What are the benefits of Gluten Free?

I would disagree that it isn't a fad, by definition. But thank you for your post. I don't know much about gluten, or Celiac Disease, so I wanted to better understand. Definitely not trying to knock GF, just really curious, and uninformed.

Is gluten just in wheat, or is it in other products?

If you're forced to eat a certain way because your body doesn't digest wheat, how is that a fad? it's no different from taking medicine to treat an illness - it's what you have to do to stay healthy. For people with Celiac it's not a choice. Fads are - by definition - not necessary to your health.

Gluten is found in a number of grains:

Barley, including barley malt
Bran
Bulgur
Farina
Kamut
Orzo
Semolina
Spelt
Wheat

and in anything with wheat, wheat flour, white flour, etc as an ingredient. tons of processed foods also include it.

Oh please, I know SO many people that jump on the GF train without seeing a doctor, conducting tests, seeing a nutritionist, etc. They just decide one day that going GF will change their life and make their body some high powered machine. Then when that doesn't work, they keep experimenting (e.g. going dairy free, cutting out meat, cutting our fruit, etc). Messing with your body without guidance is incredibly irresponsible and could lead to further intolerances and digestive issues. Also, going GF pretty prevalent in EDs now because it's a way to restrict the diet and avoid carbohydrates under the rouse of being GF. To say that it is helpful to many people is correct, but to say it isn't a fad is a total falsehood.

Oh please, I know SO many people that jump on the GF train without seeing a doctor, conducting tests, seeing a nutritionist, etc. They just decide one day that going GF will change their life and make their body some high powered machine. Then when that doesn't work, they keep experimenting (e.g. going dairy free, cutting out meat, cutting our fruit, etc). Messing with your body without guidance is incredibly irresponsible and could lead to further intolerances and digestive issues. Also, going GF pretty prevalent in EDs now because it's a way to restrict the diet and avoid carbohydrates under the rouse of being GF. To say that it is helpful to many people is correct, but to say it isn't a fad is a total falsehood.

yeah i don't necessarily see anything wrong with that... reducing or eliminating gluten from your diet won't cause digestive issues...

I think there are some people who treat it as a fad. Like it's some new lose weight quick scheme. I wholeheartedly disagree. Yes, once you eliminate breads and some processed foods, you will lose weight...that's common sense. But then your body adjusts. You find other ways to eat and other alternatives. The reason you think it's a hot topic is just because people are becoming more aware of it. 15 years ago my dad almost died because of the lack of knowledge. Yes, he got the emergency allergy shot at the hospital but they didn't know what caused it. So, what? He was just supposed to stop eating all together?

Now, I can go to Whole Foods and buy chocolate covered gluten free pretzels. I have at least 9 or 10 different types of gluten free flours in my kitchen because I have to find new ways to eat. You know that awesome tasting gravy you can put on mashed potatoes? Well sorry...I don't want to have a reaction because in order to make it thick, wheat flour was added.

So, I can totally see why you think it just came out of nowhere but trust me...it is no fad. At least not for the people who are genuinely suffering from it.

My sister has celiacs as well and I agree with everything you said! Unfortunately, I know so many people who are GF for weight loss and it really irritates me. I think the OP was just saying that, unless you have an intolerance, why go GF?

Exactly, if you don't HAVE to, please don't! You know what I wouldn't give for some regular chocolate chip cookies or a slice of carrot cake lol This is not a walk in the park!

Oh please, I know SO many people that jump on the GF train without seeing a doctor, conducting tests, seeing a nutritionist, etc. They just decide one day that going GF will change their life and make their body some high powered machine. Then when that doesn't work, they keep experimenting (e.g. going dairy free, cutting out meat, cutting our fruit, etc). Messing with your body without guidance is incredibly irresponsible and could lead to further intolerances and digestive issues. Also, going GF pretty prevalent in EDs now because it's a way to restrict the diet and avoid carbohydrates under the rouse of being GF. To say that it is helpful to many people is correct, but to say it isn't a fad is a total falsehood.

yeah i don't necessarily see anything wrong with that... reducing or eliminating gluten from your diet won't cause digestive issues...

Eliminating anything from your diet for an extended period of time, when you have no prior issues with it, can lead to an intolerance. I grew up drinking milk and dairy products with no issues, then developed a mild intolerance once I stopped consuming dairy.

In my opinion, eliminating anything from the diet when you have no allergic/intolerance or other medical issue, or ethical opposition, is silly. If you can, and want to eat something, then eat it. Messing with your diet constantly (especially without guidance) to try to reach some unattainable level of perfection will just lead to issues in the future.

you probably developed an intolerance to dairy because you got older. that's how it works. we lose the lactase enzyme as we age.

but regardless, you can also develop intolerance to something you've eaten in large quantities all your life - so it goes both ways.

I will admit that I roll my eyes at people who go GF who don't have to. Because I have to. If you don't have a medical reason, don't do it. It makes those of us who don't have a choice look like we are jumping on a bandwagon.

I know this isn't the same thing, but this is what bothers me about being a vegetarian. I am one primarily for ethical reasons and have been for years, but I'm tired of people jumping on the veg*n bandwagon because they think it will help them lose weight, restrict, or make them supremely healthy. Also, it's damn annoying when those same people eat fish or eat a burger once a year as a "treat". It's why some people act like I'm a pain in the *kitten* because I don't want to eat chicken, fish, and mind it if my soup is made with chicken broth.

people don't have to live their lives based on the way you live yours. and the way they live their lives has NO reflection on you. It actually has nothing to do with you at all.

If someone wants to become a vegetarian because they want the health benefits, who are you to say that's wrong?

I will admit that I roll my eyes at people who go GF who don't have to. Because I have to. If you don't have a medical reason, don't do it. It makes those of us who don't have a choice look like we are jumping on a bandwagon.

I know this isn't the same thing, but this is what bothers me about being a vegetarian. I am one primarily for ethical reasons and have been for years, but I'm tired of people jumping on the veg*n bandwagon because they think it will help them lose weight, restrict, or make them supremely healthy. Also, it's damn annoying when those same people eat fish or eat a burger once a year as a "treat". It's why some people act like I'm a pain in the *kitten* because I don't want to eat chicken, fish, and mind it if my soup is made with chicken broth.

people don't have to live their lives based on the way you live yours. and the way they live their lives has NO reflection on you. It actually has nothing to do with you at all.

If someone wants to become a vegetarian because they want the health benefits, who are you to say that's wrong?

Because being a vegetarian is a lifestyle, not a quick fix. And, as I said, many of those same people have a burger as a "treat" or will occasionally eat chicken or fish, and then call themselves a vegetarian. They put a label on something and adapt the lifestyle without adhering to it. Some people abandon the lifestyle if it doesn't give them what they want (e.g. weight loss). That makes things more difficult for people who DO adhere to the lifestyle and take it very seriously; we're viewed as a pain in the *kitten* because we don't have chicken "just this once".

Basically, as awareness of celiacs increased, GF became a band wagon to jump on. I have several friends who go this or that free for a few months here or there in order to try to lose a few extra pounds. It is another way to control what you eat by eliminating something you like from your diet.

I would disagree that it isn't a fad, by definition. But thank you for your post. I don't know much about gluten, or Celiac Disease, so I wanted to better understand. Definitely not trying to knock GF, just really curious, and uninformed.

Is gluten just in wheat, or is it in other products?

If you're forced to eat a certain way because your body doesn't digest wheat, how is that a fad? it's no different from taking medicine to treat an illness - it's what you have to do to stay healthy. For people with Celiac it's not a choice. Fads are - by definition - not necessary to your health.

Gluten is found in a number of grains:

Barley, including barley malt
Bran
Bulgur
Farina
Kamut
Orzo
Semolina
Spelt
Wheat

and in anything with wheat, wheat flour, white flour, etc as an ingredient. tons of processed foods also include it.

Oh please, I know SO many people that jump on the GF train without seeing a doctor, conducting tests, seeing a nutritionist, etc. They just decide one day that going GF will change their life and make their body some high powered machine. Then when that doesn't work, they keep experimenting (e.g. going dairy free, cutting out meat, cutting our fruit, etc). Messing with your body without guidance is incredibly irresponsible and could lead to further intolerances and digestive issues. Also, going GF pretty prevalent in EDs now because it's a way to restrict the diet and avoid carbohydrates under the rouse of being GF. To say that it is helpful to many people is correct, but to say it isn't a fad is a total falsehood.

I wanted to lose weight, so it was suggested I give up wheat products and grains. When I asked "why them?" I was told they are the bulk of the problems in today's health world. I asked further and was told "Well, we humans survived before agriculture and wheat was eaten, so we really don't need wheat and our bodies aren't designed to digest it..."

I went off wheat and grains, and dropped 20 lbs in three months. I went into my doc's office and had bloodwork drawn because I wanted to check my cholesterol. Interesting sidebar: my RA factor had been at 23, or in the "danger zone for positive", according to my doctor, prior to going off wheat (and gluten). I had been experiencing all over body aches, muscle pains, skin rashes, moody, PMS, gas, bloating and insomnia. AFTER I went off wheat (remember, I didn't say GF here), my symptoms disappeared in a week. After three months, my cholesterol dropped 40 pts and my RA was back down to 14, a safe range.

I had an undiagnosed auto immune response to something my doctor never identified. She tested me for fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, lupus and RA. What she didn't test me for was a gluten intolerance. But, the change in my diet cured ALL my symptoms the doctor assumed were of the above. Gluten was the culprit, and I had the evidence to show it.

Please don't tell me that all people who choose GF are doing it as a "fad". I wanted to lose weight, it was suggested I give up WHEAT and all WHEAT products, and as a result, my health improved tremendously. I've been GF for 2 yrs now and I hadn't felt this good in years.

My benefits of going gluten-free are not having violent vomiting and diarrhoea strikes, feeling like crap all the time and wanting to die. It's quite relaxing to not have these problems, believe it or not.

Then again, I'm a coeliac.

My mother was recently tested and found out that she was gluten intolerant. She has struggled with moderate to severe IBS since I was a child. Since going GF she hasn't suffered any IBS episodes, her chronic skin inflammation cleared, and she happened to lose weight in the process. In the last couple years I started developing the same painful, severe IBS symptoms I recognized in her so long ago. I had some lactose intolerance so I eliminated dairy and still struggled with the same symptoms. After she was tested she suggested I might be intolerant also. I stopped eating gluten products and have not had any painful symptoms since then. I have also noticed a lot less joint pain (i have osteoarthritis at 36 yo). I have also successfully reintroduced yogurt with no problems. I only eat whole foods, nothing processed, so I don't find GF that difficult to follow. My regular grains are rice and quinoa. That being said, I'm not celiac so if I decide to have something with gluten or even a product that might be contaminated I can without danger (since its not an allergy), but it does mean I will suffer some very painful consequences.