Gluten-free foods are everywhere these days—but they're much more than just a health craze.
The bevy of new products, from gluten-free pasta to pizza and beer, are a boon to people with celiac disease, wheat allergies or gluten sensitivity who are on very restrictive diets. That group has grown dramatically in recent decades, for reasons not understood.
Are they beneficial to everyone else? Probably not.
The notion that a gluten-free diet can help people lose weight or avoid carbohydrates is a myth. "Many packaged gluten-free products are even higher in carbs, sugar, fat and calories than their regular counterparts, and they tend to be lower in fiber, vitamins and iron," says Shelley Case, a registered dietician on the medical advisory board of the Celiac Disease Foundation. "Gluten-free does not mean nutritious," she notes.
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