Is gluten free a fad like fat free was?

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Replies

  • Fatandfifty3
    Fatandfifty3 Posts: 419 Member
    I am opting to go gluten free from my own observations of my symptoms (which I won't go into here as it's somewhat indelicate!) I can say I feel better for it and my symptoms are now reduced. I'm not a coeliac but would definately say I'm gluten intolerant. I can cope with small amounts occasionally but it sort of 'builds up' and I certainly know when I've eaten too much!
  • aejbx4x7s
    aejbx4x7s Posts: 111
    I have Celiac disease and am completely baffled that someone would choose to give up gluten completely without medical reasons. Have you never eaten a good bagel?! Oh, what I would give.

    On the other side, more people eating GF as a fad means more companies producing GF food - a delicious upside for me.
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    I have Celiac disease and am completely baffled that someone would choose to give up gluten completely without medical reasons. Have you never eaten a good bagel?! Oh, what I would give.

    On the other side, more people eating GF as a fad means more companies producing GF food - a delicious upside for me.

    This

    I would cut someone for a donut.
  • happyheathen927
    happyheathen927 Posts: 167 Member
    I have Celiac disease and am completely baffled that someone would choose to give up gluten completely without medical reasons. Have you never eaten a good bagel?! Oh, what I would give.

    On the other side, more people eating GF as a fad means more companies producing GF food - a delicious upside for me.

    This

    I would cut someone for a donut.

    So...make a grain-free doughnut? I make them occasionally for my family; my kids prefer them to regular ones and they don't jack my bG up so I can enjoy one too. :)
  • hbunting86
    hbunting86 Posts: 952 Member
    Totally.

    Hot buttered baguette for me with a lovely bowl of homemade tomato soup and I am quite literally in heaven.

    Alas... :(
  • themeaningofthemorning
    themeaningofthemorning Posts: 320 Member
    Yes and no.

    There is a massive amount of evidence to suggest that many people, while not victim to full-blown celiac, are gluten INTOLERANT. Gluten intolerance is often undetectable until the slow harm to the digestive tract results in seemingly unrelated health issues.

    Because so many people are likely to be gluten intolerant, doctors began suggesting a gluten-free trial as a first attempt at a cure for many "mystery problems" like skin issues, hair loss, fatigue, etc.

    Of course, when a gluten-free lifestyle helped a large number of patients, those happy people took to the web with their newfound "miracle cure", not knowing exactly what they were touting and why it works. Now, with a mass of (often inaccurate) information at the fingertips of the uneducated, we have a full-blown fad!

    THE TRUTH: If you are having health issues, speak to your DOCTOR and find out of gluten intolerance is a possible diagnosis for you. DO NOT DIAGNOSE YOURSELF AND EMBARK ON A NEW "DIET" BECAUSE YOU SAW A POST BY SALLY69 ON MYFITNESSPAL.COM!
  • akaMrsmojo
    akaMrsmojo Posts: 762 Member
    I have Celiac disease and am completely baffled that someone would choose to give up gluten completely without medical reasons. Have you never eaten a good bagel?! Oh, what I would give.

    On the other side, more people eating GF as a fad means more companies producing GF food - a delicious upside for me.

    This

    I would cut someone for a donut.

    So...make a grain-free doughnut? I make them occasionally for my family; my kids prefer them to regular ones and they don't jack my bG up so I can enjoy one too. :)

    It is not the same as a hot Krispy Kreme donut.

    Tomato soup sounds great too with a grilled cheese sandwich.
  • martintanz
    martintanz Posts: 280
    Yes, it is a fad for many, but not all people. Every couple of years, someone comes up with a diet that cuts out an entire food group. The difference in this case is, there actually are people who need to be gluten free. So one good thing about this diet fad is that people who need to be gluten free for medical reasons should have an easier time of it getting products, or even restaurant food now.
  • proudandprejudiced
    proudandprejudiced Posts: 127
    Definitely a fad. People see packets saying 'organic' or 'gluten free' or 'vegan' and they instantly think it's healthy and diet food.

    Hint: I know a vegan who eats gluten free, organic, vegan cheesecake and they're fat.
  • stumblinthrulife
    stumblinthrulife Posts: 2,558 Member
    If you have a gluten allergy, no.

    If you don't have a gluten allergy, yes.
  • zyxst
    zyxst Posts: 9,145 Member
    No one is exactly sure why the increase in food related allergies is happening.

    Most likely because people with the allergies are surviving (thanks to modern medicine) and going on to have kids with those allergies. It's similar to people who have a penicillin allergy. No one knew I had it until a doctor's prescription of it caused me to go into anaphylactic shock and nearly choke to death.
  • msannomalley
    msannomalley Posts: 1
    There are people who legitimately have to eat gluten free for health reasons. However, I think that marketers and food companies took the term "gluten-free", created a marketing buzzword, put out misleading information to the general public and started marketing gluten free food to people who don't actually need it so they (the food companies) can make more money. I hate that they did this because when people get tired of the "fad" then it will be at the expense of those who have to eat gluten free foods.
  • binknbaby
    binknbaby Posts: 207 Member
    I lost a lot of weight without trying (without working out, and removing gluten being the only dietary change) when I went gluten free... But that's because gluten triggers my hypothyroid. I wouldn't be gluten-free if I didn't have to be. It actually annoys me when people call it a "diet", because that implies that it is a fad, or something to try short-term... My daughter also has a gluten allergy (breaks out in a rash and has horrible constipation when she has gluten), and I've had people ask when she'll outgrow it, or when I'll "finally" give her gluten. Like many sensitivities, it's misunderstood as being what's popular, rather than what's necessary.

    I've actually heard people say that gluten-free foods (like breads, cookies, etc) "don't count" or are "healthy" just because they're gluten-free. Well, pure sugar is gluten free, but I certainly wouldn't recommend eating it by the spoonful. LOL Gluten-free items have starch and carbs and sugar and other things that will make people gain weight... So when I look at weight loss, it's not the same to me as being gluten free. I can gain weight or maintain a higher weight, while still being gluten-free. So to me, weight loss and gluten-free are two separate categories.

    That said, I think in general, most Americans consume too many grains. we simply don't need as many grains as most people are consuming (average is about 10 servings a day, when we really only need about 4-5 servings a day). And I actually think that has more to do with portion size and not knowing what a real serving is (ie, one slice of bread is one serving, as opposed to the assumption that two slices is one serving). But I think that could be a whole other subject.

    On the whole, most people are just fine with wheat and other glutinous grains, in moderation (just like any other food group--all in moderation). But for some people, like me and my daughter, it affects much more than just weight.
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
    I think people that go gluten free just to do it are silly. If there's a medical reason, I don't consider it a fad. It does help a lot of people. A lot of people have diseases and disorders that cause them to be intolerant to gluten.

    I so agree with this. It helps me -- but I still eat gluten because the "disruptions" are minor in comparison to my enjoyment of homemade bread. I don't get people who cut out when they don't have a medical reason to -- just seems so unnecessarily restrictive.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    Definitely a fad. People see packets saying 'organic' or 'gluten free' or 'vegan' and they instantly think it's healthy and diet food.

    Hint: I know a vegan who eats gluten free, organic, vegan cheesecake and they're fat.

    Because it's STILL cheesecake! Junk food is junk food. Even the "healthy" versions of junk food.
  • SnicciFit
    SnicciFit Posts: 967 Member
    ...and I've had people ask when she'll outgrow it, or when I'll "finally" give her gluten. Like many sensitivities, it's misunderstood as being what's popular, rather than what's necessary.

    If she was allergic to peanuts would they ask when you were finally going to feed her peanuts??!!!
  • happyheathen927
    happyheathen927 Posts: 167 Member
    we simply don't need as many grains as most people are consuming (average is about 10 servings a day, when we really only need about 4-5 servings a day).

    Actually, we don't NEED ANY servings of grain. There's not a single nutrient in grains that you can't get from another food without all the insulin-spiking, inflamation-causing starch.
  • ldrosophila
    ldrosophila Posts: 7,512 Member
    Fad, unless diagnosed with gluten intolerance or celiac's
  • Matt_Wild
    Matt_Wild Posts: 2,673 Member
    Up until a month or two back I'd have said fad. Having suddenly become intolerant to oats and rye bread.... totally valid. Feeling bloated, sick, gassy and unable to eat is not fun!
  • contingencyplan
    contingencyplan Posts: 3,639 Member
    Yes and no. There are a lot of people who have legitimate medical issues that make them unable to digest it without severe medical reactions, and this seems to become more common with each generation (no clue why). But for people who don't have these issues to to go GF, yeah. Total fad with no benefit at all.

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