Eighteen months ago, Ahmed Yearwood decided to go gluten-free. “A few years earlier, I’d given up processed foods and felt great,” the 41-year-old business owner recalls. “I figured cutting out gluten would make me feel even better. Everyone told me I’d have more energy and lose weight.” He lasted less than a month. “Everything was rice this and rice that—it was way too restrictive,” he says. “And I didn’t feel any different healthwise than I did before.” Yearwood reverted to his former eating habits. “Some of the grains I eat have gluten, but I still feel amazing.”
Just as fat was vilified in the 1990s and carbs have been scorned more recently, gluten—a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye—has become the latest dietary villain, blamed for everything from forgetfulness to joint pain to weight gain. "Gluten free" is a claim you see on everything from potato chips to bread to hummus—and even on cosmetics and laundry detergent. Some people must avoid the protein because they have celiac disease—an autoimmune condition in which gluten causes potentially life-threatening intestinal damage—or gluten sensitivity. But less than 7 percent of Americans have those conditions.
According to a recent survey of more than 1,000 Americans by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, 63 percent thought that following a gluten-free diet would improve physical or mental health. About a third said they buy gluten-free products or try to avoid gluten. Among the top benefits they cited were better digestion and gastrointestinal function, healthy weight loss, increased energy, lower cholesterol, and a stronger immune system.
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