Do some people choose a gluten free diet even if they are not intollerent or have ceoliac disease and why?

[easiand]

My daughter ordered me a gf pizza from Dominoes and was asked "is the patient (not customer !!) suffering from Ceoliac Disease or just prefers GF?". I didn't realise people chose GF even if they don't need to. Why do they do this is a GF diet healthier?

[Irene Administrator]

Hi easiand, you gave me a Monday morning smile with Dominos talking about the 'patient'

People opt to go on a gluten free diet for a variety of reasons. Some are 'gluten sensitive' or have another gut problem and have been advised to avoid gluten by their doc as it's difficult to process. Then there are the 'celebrities' who have opted to go on this diet for a way to lose weight!

The gluten free diet is healthy, if you are using fresh foods and cooking from scratch. But if you are diagnosed and then start buying and eating processed foods from the Free From aisles you will hit problems as they are usually much higher in fats, salt and sugar than the non free from items.

What is a concern to me is the fact that Dominos seem to differentiate between 'types' of customer ordering gluten free pizza. We asked Dominos many questions on how they were handling the cross contamination risks within their restaurants. They tend to say that they have taken all their advice from Coeliac UK and so everything is fine!

Why would it matter to the branch whether you had CD or some other reason to choose their gf pizza when, in theory, they should be strictly following the guidelines for prepping up the pre-packed gf bases. It does rather imply that if you'd said you just prefer the taste then they would have relaxed their handling of this pizza. Otherwise there'd be no point in asking.

What branch was it?

[easiand in reply to Irene]

London, Elephant & Castle branch. Delicious Pizza but quite expensive.

[poing]

I eat GF. When I started the diet, it was a on a kind of suck-it-and-see basis, to see what happened. Now, I believe that I am intolerant, but have no way of proving this other than the fact that I feel better on the GF diet. I haven't been diagnosed with coeliacs. I wonder what Dominos would make of me? And what would I say to them? I honestly don't know if the diet is a medical necessity or not. Horrible question.

[easiand]

Hi Poing, sorry I believe you misunderstood what I was asking. I wasn't talking about people who either had CD or had been diagnosed/or believed themselves(not yet diagnosed) gluton intollerent. I was asking really the question that Irene answered if people go on the diet through just preference like the celebrity diet. I have no choice and even if undiagnosed you have no choice either. I hope I have now explained and didn't mean to offend

[poing in reply to easiand]

I didn't mean that your question was horrible, I meant it was horrible that Domino's asked it in the first place!

I will have to be more decisive about my requirements in future. But I do feel caught in a grey area - if I ever end up in hospital, for instance, how could I convince them that my diet was necessary and not just a fad?

[easiand in reply to poing]

sorry my misunderstanding

[poing in reply to easiand]

no worries

[Hidden]

Andy Murray has put his improvement at tennis down to a gluten free diet, I think this is because Novak Djokovic is a coeliac and claims his fitness came after being diagnosed.

But there is a fad for being gluten free and one celeb is Victoria Beckham who puts her slim waist down to a gluten free diet, Victoria obviously does not eat the fatty sugary foods from the free from isles LOL.

And if anyone googles ''wheat belly'' there are numerous articles advising people to give up wheat/gluten to lose weight. Apparently modern wheat is not as nutritious as it used to be and the more refined it is the bigger sugar rush people get and this fast release of sugar turns into fat, hence wheat belly.

[Mmmm]

I think its best just to eat naturally gluten free foods as far as possible. I don't like cakes, sweets, biscuits much and never eat pizza. I have lost weight too since my GF diet which I put down to less carbohydrates overall. There is no question I miss some foods, like steak pie, haggis, etc but there are plenty of other things you can eat without going near the Free From aisles.

[HazelG in reply to Mmmm]

why dont you try making haggis. I was quite successful with GF oats lambs liver and heart with some spices there are plenty of recipes on the web. steak pie (with puff pastry) is quite another matter. Oh well one day i will save up enough to go on a GF cookery course and hopefully then i will be able to make a presentable batch.

[Hidden]

As you can get good baking flour that is naturally gluten free....I make my own cakes, biscuits pies, flat bread, and soda bread ....why you would use the free from range...

All processed foods are high in salt and fats....not just the free from range...

Janie

[Sonianin]

I think a lot of people notice the benefits they feel even just by cutting back on gluten. I think I'm largely intolerant, I seem to be able to handle a little as long as it's not too often.

My brother-in-law is a body-builder and he's been known to eat GF bread when he's been cutting down on carbs ad said he noticed how much more alert he felt very quickly.

[Liana]

In North America, an American Cardiologist, William Davis, has written a book called "Wheat Belly". It talks about the genetic modifications of the DNA of wheat by companies like Monsanto. His complaint is that these GMOs were never tested on animals, let alone people, to see if they were safe for human consumption. As a physician, he claims that modern wheat is not safe for people and gives all the illness that his experience shows are related to wheat consumption. A number of people that I know have read the book and been so horrified that they have chosen to eat wheat/gluten free. (Much like the reasons I imagine many vegetarians choose their life style) For me, whose been eating GF for years, it's amazing that all of them have not only lost weight, but feel better. Several no longer suffer from gastrointestinal problems and headaches that have plagued them for years. I have been told to eat GF for medical reasons and I'm happy to do so. When servers in restaurants ask me that question...and I've been asked several times, I just flash my medic alert braclet at them and smile. It's really none of their business why I eat gluten free ... they can draw their own conclusions.

[coeliacvegan]

I'm currently reading the William Davis book that Liana mentions and think he makes a convincing case. There are plenty of others who have also pointed up the health benefits of going gluten-free (including James Braly, Peter Green, Stephen Wangen, Patrick Holford and James Chestnut, to name but a few), but Davis seems to be the first to attribute America's obesity crisis largely (sic!) to the rise in consumption of modified wheat.

Others have promoted the so-called Stone Age or Paleolithic diet, which advocates the avoidance of all grains, on the grounds that they were not introduced to the human diet until relatively recently (around 10,000 years ago), and therefore are not compatible with our ancient genetic make-up. Apparently a large percentage of us lack the enzymes required to digest gluten as well as dairy products...

Whether driven by the media or 'celebrities', there appears to be a growing awareness of the benefits of following a gluten-free diet, which is leading average people, who do not necessarily have obvious health problems, to give it a go.

From my internet trawling, I have found that some coeliac sufferers are surprisingly antagonistic to those choosing to be gluten-free without a medical reason. In my opinion this is misguided. Whether or not a person 'has' to be gluten-free or not, the more demand for gluten free options the better. It doesn't make coeliac disease any less serious.

And if you gluten free for health reasons but don't have a diagnosis, it really shouldn't matter. If asked in a restaurant, I would just say that you avoid gluten for medical reasons. After all, as somebody else had already pointed out, it shouldn't make any difference to what they serve you.

[Janet-Haslam]

I follow a gluten free diet after many years of abdominal pain, cramps, headaches and other embarrassing symptoms. As a trial I eliminated wheat and gluten and now after four years feel great - unless that is I eat anything accidentally containing gluten! I have never been questioned in restaurants but would still just say I need GF for medical reasons. My GP offered me the appropriate tests but to be honest I could not face going back on a diet containing gluten, I feel well avoiding it and that is all that matters.

[easiand]

Thanks for all the answers. I suppose the reason I asked was to see if there were any health benefits of a GF diet generally. I have no choice and although getting used to it still miss my old diet. Makes me feel better seeing that there are other benefits too

[ymbat]

My local fish & chip shop do gf twice a week and they say a lot of customers go those days as they prefer it!