Yes, there are risks to going gluten-free if you don't have celiac disease http://t.co/2lFFcInaHY pic.twitter.com/O5Ykezdi3Y
— HuffPost Living (@HealthyLiving) August 19, 2015
Most gluten-free processed foods are not made with nutrient-rich, health-protecting whole grains, Furthermore, the gluten-free label has very little to do with the nutritional value of a food. French fries, and many candies, for example, are naturally gluten-free. [Go Gluten Free? Most People Shouldn’t (Op-Ed)]
People without celiac disease who follow a gluten-free diet (many of whom aren’t even aware of what gluten is or what contains gluten, according to a hilarious recent Jimmy Kimmel piece) have been known to cite numerous reasons for doing so. A common one is a feeling of lethargy or ill health that has come to be associated with eating gluten. However, the feeling of wellness that many attribute to the removal of gluten from their diets is more likely due to the absence of the refined carb- and sugar-laden snacks and desserts that happen to contain the protein.
If you are concerned that you may have celiac disease, you should have your doctor, preferably a gastroenterologist, perform an intestinal biopsy — and you shouldn’t cut gluten until you know for sure that you need to.
Celiac disease cannot be self-diagnosed, and a patient must be eating gluten for the disorder to be properly identified. Until then, you should treat the gluten-free trend as any other fad diet: Don’t get sucked in by the hype.