Is being Gluten Free a Fad or .....?!?!?!?!

ABC Nightly News had a report on this a couple of days ago. The Dr. they were talking to said people that aren't allergic to it should not go gluten free. I've never thought about going gluten free and the report has me believing that I shouldn't . I can't remember all the details of the report but maybe you can see it online.

In my personal opinion it is a fad HOWEVER there are people who have a very legitimate reason (EDIT: Celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivty) to go gluten free and for these people it is in their best interest to do so. In that regard, I'd say it's a fad but I'd put a little asterisk by it.

I found not eating wheat made my tummy flatter. according to the diet I was on, wheat makes women bloat!

i went gluten free because i would feel pretty crap after i ate gluten products. i feel loads better when i don't eat them, but if you don't have a medical reason to do it then its a little faddy to shout from the rooftops that everyone should be gluten free.

Whether there is some type of gluten sensitivity in some people that don't have cialic disease is bit of a controversial topic. I tend to believe that there are some people that are sensitive to gluten, but wheat gluten is not "bad" in a general sense as some would have you believe.

You also folks that make the logical leap from "I'm sensitive to wheat gluten" to "All carbs are always bad for everyone in every context."

Gluten makes me quite sick (allergy); therefore, I don't eat it.

Obviously not a fad for people who need to avoid gluten, but when I was in high school I knew a few girls who went gluten free for no apparent reason (they weren't intolerant or allergic)

I stopped eating gluten for 3 months, now I can't go back to it or I get either headaches or bad stomach cramps.

Makes me wonder... why is it making me feel bad now and not before? Are we all just conditioned to accept something that our body doesn't want?

My husband and ny daughter are have coeliac disease and are very sick if they eat anything containing gluten. It is a serious condition with risks of stomach and intestinal cancer along with high risk of diabetes and thyroid disorders. GF food is also incredibly expensive. I have noticed that it seems "trendy" to have an allergy to products. Many people are genuine but there is a few out there that are being extra. My hubby is desperately trying to gain weight / bodybuild but has limited foods and supplements available and GF foods are extortionate.

Some people have medical disorders (e.g. gluten intolerance, Coeliac disease) that make eating gluten physically harmful. For these people, avoiding gluten entirely has clear health benefits. I know of no widely accepted health benefits of eating a gluten-free diet for people without these disorders.

Having to go Gluten free is not supposed to be a fad. There are people who have a gluten intolerance, Celiac disease. It's very similar to a lactose intolerance.

Gluten-free dining seems to incorporate a multitude of things including, but not limited to a total gluten allergy, a gluten sensitivity, a wheat allergy, and a wheat sensitivity. It's possible to be sensitive to wheat but be able to eat other grains, like oats. It's possible to be allergic to both wheat and oats, because of the proteins in both grains. It's also possible to be sensitive and not allergic.

There are those who say that certain people are more susceptible than others, sort of how some people seem to be more lactose intolerant than others. People who can trace their lineage back to Northern Europe and Eastern Europe are thought to be more susceptible to celiac. Similar to people of Italian, Greek, or Arab descent and G6PD deficiency causing an allergy to Fava beans.

There's also an argument that says that we've completely bastardized the wheat grain through genetic modification, to the point that it's foreign. Gluten-free does NOT mean organic or GMO, just for the record. There's also an argument that says that we're a hunter gatherer species and that we were never meant to eat grain. While I'm sure there's some validity to both arguments, I don't subscribe to either.

My diet's been mostly wheat-free for over a decade. I took wheat out of the diet when I linked looking 5 mos pregnant (distended / hard bloated belly) with eating an entire bagel or two slices of pizza. After I ate either, within a few hours, I went from nice abs to a bloated sack of rock hard tummy crampiness. I also had skin problems and my seasonal allergies were out of control, even on meds.

By taking the wheat out of my diet on my own and by adding the occasional probiotic, my skin's quieted down, my seasonal allergies (and cat allergies) are almost nil, and I'm no longer freaking my family out with my pseudo-pregger bloat. On the occasional chance that enough wheat does sneak in, the bloat returns. (I've gone as far as a half a breaded cheese stick followed by lots of probiotics and have been ok. I made the mistake of eating bread overseas, where the wheat is less modified and my skin flared up something fierce.) I've never tested positive on blood work for Celiac, and I've been GF for too long for it to show up on an endoscopy.

So, no. I personally don't think it's a fad. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

(edited by OP: Italians and Eastern Europeans susceptible to gluten sensitivities, not lactose intolerance. )

In my personal opinion it is a fad HOWEVER there are people who have a very legitimate reason (EDIT: Celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivty) to go gluten free and for these people it is in their best interest to do so. In that regard, I'd say it's a fad but I'd put a little asterisk by it.

^^ This.

For some, gluten free is a necessity due to a medical condition. For others, its just a fad. People have told me they lost a lot of weight going gluten free without the medical need to, but I've read people lose weight only because it can be pretty restricting.

People who go crazy over eating gluten free (without medical reasons) make me roll my eyes more than Dr. Oz does.

My husband has a disease which makes it so his body doesnt process anything with gluten. Everytime he eats something with gluten in it he gets hella sick...It isnt a fad, its a condition.

Gluten is in ALOT if not most everything so its really hard not too lose weight if you go gluten free because there is only a certain amount of things that you can eat!