It seems like everywhere I look today, I see articles in the news giving “advice” to people to not abandon gluten in their diets. They talk about how gluten free diets are harmful, make you deficient in many vitamins, and can increase your chances of developing heart disease or cancer. They talk about how nearly 1/3 of Americans avoid gluten, when only 1% of them have diagnosed Celiac disease. (source) So what’s the deal?
First of all, the basis of these articles is warped, at the very least. These so-called experts are taking a medical issue, oversimplifying it, combining it with their arrogance and a lack of complete understanding, and then spreading it. And it’s frustrating.
Gluten free diets today are seen as a “fad”, and the people writing articles about how they’re not necessary for 99% of the population are perpetuating that rumor, and hurting people in the process.
Without knowing somebody’s complete medical history, you can’t possibly have the authority to tell them that gluten is good for them, or that they need it in their diet. Every person has different genetics, environments, and struggles.
It’s true that only about 1% of the population has Celiac disease. But gluten free diets are recommended for ANYONE with an autoimmune disease or chronic illness because of the inflammation that it causes, the immune response it invokes, and the damage that can ensue from all of that.
Celiac disease is merely one manifestation of a gluten intolerance.
Some Autoimmune Diseases Related to Gluten Sensitivity:
- Celiac disease
- Hashimotos Thyroiditis
- Graves Disease
- Rheumatoid Arthritis
- Vitiligo
- Sjrogen’s
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Crohn’s disease
- Ulcerative Colitis
- Type 1 Diabetes
So while celiac is 1% of the population, what about those with Hashimoto’s? Lupus? Type 1 Diabetes? Rheumatoid Arthritis? There are over 80 autoimmune diseases that doctors know of right now. Add all of those together and it’s estimated that 50 million Americans have an autoimmune disease and SHOULD be avoiding gluten. That’s not including people with chronic Lyme disease, that are also recommended to avoid gluten (about 2.8 million people, with an additional 300,000 being diagnosed every year).
Just because those people don’t have Celiac disease, doesn’t mean that gluten isn’t harmful for them. So while people are being told that only about 3 million Americans need to avoid gluten, the number is closer to 53 million. That’s quite a difference!
With articles being published saying that those who don’t eat gluten are following a fad diet, just trying to lose weight, or not really sick are potentially harming the rest of us.
Every time that I consume gluten (and it could be as small as a thumbnail sized piece of bread), my body will fight that immune reaction for 6 months. SIX MONTHS.
My thyroid will be attacked by my immune system, causing my hormones to wreak havoc. My body will be less likely to be able to fight off common viruses and bacteria because my immune system is busy with the gluten. I don’t have Celiac disease… but I can’t eat gluten.
Some of the bogus claims for not following gluten free diets include:
- it makes you deficient in vitamins because wheat is a good source of fiber and vitamins
- gluten free diets are full of refined grains and are low in nutrients because of that
- “studies show gluten-free diets can be deficient in fiber, iron, folate, niacin, thiamine, calcium, vitamin B12, phosphorus and zinc”. (source)
- “whole grains contain 31 differentantioxidants“
You want me to believe that bread is the best form of fiber that I can get? No. I can still get plenty of fiber from vegetables, fruit, nuts, brown rice, and oats. Plus, bread often contains ingredients like high fructose corn syrup (which just adds to the sugar you’re eating daily) or bromine (which depletes you of iodine, which is critical for thyroid health).
The only way to go gluten free is to replace regular cookies, crackers, and cereal with gluten free cookies, crackers and cereal? This doesn’t even make sense. Cookies are cookies, gluten or not. If you’re suffering from a disease and have talked to any healthcare professional that wants to help you heal yourself, then you’ve probably been told to change your diet. As in, no more Standard American Diet.
No replacing processed wheat foods with processed gluten free counterparts. Only real food! Fruits. Vegetables. Meat. Eggs. Nuts. Oils. Whole foods, healing foods. Chock full of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. And naturally gluten free.
I can’t get antioxidants from anything but my whole grain cereal? Actually, the best sources of antioxidants are fruits & veggies, nuts, herbs, and green tea. Again, naturally gluten free.
So the bottom line here is this: You don’t NEED wheat to be eating healthy. It’s NOT a fad to go gluten free. You don’t KNOW what someone else’s medical history is. DON’T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS. If someone said they were allergic to nuts, you’d take them seriously, wouldn’t you? Why not give any allergy or intolerance the same courtesy? They all mean the same thing: our body can’t handle the food.
What have you found to be the best way to avoid gluten without going nutritionally bankrupt?
Read more here on the benefits of gluten free diets.
Update Notes
This article was originally published in June 2016 and was updated in April 2018.
Disclosure
I am not a doctor and this information should not be considered medical advice. You should seek the advice of your own medical professional for your own situation.
I appreciate your article. My daughter has a chronic illness and is gluten free. If she goes off this, she usually gets very sick. A couple of her children are also very sensitive. Thanks for sharing.
It’s a big deal, and becomes more prevalent by the day! More people need to be aware of the many chronic illnesses and why we can’t eat and act like normal people. Thanks for visiting!
I have family members that are following the gluten free diet for inflammation issues, and it seems to be working well for them. While I don’t feel gluten-free is a diet that we should all jump on the bandwagon with, it’s a very healthy, natural way of dealing with certain health issues and can be tremendously effective in those circumstances. I think any lifestyle change should be discussed with your doctor. Thanks for sharing! (Stopping by from the Simply Natural Blog Hop)
Taylor-Made Homestead
Texas
I’m glad your family is finding healing! And yes, big changes should be discussed with doctors, but I also don’t think giving up wheat and processed food is a big change that needs a doctor’s permission. However, my whole point of this is that “going gluten free” isn’t a bandwagon, it’s much more serious than that for the people who need it. The “bandwagon” mentality is what is hurting people. Thanks for visiting! 🙂
So funny, isn’t it? Just because you “think” you know what’s best you feed me gluten? LOL I would laugh, but it’s a real concern when we go out, or eat food that I haven’t prepared myself. I try to always have snacks in my purse so that I know what I’m eating.
I had no idea that a small amount of gluten could affect me for 6 months. That’s crazy. I do have an AI disease, when I stopped eating gluten I lost 25 pounds in a short time, and the inflammation in my joints lessened, so did my heartburn. I was able to think more clearly and I stopped stumbling and falling.
Gluten isn’t the same as it was when our Grandparents were young. Wheat was wheat and it wasn’t in almost everything we picked up on the grocery shelves. There wasn’t such a thing as GMOs and all the chemicals used on our food. I know that eating gluten free is better for me, but I think that as a whole it’s better for everyone. LOL But I’ll keep that to myself!
Absolutely agree! Wheat is totally different now, and our bodies aren’t meant to digest glue constantly. So glad you were able to find healing when you went GF!
Love this! Thank you for stating the facts that so many people seem to be ignorant or just ignore! I do see lots of people who do a more fad gluten free diet and end up just running to the sugary, processed foods that have labeled “gluten-free” on them expecting them to be healthy for them, and that is not the right way. But as you stated, eating a real food balanced diet without gluten is healthy and you can still get all the good nutrient the body needs.
Yes! Many people do follow it for superficial reasons, but it’s not nearly as many people as the naysayers writing these articles would have you believe. It’s just so frustrating that there’s not more out there that states almost 1/5 of the population should be avoiding gluten, and a much smaller percentage is just following along “because”. A balanced diet is all anyone needs, and gluten isn’t necessary for it! 🙂 Thanks for visiting, Bree!
Let’s face it – we all know what is truly healthy for us: veggies and fruits! But we’ve all been brainwashed into thinking we “need” dairy for teeth and bones (the opposite is true), that we need massive amounts of protein (the opposite is true) but these notions make for a greatly profitable industry, in selling us both man made foods and the medication we need to deal with the health problems that result from our poor diets. We need to take responsibility for what we ingest in terms of ideas and nutrition. Diet really is key, along with some other lifestyle choices. After watching Plant Pure Nation and Vegucated, plus a few more food documentaries, my family went mostly vegan and got rid of the “man made food” and my hubby no longer has to take his multiple pills and 2-3 insulin injections a day. He is at zero meds – which only took a transition of 1 1/2 months once we made these changes in our lives. Totally worth it!
What a great testimony about your husband, Rosy! Thanks so much for taking the time to comment on this. You’re right, veggies and fruits are the best for us, and the manmade foods are horrible. Many of them should be illegal like they are in Europe!
I am not on any gluten free diet, yes I need to loose weight but I am about taste and gluten free tastes very bland. I also have friends who have autoimmune deficiencies and I respect their diets of gluten free because they need to.
I noticed you had mentioned MSG. My son was off to his dads for the week and ordered Chinese. This is usually a treat as it can be expensive. Anyway, for the first time, or at least that I have noticed, I started to get achy and a mild headache. I never get headaches. The next morning I could barely get out of bed. My body felt like it was on fire and my head hurt so bad I felt like I was going to throw up. I knew this was inflammation. I did the only thing that was logical to me, flush my system with water and had some fruits and veggies, it was really the only thing that I could eat that say that didn’t make me feel sick. I felt better the next day.
Now I know I will not be able to handle chinese and find another treat.
Thanks for the article, it clarified some things for me.
Michelle
Great job paying attention to your body! If we listen when it communicates, we learn so much. ????