support it.
• There is at least some scientific evidence against it.
• There is a pseudo-scientific explanation that may have intuitive appeal (for example, enemas to “detoxify” the colon).
• The idea defies standard understanding of biology or has no reasonable biologic explanation. An example is a diet that is said to help you lose weight despite increasing your caloric intake and reducing exercise.

Why healthy people blindly go gluten-free?

Why are gluten-free diets so popular? In 2018, National Post published an article “Gluten free craze growing: only 1% of Canadians are celiacs, but 9 million people are on restricted diet, industry expert claims.” The title says it all. Of the “adopters’ who avoid gluten for non-medical reasons, 25% do it to lose weight, 25% do it for general health, 40% say they feel better and some avoid it out of sympathy for a family member.

The main reasons for a growing number of healthy people blindly following a gluten-free diet are:

• Healthier choice: People think that a gluten-free diet is a healthier choice.
• Intuition: it just seems like a good idea.
• Belief: People believe that it may improve nonspecific gastrointestinal symptoms
• Availability: Gluten-free products are now more widely available
• Self-diagnosing: a large number of people are self-diagnosing themselves with gluten sensitivity. The logic is: if gluten is bad for people with celiac disease, maybe it’s bad for me.

• Celebrity endorsement: If eliminating gluten is encouraged by someone I admire, maybe I should give it a try.
• Testimonials: hearing about someone with bothersome symptoms that finally went away after eliminating gluten is difficult to ignore.
• Commercial marketing trick: Big corporations selling gluten-free products or books about gluten-free diets can be convincing even if there’s little science to back it up.

Thinking about going gluten-free? Think again!