News you won't see in controlled mainstream media.

-THE TRUTH
ABOUT GLUTEN-
-(Nutrition/ Your Health)
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Millions of Americans are forgoing wheat. What's up with that?

In the past few years, Major League Baseball stadiums have begun offering gluten-free concessions, national restaurant chains including Denny's and Olive Garden are providing gluten-free options, and gluten-free bakeries are popping up from Alaska to Florida. In 2010 the market for such foods reached $2.6 billion, a 30 percent increase since 2006.

Clearly gluten--a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye--is today's ingredient non grata. But is gluten really all that bad? Or is gluten-free just another foodie fad?

The answer is complicated. For the estimated 3 million Americans with celiac disease--an auto-immune illness that damages the lining of the digestive tract--exposure to gluten can trigger a host of serious symptoms, including vomiting and severe abdominal pain. For the millions more who test negative for celiac but insist they feel better after eliminating gluten, the scientific evidence is less convincing. Those people may be legitimately gluten-sensitive. Or perhaps they're simply eating a healthier diet, says Mayo Clinic gastroenterologist Joseph Murray, M.D., who notes that junk food tends to have high amounts of gluten. "Sometimes when I see someone who feels better off without gluten, I say, "Thats a very healthy diet. You could probably add some gluten to that and not feel any different.'"

If you suspect you're gluten-sensitive, give up gluten for two weeks, then reintroduce it and see how you react, says Trudy Scott, president of the National Association of Nutrition Professionals: "That's a very powerful way to find out if gluten affects you." If it does follow these steps for going gluten-free.

Scan ingredient lists carefully. Gluten is ubiquitous. It may be listed as semolina, durum, or enriched flour.

Choose whole foods over processed ones. Fruits, vegetables, beans, meats, seafood, dairy products, nuts, and seeds are naturally gluten-free.

Experiment with new grains. Brown rice and quinoa can stand in for some wheat-based foods.

Don't assume that gluten-free is fat-free. Pizza is pizza, gluten-free or not.
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