Gluten-Free Diets May Not Just Be A Fad

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Many people may not be aware, but there is indeed a valid reason to label food items as ‘gluten-free’ rather than just a fad.

Although gluten-rich foods affect mostly people with gluten celiac disease or recently, for people diagnosed with gluten-sensitivity, the fact is that gluten is a substance that is present in grains and cereals like wheat and flour and is responsible for the elastic properties of dough and may potentially be harmful for everyone.

This, after landmark studies have been conducted linking people with celiac disease to gluten and one of the most recent findings is for people without having celiac disease but have experienced symptoms similar to it.

Professor David Sanders, consultant gastroenterologist of the for the Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, says that gluten-free diets are definitely a no-no for people with celiac disease, but new findings also reveal that there are people who occasionally suffer symptoms of those with celiac disease when consuming gluten.

“Currently, gluten-free food is outselling all other diet options,” Prof. Sanders said, adding that there are reports stating that 60 percent of people buy and consume food products that are gluten-free.

Prof. Sanders also pointed out that his team conducted a survey back in 2014 that revealed some 13 percent of the population believes that their bodies have negative reactions to gluten.

This, according to Prof. Sanders, is a condition known as Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) which science is only beginning to understand as previous theories limit gluten-related effects to celiac disease.

Based on his own data-gathering process that covered a period of seven years, Prof. Sanders said that this gluten sensitivity is characteristic of symptoms strikingly similar to those with celiac disease but were diagnosed to be negative of it.

He pointed out that the majority of those who reported these symptoms were predominantly female in ranging from 30 to 45 years old and with high incidence of irritable bowel symptoms, with half of these people had HLA, DQ2 or DQ8 genes that are associated with celiac disease.

German researchers, in another study, also revealed that people with these genes are linked with people diagnosed with Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) for which the symptoms are proven to improve with a gluten-free diet.

Normal gut conditions among humans usually build resistance to gluten as part of the body’s immune system by fighting off the effects of gluten in the body and builds immunity, it is still advised that gluten should only be consumed within tolerable levels to stay healthy.

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