Not that many years ago, the letters “GF” on a restaurant menu would likely have puzzled many people. No longer.
These days, a gluten-free lifestyle has become one of the most popular diet trends in the U.S. One in five people now reduce or eliminate gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley or rye, in their diet, according to a 2015 Gallup poll.
Avoiding gluten is crucial for people with celiac disease. That’s because, in them, gluten damages the small intestine and nutrients can’t be absorbed. Its symptoms include diarrhea, constipation, bloating, and pain.
But only about 1% of the population has celiac disease, and that number hasn’t changed in recent years, says Hyun-seok Kim, MD. In one study he looked at a national survey taken from 2009 to 2014. Although celiac disease numbers remained stable during that time, the number of people following a gluten-free diet tripled, from 0.5% of the population to nearly 2%.
The study’s researchers say that some who follow a gluten-free diet without a diagnosis of celiac disease may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. People with non-celiac gluten sensitivity have similar symptoms but don’t have celiac disease. People with a wheat allergy may also follow the diet to prevent an allergic reaction.
But do others need to go gluten-free? Maybe not, but because it seems like all grain in flour is processed, these grains are not the grains that our grandparents could buy. You can buy some whole grain products, but read the labels carefully, some things labeled whole grain are not all whole grain, just partially. If a product has partial whole grain it can still put the words “whole grain” on the label. Be sure you can trust the product. Manufacturers today are using the labels for a selling tool.
Who Is Going Gluten-Free, and Why?
Nearly 100 million Americans say they ate gluten-free products in 2015, says William F. Balistreri, MD, a doctor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. Americans spent an estimated $4 billion on gluten-free products in 2015, he says.
Kim’s research has found that women are more likely than men to avoid gluten, and the diet is more popular among 20- to 39-year-olds. It’s also popular among world-class athletes. In another survey, 41% of 910 world-class athletes and Olympic medalists said they followed a gluten-free diet at least half the time, and most had self-diagnosed their gluten sensitivity. Among the many stars reportedly going gluten-free are Gwyneth Paltrow, Russell Crowe, and Kim Kardashiant.
If you thing for any reason that you’re easily bloated after a meal or if your bothered with gas after eating, it won’t hurt to try a gluten-free diet for a couple weeks and see if there’s any difference. It’s simple really, gluten-free products use rice flour instead of other grains. Anything you buy that is made with flour will have gluten unless it states on the package “gluten-free”.
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