Gluten-Free Craze

Has gluten become the new scapegoat for any dietary health issues related to highly refined flour? It appears so. Gluten-free has become the new “in phrase” to tack on to food products. Interestingly, gluten is not something that just magically appears in highly refined flour, it is a protein found in cereal grains like barley, rye and wheat, especially wheat. A small percentage of the population is gluten-intolerant, and these people do need to avoid eating any foods that contain gluten. But do the rest of us really need to do gluten free as well? The answer given by most food experts is no. In fact, they say that people who do not have gluten intolerance issues but choose to go on gluten-free diets anyway may very well be creating other health issues, as gluten-free foods are often nutrition-deficient - being low in fiber, iron, and many other vitamins and minerals due to the fact that gluten-free products are made with refined, unenriched grains and starches. The general consensus then is that most people shouldn’t go completely gluten free. If you’re in doubt about whether you need a gluten-free diet, check it out with your physician first.