Is Gluten-free Better?

Gluten-free, it's like the new fad in the diet world. For those of you that don't know what gluten is, it's a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley, and it's dangerous for people with celiac disease. There is also a huge part of our population (around 35%) that does not have celiacs, but does have a gluten intolerance. Those people should avoid gluten, but what if you don't have celiacs and are not intolerant, is it better to avoid it too?

The answer is NO! If you are apart of the majority of the population who has no problems with gluten, there is no reason to avoid it. I've read research articles that have found no benefits that gluten-free diets are healthier for the majority population.

A couple years ago I was living with a good friend of mine who was gluten intolerant, and as my own experiment, decided to eat like she did for a week. I only lasted three days. I felt awful, like someone sucked all the energy from me and all I wanted to do was sleep. It's funny though, because when my roommate was eating gluten (before she knew she was intolerant) she felt the same way. The girl would sleep for 14 hours and still be tired!

So if you're wondering why people are going on gluten-free diets- I have a hypothesis. Gluten is most common in things like muffins, pancakes, pizza, bread, ect. So I believe people are confusing gluten with carbs, and like we all know low-carb diets are very popular. But if you do go on a gluten-free diet, know that you are more likely to eat things like chocolate or ice cream, or gluten-free baked products, which are sometimes packed with sugar.