Do you ever feel sorry for gluten? One day he was the star of tasty cakes and brioche, and America was toasting his deliciousness over microbrews nationwide. The next day, every processed food label had denounced him — “We’re gluten free.”
A whole aisle in the supermarket, filled with cookies and crackers and bread, has successfully cut him out. And everywhere you go, people are blaming him for disease, stomach aches, and just plain malaise.
Gluten-free products are now a multi-billion dollar industry, one of the fastest growing markets in the United States, and no wonder. A third of Americans claim they are trying to eliminate gluten from their diet.(1)
But before you decide to join the mob against gluten yourself, let’s take a look at the facts.
Celiac Disease and Non-Celiac Gluten Insensitivity
Gluten’s bad reputation may have started with celiac disease, a serious autoimmune disorder. When a person suffering from celiac ingests gluten, and even some non-gluten proteins, the body’s immune system perceives this subtance as a threat and attacks it, causing damage to the small intestine. The resulting state of chronic inflammation, if allowed to continue, contributes to a number of other conditions, including malnutrition, liver disease, and lymphoma.(2)
Celiac disease only affects roughly one percent of the U.S. population, or one out of 141 people. Although it appears to be on the rise — celiac is four times more common today than it was 50 years ago — the disease is still relatively uncommon.(3)
Although they don’t test positive for the antigen that causes celiac, many people now claim to suffer from non-celiac gluten insensitivity, or gluten intolerance. This condition causes some of the same symptoms, including bloating and intestinal upset, but it does not damage the small intestine. Gluten intolerance does, however, appear responsible for a whole range of symptoms unrelated to the digestive system, such as “fogginess,” headaches, joint pain, and numbness in the arms and legs.(4)
Wheat: The “Problematic” Grain
Compounding gluten’s problems is a trend among those in the health and wellness community to regard wheat as nothing short of poison. Dr. William Davis, the author of Wheat Belly, says that wheat is the cause of conditions ranging from diabetes to arthritis and acid reflux.(5) Dr. Mark Hyman, author of the 10 Day Detox Diet, reiterates this position, adding that new forms of genetically modified wheat contains a “super gluten” and “super starch” that are responsible not only for chronic diseases but also the obsesity epidemic.(6)
Finally, there is Loren Cordain, the founder of the Paleo Movement, a diet that excludes wheat entirely.(7) Like Davis and Hyman, Cordain is not just anti-gluten; he is against wheat itself. His primary reason is that human beings’ digestive systems have not kept evolutionary pace with our technology. Eating wheat, which our ancestors did not have access to, is unnatural and, therefore, harmful.
But Is There Anything to All This?
Strong views sell books, of course. Americans are looking for a way to feel better, and since every reader is bound to suffer from at least one of the conditions these doctors blame wheat for, avoiding gluten really seems like a cure-all. Moreover, the idea that genetically modified food is making us sick appeals to a feeling many people have about corporations, that they will do anything to turn a profit, even endanger our health.
But is there any real science behind the claims? Is wheat really so terrible?
The consensus among the medical community is, “No.” Unless you have celiac disease, gluten is simply the compound that gives wheat its chewiness and elastic, kneadable texture. Wheat, rye, and barley — all of which contain gluten — are food staple worldwide, and people have consumed them for centuries without ill effect.
There are, however, fermentable short-chain carbohydrates (FODMAPS) that can cause intestinal discomfort. When put on a low FODMAP diet, people who thought they had gluten insenstivity felt better in a couple of weeks. The researchers reintroduced gluten to their diets without their knowledge, yet the group continued to feel better. This study suggests that what many believe is gluten insensitivity is really caused by gut flora interacting with hard-to-digest carbohydrates.(8)
A Better Cure for What Ails You
There’s no doubt about it — most Americans are obese or overweight,(9) and many suffer from diseases caused by chronic inflammation, such as arthritis and hypertension. These problems are unlikely to go away if you stop eating gluten, just as they did not go away when you stopped eating fat or stopped eating carbohydrates.
The solution is just as boring as it always was: Avoid processed food, eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, get regular cardiovascular exercise, and practice stress reduction. And for heaven’s sakes, have a piece of bread. You know you want one.
