NYT: Fears over gluten in food overblown?

[Robin Garr]

<i>I don't doubt that celiac disease is a real, and difficult, concern for a small number of people. But like so many other widely publicized nutrition and health issues, it's hardly surprising that hysteria over a rare condition prompts millions of people to fret that they might have it, too ...</i>.

Jury Is Still Out on Gluten, the Latest Dietary Villain
By KATE MURPHY
Published: May 8, 2007

Brandi Walzer, a 29-year-old cartographer in Savannah, Ga., loves bread, not to mention pizza and beer. But she tries to avoid them, because they contain gluten - a substance she says upsets her stomach, aggravates her arthritis and touches off depression.

She is among a growing number of Americans who believe that gluten - a protein found in wheat, barley and rye - is responsible for a variety of ills, from skin eruptions to infertility to anxiety to gas. Though diagnostic tests have not indicated she has an allergy or sensitivity to gluten, she nonetheless says she is better off without it.

"I struggle with sticking to a gluten-free diet," she said, "but when I do, I feel much better."

There is no question that eating gluten aggravates celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients. But doctors say it is unclear whether gluten can be blamed for other problems.

Nevertheless, it has become a popular dietary villain. Gluten-free foods are popping up on grocery-store shelves and restaurant menus, including those of national chains like P. F. Chang's and Outback Steakhouse. Warnings of gluten's evils are common on alternative medicine Web sites and message boards.

"A lot of alternative practitioners like chiropractors have picked up on it and are waving around magic silver balls, crystals and such, telling people they have gluten intolerance," said Dr. Don W. Powell, a gastroenterologist at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.

Full story in The New York Times

Celiac sprue is a very rare disease. if you have it, wheat gluten is a no-no. The result is similar to Crohn's. But, most people don't have it.

[Robin Garr]

Celiac sprue is a very rare disease. if you have it, wheat gluten is a no-no.

Yeah, I tried to make that point in the intro paragraph. It strikes me as being a whole lot like sulfites in wine, though. One out of a million people has a life-threatening sulfite allergy, but for the rest of us it doesn't make any difference at all. Yet so many people are rendered hysterical by the warning label that sulfite-related queries rank high among my most frequently asked questions.

I suspect that gluten is kind of like that, too ...

I don't think this is only a warning label issue. People love to say they are lactose intolerant, or gluten intolerant, and there has been no warning label like sulfites in wine to incite this behavior. I just think that people tend to self-diagnose. If they get sick, it must be the milk they drank or the wheat product they ate, or the __________ . Food allergies are so in.
Humans have been eating wheat and drinking milk for how long?

My brother has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis and has avoided wheat for the past 5-6 years. It has made a HUGE improvement in his arthritis symptoms to the point where he rarely has flare-ups anymore.

As far as special labelling and restaurant menu considerations, I don't really see how it's an issue. It's a pretty easy thing to avoid - well at least for him it is as he is a true carnivore. Being a vegetarian, I think it would be MUCH more difficult.

My poor mom! Between the no wheat and the no meat, family meals are a challenge. However, he is finishing up a stint in the Peace Corp right now so it hasn't been as much of a challenge lately!

Actually, he would never consider talking about his condition, his diagnosis, or his eating habits. If invited over for lunch, he MIGHT show up with a loaf of spelt bread.

After a work up with a rheumatologist who wanted to commit him to a lifetime of harsh arthritis drugs at the age of 22, including one which was recently pulled off the market by the FDA - he did go exploring other options.

He decided to give the "wheat free" thing a try before starting prescription medication. It worked so well FOR HIM that he has stuck with it. Other than an aspirin a day, he is on no medication.

Again, FOR HIM, this has absolutely nothing to do with "food allergies being so in!"

Part of the current fear of wheat gluten may be linked to the problems with wheat gluten in animal feed that has gotten so much press lately.

My brother has Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis

That is a very serious auto-immune disorder. Not something that anyone would confuse with a food allergy, perceived or real.

I don't know if I agree with the "food allergies are in" comment. I am glad to see heightened publicity on these issues. I never would have imagined my 20 month old might have an issue with wheat without th coverage in the news. I was making all kinds of whole wheat baked goods, serving whole wheat pasta, and her skin was becoming increasingly worse. Her attitude was worse and she had GI issues.

We suspected wheat because she seemed worse after a big wheaty meal. We cut wheat out of her diet and she's like a different child. All the symptoms disappeared.

I haven't had her tested for Celiac's yet and I hope to goodness it's just a sensitivity she'll outgrow. It is, to put it mildly, a pain in the ass to have to deal with. Wheat is in pretty much everything. And the "wheat free" products we've been buying are more expensive and kind of gross. Rice pasta is not exactly super tasty.

This issue was discussed on NPR this morning. Less than 1% of the population has an allergy to wheat gluten. A far lesser segment is afflicted with the autoimmune disease celiac sprue in which the intestinal mucosa becomes inflammed and irritated from digestion of wehat gluten. A gastroenterologist from UCLA believes that recent media coverage of celiac disease has led to a new fad of self-diagnosed gluten intolerance. This is most prevalent among "single issue" eaters who sporadically sieze on one aspect of their diet and focus on it obsessively. In the past this has included avoiding sugar, fat, preservatives, caffeine, sulfites and dairy. Now, the hot thing to avoid is wheat gluten. Whole Foods has capitalized on this trend by creating a whole line of gluten free foods.

sorry, I like good pizza too much to give up my gluten.

[Robin Garr]

sorry, I like good pizza too much to give up my gluten.

Make that bread in general for me. <I>Good</i> bread, I mean.

The "self-diagnosed" issue is where I was headed with my analogy to sulfites in wine, though. There must be a gazillion people out there who've decided they are allergic to sulfites because the got a headache the last time they drank too much wine ...

perfect analogy. Not hard to imagine how people might think that an upset stomach was caused by wheat. Americans eat some form of wheat with almost every meal. So, if your stomach hutrs and you think back to what you ate, you can always find some wheat product. Bottom line is we get upset stomachs all the time for all kinds of reasons. I think wheat gluten is just the most recent scape-goat.

What we should be focusing on is what will be the next big dietary fad. We could get ahead of the curve and start making a line of food without _______ in it and sell it to Whole Foods and become millionaires!!!!

My son has Autism and is greatly affected by gluten and casein. It does not manifest in a physical way like choking or swelling but it effects him like an opiate. We have been seeing an allergist in CA for the last 10 years (this is no fad) and the test that are run show that the typical person has a tolerance for wheat gluten in the 500 range and my sons was like 1500. Nothing to sneeze at here. When he eats gluten the symptoms will show up three to four days later and include irritability and constipation. This is a real thing.

Will

[Robin Garr]

This is a real thing.

Will, thanks for speaking out. I hope it's abundantly clear that no one here is saying that gluten issues aren't important to some people or that it's not a serious thing.

We're just suggesting that a lot of people will read about a food-related syndrome and diagnose themselves, not necessarily accurately. I think you'd agree that a commercial entity that takes advantage of this kind of thing to turn a quick buck isn't acting admirably.

Hard to tell the tone on this board sometimes. I agree that if it is a scam then it should be routed. I buy some awsome gluten free bread at Amazing Grace called Kinnikinnick. Not cheap ($4+ a loaf) but it is hard to tell the difference from wheat bread. My son loves it and it allows me to send him to school with a sandwich instead of rice and black beans everyday. Are they making money? Yes. Is it helping people? Yes.