Making Sense of the Gluten-Free Food Frenzy

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Today's genetically-engineered wheat contains far more gluten than what our great-grandparents ate— in that time, the amount of gluten in wheat has climbed from 4 to 14 percent, Fasano says.
This may be true of genetically-engineered wheat, but the reality of the situation is that there is no genetically-enginneered wheat grown commerically in the world. There are efforts to develope genetically-engineered wheat for commerical production, but it is not ready yet, so please do not blame genetically-engineered wheat.

Roy Motter of CA 11:55AM June 02, 2012

Ever wonder about all the free stuff you see on the web? It appears like everybody wants to give stuff away for nothing, nada, zilch. But are these items truly free of charge? If so, how can these companies afford to give away all of these coupons and samples? It’s truly all about you, the consumer. We live in a very competitive world marketplace place. The internet has upped the ante in terms of who could be seen and heard via all with the mass media. Now companies need to make lots of noise and this is one way that can do it. One of the best place on the web is called "Official Samples" and get your free stuffs

amy herbert of WA 2:44AM June 02, 2012

Good article! Thanks for the info. Note that not all Dorritos are gluten free. The blue ones are, but not the red ones. Of course, that is how it is with everything, but just thought I would mention it before people ran out to buy some before Frittos marks them. Thanks! --roxanne

RoxLive of UT 4:46PM June 01, 2012

Your math is wrong on gluten intolerance - 6% of about 300 million isn't 60 - 80 million, it's 18 million. 60 million people would be about 20% of the population.
I've got a bit of an issue with the tendency to put the surge in celiac disease (if it really exists, and isn't just due to better diagnoses) down to changes in wheat. For one thing, it's not like celiac disease is some totally new thing. For another, it's more common in Europe - where food is supposedly less modified than in the states.
Also, please stop repeating the 'conventional wisdom' about grains. While they may not be harmful, whole grains are certainly not some sort of food that's necessary for life. If you need to be gluten free, just eat a lot of fruits, vegetables and nuts, and you'll get the vitamins and fiber you need. Don't waste time looking for gluten free 'whole grain' foods.

Kate of IL 12:05PM June 01, 2012

It's really unfortunate to see articles with titles like, "Making Sense of the Gluten-Free Food Frenzy" because for those of us with celiac disease the increased awareness has been a godsend. After nearly 40 years of suffering and misdiagnosis, I was finally properly diagnosed and quickly learned that it was difficult to find anything at my local grocery store I could safely eat.
The fact is a vast majority of food on grocery store shelves contains at least one gluten ingredient. Rice and corn cereals for instance aren't gluten free because manufacturers add malt which contains gluten. So when Chex cereals were re-formulated replacing malt with molasses, General Mills gained 3 million new customers almost overnight. If everyone with celiac disease were properly diagnosed that number would likely doubled to 6 million.
To put things in perspective, Type 1 Diabetes affects 6 million Americans and no one is calling sugar free food a ”frenzy" or a "trend." Gluten-free is no different.

Robin Lynn of NY 11:49AM June 01, 2012