to ask why so many people are gluten free?

[waitingforsomething]

I am getting married in a few weeks and 7 of the 70 adult guests are gluten free. 10%. One of these is a coeliac the rest just don't eat it. Aibu to ask why gluten is so bad and why so many people are avoiding it? Is there evidence other than in coeliac disease that cutting it out is helpful in some way?
I don't mind from a catering point of view but I am curious as to where this is coming from.

I do wonder if for some people it's not so much the cutting out of gluten but general improvements to their diet as a consequence e.g. increase in consumption of vegetables, protein, maybe less processed foods? etc. (I am of course NOT including people who are coeliac)

The modern commercial process for making bread is thought to be at least partly responsible for the increase in intolerance to gluten. The second prove in traditional bread making is skipped and this makes the gluten harder to digest.

I also think there's still so much we don't know especially around auto immune disorders and the link with digestion.

reni interesting you say about all the lactose intolerant people fading away. I'm sure it used to be much easier to eat dairy free when out and about. The surge in gluten free has made it harder to eat out dairy free now!!

Eating gluten free is expensive, inconvenient and generally difficult to stick to (it's in everything that tastes delicious). If people were to pick a bandwagon to jump on, this doesn't sound like an attractive option to me. I have no doubt that there are some hypochondriacs out there who give the majority of genuine sufferers a bad name. But I don't imagine it's a lifestyle choice people would make on a whim.

Yes people are Gluten free because they have an illness like Coeliacs, in which they cannot eat it, but for some, it is a bandwagon, and the latest fad.

I'm hypothyroid and the advice is to avoid gluten
DD is non-coeliac gluten intolerant
DP gets bad joint pain and gluten makes it worse
FIL was had coeliac disease
BIL has digestive and joint issues so avoids gluten and dairy
DB also has non-coeliac gluten intolerance

So, issues are quite common.

iamEarthymama - Genius bread is made in Edinburgh, and probably the Warburtons stuff too. But this one is my favourite and doesn't taste/feel GF at all.
www.tesco.com/groceries/product/details/?id=290819746

That's good to know, Iam, I'm off to Edinburgh later this month.

I have Lupus, went on holiday, started eating Gluten and continued when I returned home.

My Arms and Chest are full of a Psoriasis type rash and I itch all over.

This only happens when I get off this "Bandwagon", as said, I wouldn't give up proper toast/bread, unless there was a real reason to do so.

Yes, chelle, my dsis is lactose intolerant and it has become harder now it's no longer "fashionable". She no longer gets accused of being fussy though, with lactose-intolerance being soo last decade. Same will happen to the few genuine gluten-intolerant people.

merrygoround51 - you can get gluten free lasagne sheets. Why not make an individual gluten free lasagne for yourself at the same time?

This. Or just all have the GF like we do. Why the martyrdom?

It's interesting and I feel for sufferers. Ibs is commonly irritated by wheat - this isn't the same as gluten is it? Or am I wrong?

Because it makes me shit myself.

I love this bandwagon. Never being able to eat out without 'making a fuss', paying a small fortune to eat relatively normally or shitting myself in public. It's just great.

I'm not gluten-free, I'm wheat-free. This is because I have IBS and wheat makes my stomach blow up and look like I'm 5 months pregnant, which is not only uncomfortable, its embarrassing. However, many foods are not labelled as wheat-free, so if in doubt I go for the gluten-free option as I know that will definitely not contain wheat.

PrimalLass, have you tried the DS ciabatta rolls? They are excellent - DD eats them toasted for breakfast. I had mainly been buying Genius stuff but when we went to stay with my brother, my lovely BIL had been out buying all sorts of different GF stuff for DD1 and the DS stuff was definitely the best! Though she's quite fond of the Udi GF chocolate chip bagels too.

I wonder ( and I am just wondering) of wheat is the actual issue for a lot of gluten avoiders

Aren't people embarrassed about having intolerances? I am always beyond embarrassed to mention it when eating out but need to as my throat swells, etc.

DH I love saying that! Only got married saturday is interested in loads of body building bits not that you would realise to look at him and his research seems to have pointed to people generally being better off avoiding dairy and gluten. I wish I had the luxury of choice with dairy

DH is a coeliac so for ease we are all gluten free at home (cross contamination risks are high otherwise). DMs IBS flares when she eats white grains (white bread, pasta, rice) so will either have wholegrain/brown if on offer or go gluten free entirely to save the pain.

Some people are just faddy and think of it as a diet. Which for restaurants etc tends to mean they aren't as strict as they could be with gluten free meals meaning cross contamination is a massive risk and usually if we eat out DH will become ill afterwards because the necessary precautions haven't been taken.

Oh, and DS have changed their name to Schar fairly recently, if anyone's going looking for their products.

Interestingly, since giving up wheat (and therefore much of the gluten in my diet), I've noticed that my hayfever, which used to be awful for one month a year, is now almost gone. I didn't know there was a link until recently, but its been a happy side-effect of cutting back massively on gluten. So for me, gluten (or at least wheat) -free is a huge improvement to my health.

I start my day as a slim size 10, but if I eat gluten I can end the day looking 7 mo tha pregnant and literally bulging through my shirt. I live mostly on meat and green veg.

Yes DS is now Schar. DD loves the ciabatta rolls with nutella The crispbreads are good too.

All those who snort at the bandwagon ("oh yes, I love it"): I imagine if you are genuinely gluten-intolerant you'd find people who do it for fashion super-irritating? I know my dsis absolutely detested the lactose-free fashion, it made her look a fusspot and special snowflake when she had a medical issue. Now nobody cares about lactose any longer she can just tell people she can't have it with out earning a look.

mumma restaurants not taking it seriously is a big problem. I have a complaint open with a chain restaurant after I got really sick eating there

I buy GF products as a family member is a coeliac. However I do think that anyone who eats gluten free without a medical reason (whether formally diagnosed or not)
A. Obviously doesn't read the long list of ingredients on many GF products - certainly not healthier
B. Has a lot of money

reni I'm glad your daughter finds it better. We get that look though when eating out because its both me and DH with the milk allergy