To ask if everyone who is 'gluten-free' has an actual allergy to it?

[Caribou58]

I'm not being disingenuous here. Time was when people suffering from coeliac disease were few and far between, but yet another acquaintance has declared themselves suddenly 'gluten-free' (when we were out as a group for dinner recently).

I wasn't near enough to ask her about it discreetly.

Has there been a sudden upsurge in allergies?

Some people go gluten free when they aren’t intolerant, never mind allergic. An idea has sprung up from somewhere that gluten is bad in all situations. No idea why.

Coeliac disease is not an allergy.

You can be sensitive to it but not allergic. If you are sensitive it can give you symptoms that are worth avoiding; pain, wind & diahorrea.

I suspect there are more people with whom it disagrees a bit than with an actual allergy. I have a friend who has a number of food intolerances, things she can have in very strict moderation, but nothing that causes an allergic reaction. However she will ask for gluten or dairy free because that way she can easily work out exactly how much she's had over a few days and avoid overdoing it. My colleague on the other hand has an allergy to gluten and can't have any cross contamination at all - e.g. someone using the wrong serving spoon or using a knife to butter bread and then sticking the knife back in the butter.

I have some friends who are now gluten free..for no medical reason. more fool them as they're just limiting their foods / damaging their health and paying more for absolutely nothing

Lots of people are eating gluten-free diets because it makes them feel better or because are hoping it will make feel better, re IBS, IBD, bloating, auto-immune problems, and other issues.

It's not a 'faff' to cook for at all, I don't think. But I'm kind of used to it I guess.

Not allergic but am intolerant (and do say so to people rather than say im allergic)

I got ill about two years ago. lost 4 1/2 stone in two months, half my hair and developed IBS.

A freind is an actual coeliac and says its lot easier to be one nowdays, she can eat out and food is easy to find in the shops

I am coeliac and know five other people who have also declared themselves to be gluten free, however only two of them (my family members) are actually coeliac. The then three say that they ‘just prefer it’ and ‘sometimes they are fine and sometimes they aren't’

*other

My apologies to anyone I offended by using the word 'allergy' inappropriately. I do hope everyone understood my meaning.

As Pastbananas said it’s not an allergy, it’s an autoimmune disease.
The testing for it now is better and I suspect people suffered in the past not knowing what it was.

There is also higher levels of gluten in our diets now than there were in the past so people will react more to it.

There are also a lot of people who self diagnose though. My SIL has and makes a big fuss all the time about it - and then eats things that have fucking gluten in them.
Which then makes it more difficult for people who really have it.

For lots of people it is a fad

My DH has a sensitive stomach so tries to eat GF during the week so he can enjoy a treat at the weekend. I eat ALL the gluten and ALL the dairy

A consultant gastroenterologist told me I was intolerant to wheat and shouldn’t eat it. I don’t have coeliac disease. I never touch anything that might have gluten in it because it will make me ill for a few days (and I won’t be able to eat cheese for a couple of weeks after). I’m happy with the food choices around, but I’d give or do many things to have a slice of actual toast.

Coeliac disease is an auto immune disease. Google it

I eat things with gluten in but if I have too much I get bloated and have cramps so although I eat it I try to avoid having too much. I am worse with bread than pasta so I avoid too much bread. I don’t have an allergy I just prefer to not feel bloated and crampy all the time.

Coeliac disease is an auto immune disease. Google it

Thank you for that.

(Tries again)

Does everyone who says they are 'gluten-free' have an auto-immune disease or an intolerance or an allergy to it?

I'm gluten free because it makes me feel better. I have more energy, I'm less bloated and my eczema has completely cleared up.

Spent 10 years gluten free (and dairy free) to discover recently when I finally insisted on seeing a dietician that actually I can’t eat onion. To the point I need to take antihistamines if I do. When ever I mention this in a restaurant they look at me like I’m mad cos it’s never on the allergy lists!

I'm 'gluten free' because I am breastfeeding a coeliac baby, which is SUCH a faff to explain, so I try to avoid going into too much detail.

i have coeliac and i hate the attitude people like you have! ive been served/given food with gluten because people think im “one of those” gluten free people & it has made me ill!

does it matter to you if people dont have coeliac and just chose not to eat it? really? personally i think its done alot of good, there are far more options for me to eat out
now, and several more products in supermarkets compared to 10-15 years ago.

My DH is intolerant to gluten (diagnosed by Doc etc) but he’d never describe himself as ‘gluten free’.

A lot of people probably don’t have any medical reason for eating gluten free but do so anyways. If the demand is there for products, means that more gf foods will be produced - a win for those who need them.

Do you mean are some people attention-seeking through food choices?

Yes, some. And the noisy Look-At-Meeees are a pain the bum for people who really do have a lifetime of auto-immune issues to quietly deal with.

I'm not diagnosed with coeliac disease but my consultant thinks I may have it, they just can't get a positive blood test.
However I am definately severely gluten intolerant. Even a small amount of hidden soy sauce in a dish sets me off.
I went gf five years ago and my stomach and IBS have greatly improved.

I seem to have acquired intolerance to a number of sugars (but not actual sugar, as sucrose is fine) causing digestive issues which can be very problematic for me. So probable but not diagnosed IBS. I'm currently managing symptoms using a low FODMAP diet. Wheat is one of the things I am sensitive to, although it's not gluten that's the problem but oligosacharides (I also avoid onions and garlic). When I first started eliminating wheat from my diet I used some gluten free products but lots of them have other FODMAPs that I am avoiding so they aren't the simple solution I imagined. Eating out is really difficult and it's not really something I can easily explain so I can understand someone who is sensitive to oligosacharides saying they were gluten free as the restaurant are likely to interpret that as no wheat - if they also said no onions or garlic then I'd guess IBS. I'd hope that they didn't claim to be allergic or have coeliac as having IBS isn't life threatening and cross contamination is unlikely to be an issue.