A lot of people do it because they have diseases that gluten can aggravate. My sister is a medical doctor, she got diagnosed with Crohn's disease, which is chronic, and she cut out gluten, processed foods, and junk food. She's now healthy and is off the drugs she was told she would need for life :) so it's not just allergies, there's a lot more to it :)
What you're describing is intolerance to gluten. You're right, it's not an allergy because the pathologic process is different (lack of certain enzymes that break down gluten, also faults in mechanisms that make sure the gluten is absorbed). Most people have intolerance, thoguh, not allergies or if they do have allergies, they're mild.
All in all, you get a B+and a cookie for your comment. :)
When we found out I had Coeliacs disease, we went to the shops to work out a new diet plan and found these absolutely delicious chocolate muffins... But they no longer sell them for some reason ;-;
Angie - I think what OP was referring to is people who use gluten-free purely as a diet to lose weight or be healthy (with no extenuating circumstances) which is not what it is intended for
Most of the people who say gluten is bad for you are the ones who can eat and process it just fine they are just using it as a fad diet. which just creates credibility issues for those who actually have gluten related problems. these are the same people that slam on everybody who doesn't eat the same thing they do which also creates problems for vegetarians or whatever they are called now.
It doesn't, its (for non sensitive people anyhow) necessary for health its like protein and fat both are needed in human diets for different reasons, fat for instance is needed for absorption of vitamin A, protein is converted to energy. All things in moderation for health!
My cousin can't eat gluten, and one time at Christmas (we didn't know at the time) he had a bunch of twizzlers and was sick for days, because apparently those have a lot of gluten in them, he finally got a test and is a lot healthier now that he doesn't eat it. I can't say I'd voluntarily give it up (although damn those gluten-free graham crackers are delicious) but not everyone has the choice to eat it or not!
(also, part of me wants to make a Nightvale reference, so avoid wheat and wheat by-products as they may turn into highly venomous snakes.)
My mother has Celiac's disease and restaurants that say a particular dish is "mostly gluten free" piss her off that because of those people these restaurants think the whole thing is a ridiculous fad.
For the most part, the whole thing is a ridiculous fad. A very small percentage of our population is allergic to gluten. Processed gluten(white bread etc) is fattening and can feed sickness, but many people are 'allergic' to gluten because of a web article or it's what their friends are doing. I'm not saying your mother is one of those people because from your comment it doesn't sound like she is, I'm just confirming the fad thing.
I heard that eating gluten free is bad for you if you don't have an allergy/intolerance to it. I don't remember the reason behind it but that's what I heard.
Also, I remember reading something about this woman with celiac asked if they had anything gluten free and the server went on about how she didn't look like she had celiac, so she didn't have it, because she knows how people with it look like and she did not. It was stupid and rude.
I heard the same thing, too. I don't remember where but they said having a gluten free diet when you aren't intolerant can make you sick. I'm not sure how much is true though
Yeah, it damages the villi ( vili ? ) anyway, if you stop eating it ( if you're allergic to it ) you should heal up in a few months to a year, but depending on how long you've had the problem maybe not so much.
My baby sister is celiac and is also lactose intolerant. People always give us looks and make rude comments when she doesn't eat anything or we say she can't have it.
When a product says 'gluten free' the gluten is being replaced by something else. Like potato starch. Just like how diet sodas replace sugar with splenda or aspartame which is sooo much worse for you. If you choose this diet, it's important to still know what you're ingesting (obviously).
My brother has to eat a gluten-free diet because he can't pay attention when he eats gluten-y things. We think he might be a bit ADD but we don't want to put him on medication because that goes on his medical record, and he won't be allowed to fly for the Air Force if he's on an attention medicine. Besides, he says he can pay attention much better when he's gluten-free, and he gets dizzy when he eats things with gluten. We thought he might be kidding around, so we put him back on it without telling him, and we got a call from his school saying he'd fainted in the middle of class for no reason. So, yeah. End story.
Even if your not celiac, gluten can put a lot of fat around your mid section (wheat belly) it also tends to make people sluggish. Us Americans eat far too much white bread....which is over processed and has TONS of sugar and salt....not healthy. The more you know.
Hr2burn, white bread is garbage for you. It's not the gluten in it that makes it bad, it's the processed sugar and nutrient-less starch carbs that make it bad for you
All in all, you get a B+and a cookie for your comment. :)
(also, part of me wants to make a Nightvale reference, so avoid wheat and wheat by-products as they may turn into highly venomous snakes.)
Also, I remember reading something about this woman with celiac asked if they had anything gluten free and the server went on about how she didn't look like she had celiac, so she didn't have it, because she knows how people with it look like and she did not. It was stupid and rude.
If you can't, you are part of the credibility problem we're talking about.