People Who Don't Need to Go Gluten-Free

Liz Klimas reports on people who have no actual reactions to wheat gluten, but are buying the pricier, trendier gluten-free alternative foods because they mistakenly think these foods are healthier for everyone:

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/whats-the-truth-behind-the-nebulous-gluten-free-diet/

Are gluten-free foods healthier? Not necessarily. There's plenty of gluten-free junkfood out there. Fritos, Twizzlers, and M&Ms are gluten-free. So are greasy hamburgers and nitrite-sodden luncheon meats. If you are gluten-intolerant, these foods are in fact healthier for you, in a strictly relative way, than organic whole-wheat bread. If you're not gluten-intolerant, you're probably better off eating the bread.

By "healthier in a relative way" I mean: If I make an occasional "road meal" of Fritos and Mountain Dew, I won't immediately get sick, but the next time I'm in a grocery store I will literally feel a craving for spinach. Grandma Bonnie Peters, on the other hand, is older and has less tolerance for saturated fats and simple carbs, and will immediately feel--not really sick, but unsatisfied and less energetic than usual--if she makes a meal of junkfood. And some other gluten-intolerant people we know, who have other food tolerance issues including but not limited to diabetes, might collapse and need medical treatment if they made a meal of Fritos and Mountain Dew.

Understanding gluten intolerance does not mean just switching from the misbelief that wheat is good for everybody to a misbelief that gluten-free is good for everybody. It means understanding that every individual body digests food in a different, complex way.