Pet Peeve- Gluten Free

If you pay attention to sites like foodgawker.com or tastespotting.com  (aka greedy girl porn), you can see when a certain flavor or food is the new hotness among foodies.  Nutella. Salted caramel. Macarons. Pork belly. Kale chips. Cake pops. Gluten free.

I was at my Co-op last week and a couple in front of me was chatting with a super-friendly cashier.  The husband was making macaroni and cheese for the first time, but only for himself.  The wife stated their son doesn’t like mac’n’cheese and she’s gluten free at the moment.

What? Come on.

Why is a dietary restriction due to the what MayoClinic.com describes as “an immune reaction in … small intestines, causing damage to the inner surface of the small intestine” a fad?  Maybe people don’t realize there are approximately 3 million Americans that struggle with daily food options because ingestion of wheat, barley or rye will lead to a variety of problems including GI symptoms such as abdominal cramps, diarrhea, vomiting, steatorrhea (fatty stool).  I have a friend, who just got married 10/12/12 (woot woot!) and the best man described him as Superman who’s Kryptonite is a dinner roll.

According to a study recently published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, authors found an estimated prevalence of Celiac Disease (CD) in the United States of 0.71% (1 in 141), with most cases undiagnosed.  The prevalence for those on a gluten free diet (GFD) is 0.63%.  Most of the NHANES subjects on a GFD had not been given a diagnosis of CD.

About 1% of Americans have Celiac disease.  Today on foodgawker.com there are over 10,000 entries under ‘gluten free’.  The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases estimate that 30 to 50 million Americans are lactose intolerant.  There are 145 entries on foodgawker.com for ‘lactose free’.  I understand that people may be trying to avoid white carbohydrates- flour, sugar, potatoes, etc.- because they have little to no nutritional value (but they can be oh so delicious).  But a gluten free diet seems unnecessary for most.  The authors of the study also state “self-treatment with a GFD is not recommended and should be discouraged.”  So if you think you have a problem, seek medical attention.  But if you are testing out a GFD for kicks, seek a hobby.