wow! That was a very well put speech! I couldn't have said it better myslef. My mother actually sent me this article and as i was reading it I reaalized that some doctors are just complete dumbasses! I am on a gluten-free diet myself because i ahve eczema and my homeopathic doctor told me quite a few years ago that i should go on this diet. Anyway, I'm very glad that someone actually told these people the way it is.
Thank you.
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People who think they might have celiac disease can experiment with not eating gluten, but Green says it's better to be tested. After all, why avoid wheat for a lifetime if it's not necessary? The gold standard of diagnosis requires a biopsy of the small intestine. That way doctors can check for the inflammation that occurs when people with celiac disease eat the protein, which their bodies see as a foreign object. But first, patients typically take a blood test that looks for the antibodies the body creates in response to things that irritate the small intestine and damage the villi that are crucial to absorbing nutrients.
When patients lay off gluten, their intestine should heal and symptoms should go away, says Kupper. But following a gluten-free diet is a challenge, especially for kids. In the McConnell family, it requires planning. "At birthday parties, either I eat a giant dinner before it, or my mom buys a gluten-free donut for me to bring," says James Jr. It helps that his mom and dad are also on the diet. The disease often runs in families, so doctors tested James's mom, who had been misdiagnosed as having Crohn's disease but turned out to have celiac disease, and his father, Jim, who is simply gluten intolerant. The family says their efforts have paid off—on their fruit- and veggie-laden regime, James grew more than an inch a few months after he began the diet, and the whole family feels better than ever, says Diane.
"It can be a very healthy diet," says registered dietitian Dee Sandquist. After all, substitute grains such as quinoa are filled with more nutrients than white, refined flour. For some people without celiac disease, a gluten-free diet may make them feel better through the placebo effect, says Sandquist, and of course simply eating fewer cookies and pies can contribute to feeling healthier overall. But unlike foods made with wheat, many gluten-free products are not fortified with B vitamins, so those people who avoid the protein may want to take a multivitamin supplement.
For celiac suffers and gluten-free advocates alike, it's easier these days to find a variety of food options. Restaurants such as Outback and Carino's Italian are now offering items free of the protein. And household-name manufacturers are jumping into the game. Hain-Celestial markets a gluten-free line fortified with iron, folate, calcium and B vitamins. Anheuser-Busch offers a barley-free, sorghum-containing beer called Redbridge. And General Mills now sells gluten-free Rice Chex.
Food makers are eagerly awaiting an FDA rule on "gluten-free" labeling. "Once that goes through, we will see some of the big boys label gluten-free," says the Gluten Intolerance Group's Kupper. FDA spokesman Michael Herndon says coming up with a final rule is an "agency priority."
Alternatives to avoiding wheat include genetically modifying it to remove the genes responsible for the toxic fragments of gluten in it. But historically Americans have been leery of so-called "frankenfoods." Another possibility: a vaccine. An Australian group is working on one, but it is not in clinical trials. Researchers are also working on a pill that people with celiac disease could take before eating to help them digest gluten.
In the meantime, experts say the current gluten-free fad is unlikely to hurt anyone's health. It is, of course, generally good to eat fewer processed baked goods and more vegetables. Still, says Columbia's Green, those without a celiac diagnosis should be cautious about adopting the restrictive diet: "I don't think people should torture their children unnecessarily."
© 2008
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