Gluten-free diet: Why is it so popular?

Hello everyone,

Hi everyone,

How are you today?

In recent years, you may have heard of the gluten-free diet. But what is it? What is gluten?

A gluten free diet is one that cuts out gluten, a protein found in most grains (ingluding wheat, barley, rye and triticale). Gluten can trigger serious health problems or other insensitivites, particularly in people with celiac disease or other digestive disorders. This diet has also become popular among people who haven't been diagnosed with a gluten-related medical condition, as it is reported to improve overall health, reduce inflammation, help with weight loss and increase energy.

And you, what do you think? Have you tried a gluten-free or a reduced-gluten diet yourself? Have you seen any health benefits? Is it complicated to follow on a daily basis? Do you have any trips or tricks to share with us?

And if you haven't tried it, would you be interested in testing it out? Why or why not?

Feel free to share and discuss in the comments below!

Take care,
Courtney

@Courtney_J I have lupus and crohn's and I've heard that going gluten free can help crohn's but doesn't really do anything for lupus. I'm curious about trying it but not everyone in my family has crohn's so I'm not sure I want to put that on them, and cooking two meals is just not going to happen. I'm genuinely interested in it though, I just need to figure out how/if it's feasible for me. 

So many years ago when trying to figure out my digestive problems, after many tests and endoscopic procedure, one gastroenterologist decided I had celiac’s disease, which of course means gluten free, period.

so for a year I followed a gluten free diet, which in some ways many would think not to difficult, stay away from breads, pasta, wheat, rye and such grains.

ah but not so fast, also have to eliminate French wines, many add gluten to them, beer, most hard liquor and almost all frozen type of foods, except frozen vegetables with no additional such as sauces and seasoning. Now add to your list condiments, at that time I found (in Arizona at the time) only one mayonnaise( best foods,) one mustard, one ketchup! Learned to read the ingredients of everything, eliminating most canned soups, and if in ingredients said “natural ingredients “ well that was a no.

now remember this was because it was thought I had celiacs disease, turned out ai did not. I had a different and more rarer condition, that surgery was able to almost completely stop, they did not get all the tumor cells. And yes it was not cancerous.

so eliminating gluten completely is a process and one that continues as products change.

so now? I do eat some bread and products that contain gluten, though no where near what I did before that year of learning. And that was way back in the late 1990’s