Americans are spending about $2 billion a year on gluten-free products, which advocates claim can help with everything from autism to ADHD, but is the trend more about hype than health?
Read "A New Diet Villain"
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For James McConnell and the estimated 3 million other Americans with celiac disease, staying away from gluten is a fact of life if they want to prevent long-term intestinal damage and the myriad digestive discomforts that come with the disease.
But they're not the only ones avoiding this common protein.
Gluten has become the new diet villain.
Over the past year, manufacturers in the United States have sold more than $2 billion worth of products with "gluten-free" claims, according to the Nielsen Co. Devotees of the diet include parents of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism, pregnant women, people with allergies and others who say they simply feel better on a gluten-free diet. Some 15 million to 30 million Americans are buying gluten-free products, says registered dietitian Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the Gluten Intolerance Group.
"It's a much bigger market than just the celiac population."
Read the full article here: http://www.newsweek.com/id/171953
