When did we all become gluten intolerant? Moreover, what exactly does that mean? Gluten, a protein found in grains, can cause extremely painful symptoms for people with Celiac disease. Symptoms include depression, ADHD-like behavior, abdominal pain, headaches, bone or joint pain, and chronic fatigue.1 A reported 1.4 million Americans are (medically) diagnosed with Celiac. The real birth of Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) sufferers began following a published finding in Australia.
In 2011, researcher Peter Gibson released findings that NCGS was indeed real and for this, many are crediting Gibson for creating a worldwide phenomenon. Last year alone, revenue from gluten-free products reached $10.5 billion, with nearly 18 millions Americans identifying themselves as NCGS.2 As more Americans were self-prescribing this new medical condition, food companies saw this as a very lucrative business. But Dr. Peter Gibson was unsettled by the surge of NCGS sufferers and wanted, in the best of terms, a do- over. In a second and far more thorough study, Gibson and his team found that subjects given placebos began to experience a list of NCGS symptoms that were so painful he then turned his research on studying those who had self-diagnosed gluten sensitivity and the results were startling. Psychological disease can spread as quickly as a common flu virus but with far more reaching effects. More disturbing, is that the rise of NCGS appears to be driven by mass consumers and corporations without real medical research.3
Most damaging, however, is how this all affects true Celiac disease sufferers who are associated with those who self-prescribe. Celiac sufferer and author Crystal Harris recognizes that the sudden emergence of 18 million NCGS sufferers has been bitter-sweet. Today, it is much easier to find products both she and her daughter, who also suffers with Celiac disease, can consume but the gluten-free skeptics do not understand how debilitating her disease can be. They hope their upcoming book, “Princess Bree Goes Gluten Free: A Tale of a Celiac Princess” will educate the public on their disease.4 But what of the 18 million Americans who truly believe they can no longer tolerate gluten? With more exploratory research has come new information that it may not be the gluten, but chemicals such as fructose and fructan that are the real cause of the Celiac-like symptoms.5 Perhaps the millions of sufferers will at last force the FDA and other governing bodies to better protect the consumer (and their digestive systems!) and bring real food back to the table.
2 Strom, S. (2014, February 17). A Big Bet on Gluten-Free. NYTimes.
3 Pomeroy, S. (2014, May 15). Gluten Intolerance May Not Exist. Forbes.
5 Laforest, L. (2014, August 16). A Balanced Look at Gluten Sensitivity. Science-based Medicine.
Oh, let me count the ways! This is just one of the many bandwagons everyone's jumping on, and I would love to know more. It's confusing enough trying to maintain a healthy diet, figuring out what season grows what and which one of those whats tastes the best, without the contradictory stuff added to it. Eat meat. Don't eat meat. Proteins are bad. Proteins can help you lose weight. Carbs are evil incarnate. Carbs are the intestinal savior.
ReplyDelete*sighs*
I hope this topic, along with several of those other fads, is a subject you delve into as you continue along this journey. I really would enjoy getting some facts, figures, and informative detail from someone I know--someone that's willing to seek the best sources for the more useful details.
Thanks for starting the conversation!
Alex, This is a great topic. I am always wanting to know more about this "gluten-free thing." This was very interesting to read and has sparked an even bigger curiosity for me to find out what this is all about.
ReplyDelete