This article in a financial paper provides some interesting findings from a scientist who has revised some findings that contributed to the massive explosion of the gluten-free fad that has caused millions of the worried well to spend more than they really need to spend on over-priced "health" food versions of basic staples.
The scientist -- who says her initial findings were tentative to begin with -- has presented two follow-up papers that find no health threats posed by gluten beyond people with celiac disease, a tiny percentage of people who the medical world has long known about. Memo to the gluten-deniers: The chances are very, very high that you do NOT have celiac disease.
I've brought up this topic before. In this post, and in this post. Billions of people have been consuming gluten for generations. In fact, if you are a fan of the New Testament, you might note that Jesus broke bread with his disciples. I'm pretty sure Jesus did not set out to poison his followers. And there's no basis for believing this "natural" substance has suddenly transformed into something dangerous.
As Paracelsus and many others since have said: "the dose makes the poison."
So if the actual experts are pooh-poohing the Great Gluten Crisis, who ARE the people still blabbering about going gluten-free? Well, there's Gwyneth Paltrow cashing in on a gluten-free cookbook called It’s All Good. And there's Miley Cyrus, who credits a gluten-free diet with helping her lose weight.
They both are skinny. So there's that. But sadly, the potential side effects of healthy people obsessing over a gluten-free diet appear to be sharply increased risk of a lolling tongue and uncontrollable twerking.