The Gluten-Free Diet Fad

I was watching TV the other night, when Channel 4 kept giving a teaser for the 10 p.m. news - about the "gluten-free diet fad" - will it really help you lose weight? I waited and waited and finally after 25 minutes of "news and weather", they got to the story. Basically, they said that gluten is found in wheat, and most people don't really need the diet.

Excuse me?

Then I did a search tonight... googled "gluten-free diet fad" and couldn't believe what I read. Some people write about gluten-free people being snobs, and not really needing gluten-free food but just want the attention. Some people write that all poultry is ok, but that is misleading as any poultry or other meat with injections and additives usually have a gluten product in them. .

Here's a link to one of the stories: http://cbs11tv.com/gethealthytexas/Gluten.Free.Diet.2.1279346.html - she barely mentioned oats (a responsible reporter would have mentioned that oats are usually contaminated from wheat being grown nearby but "certified gluten-free oats" are ok for gluten-intolerant people). And it's not true that chips are always ok ... many many times they use fillers that have gluten in them.

Gluten-intolerance MAY be a diet choice for some people, but those people don't really understand the diet. The products aren't made to reduce fat and sugar and cholesterol and sodium and calories, but only take out and replace products made from wheat, rye, oat and barley, including maltro-dextrin, soy sauce and more. So... are these people completely deleting from their food intake sodas? Candy? Sweets of all kinds?

People, come on! A gluten-free diet won't solve your problems; eat less and work out more.

This isn't a joke. Some people need to be on the diet, or they will die. Celiac disease is a serious auto-immune, digestive disease. Why would someone choose to put their kid on this diet if they didn't have to? That means no fast food, no birthday parties with other kids, no cereal with goofy characters on the boxes. Really? Parents would choose to pay extra money for special gluten-free products? Ha! Not likely.

No, my kid isn't celiac, but gluten-products, along with cashews, soy, corn, peanuts, cow's milk, preservatives and fake colors can turn my sweet boy into a hellion... going from nice to unbelievably horrible and suicidal within moments. Plus he's a very picky eater. When we find something he can eat, we stick with it, which he's ok with.

For me, I get a rash all over my body when I eat gluten. It's called dermatitis herpetiformis, and it's absolutely not fun. Gluten also messes up my ovulation cycle (which is why I can't get pregnant), but that's just me and hasn't been medically proven.

Enough of my rant. Input?

Vikki