Gluten-Free Diet May Not Be the Best Choice for Everyone

There was a light breeze off the water and the passing hybrid buses emitted only a little noise and even fewer fumes as we dawdled around at one of Santa Monica's more politically correct eateries recently.

My companions, two fitness- and health-conscious young women, eagerly scanned the menu's many gluten-free selections.

"What is this gluten stuff everyone is avoiding all of a sudden?" I inquired innocently.

"You don't know about gluten? It's really bad for you," my aghast colleagues exclaimed. "It will make you feel all logy and stuff."

Not knowing what it would be to feel all logy and stuff, I thanked them for the information and ordered my usual luncheon selection (don't ask).

But, once aroused, my curiosity lingered like a bad batch of liverwurst and I was soon asking various gurus about this toxic gluten.  I quickly learned I was the only living person in California who was not aware of the great threat supposedly posed by gluten.

It turns out that gluten is a terrible thing to eat if you have celiac disease or wheat allergies.  Of course, that amounts to fewer than two percent of the U.S. population, so why is everyone else avoiding gluten?

Good question.  It seems that, although at least 60 million Americans bought at least one gluten-free item last year, there's no real reason to do so, according to nutrition experts, unless you have celiac disease or wheat allergies.

Some of those who are spending more than $4 billion annually buying gluten-free foods may live in a household with a celiac or wheat allergy sufferer but many others may just think a gluten-free diet is the latest and greatest way to eat healthily.

For whatever reason, gluten-free foods are flying off grocers' shelves. The biggest, fastest-growing categories, according to the Food Marketing Institute, are:

• condiments, gravies and sauces;
• packaged milks and modifiers;
• vitamins;
• frozen vegetables;
• salad dressings; and
  
• snacks.
  

Not necessarily healthier

In fact, it turns out, a gluten-free diet may not be a healthier diet.  Foods with gluten substitutes could be much higher in sugars, fat, calories or carbohydrates. Also, a gluten-free diet may be low in B vitamins, calcium, vitamin D, iron, zinc, magnesium and other vitamins and minerals, not to mention being low in fiber.

It may surprise trendy eaters to learn that obesity is one of the most common side effects of a gluten-free diet.

While dietitians are currently doing a land-office business setting up gluten-free diets for people who really need them, most will tell you that if you are fortunate enough to not have celiac disease or a wheat allergy, there is probably no need to avoid eating gluten.

Instead, the general advice is to heat a healthful, well-balanced diet that's low in fat, salt and sugar and high in vegetables, fiber, fish and so forth.  But you already knew that, didn't you?