Scientific evidence behind gluten free?

I did a quick search on Google Scholar and found hundreds (thousands?) of articles on this subject... I hate to post individual articles because there are so many directions you can go with it. But here is a link to the results where I typed in "gluten free diet benefits"
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&q=gluten%20free%20diet%20benefits&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=ws

A good book for research findings and a synopsis of the "dangers"of gluten-- Dangerous Grains; Why Gluten Cereal Grains May be Hazardous to Your Heath By: James Braly, M.D., and Ron Hoggan, M.A. 

This book clearly is not talking about all the potential health benefits of grains, and outlines who the audience is: those that are having specific health challenges that might be caused by grains. 

They also touch on our genetic evolution and our ancestral diets..... Paleo (again).

I think that anyone who is interested in more information on this topic- this book is an excellent source to start with.  

Google Scholar...duh. *smacks forehead* I was doing a straight-up Google search. Hmm, that master's degree taught me LOTS! (actually, it taught me the insane benefits of a fantastic library with online journal databases, but i digress)


The problem I've found in flipping through the books is that they are selling gluten-free. Of COURSE they are gonna show how awful gluten is. I want, shall we say, non-partisan results.

Heading over to Scholar now. Thanks!

OK- fair enough. But when you have found enough evidence that there is no danger or health risks in gluten, then consider reading some of the stuff that challenges this too. The problem with an "either or" approach to evidence is that we are on the cusp of a whole new era of understanding the human body. I don't believe there is a definite answer for all people. Consider looking into nutrigenomics while you are at it. This field is relatively new (as is all scientific research as compared to the age of homo sapiens) and I truly believe that this is the key to unraveling many of the medical "mysteries" of modern diseases. Happy studies!

I would also try PubMed.  That will give you peer-reviewed scientific articles.  There are over 2,000 articles on "gluten free". 

I'm sure the last thing you want is anecdotal evidence...but I'll give you mine. I've been gluten-free since May of this year. Our 6 year old was diagnosed with Celiac's at the end of April. My whole family has been completely gluten-free since that time. Everybody has loved it.

Give it a whirl if you're up to it. See how you like it. One thing's for certain...you will have to read many labels and call many food manufacturers.

We do a lot of home cooking...it's very cost-effective.

I do know this, there is no scientific evidence that shows gluten-free is bad for you.

Good luck! Let us know how you do if you go G-free.

That is awesome that the whole family went gluten free! Growing up, my mom always made special "Lisa food" and something else for the rest of the family. I know that must have been hard. But since then, my mom and my sister have both been diagnosed with Celiac, so the whole family basically is GF now...

And for more antecdotal evidence... my boyfriend's mother noticed a few years ago she just "felt better" not eating gluten. So she stopped! She will drink a beer every now and then, but for the most part she eats GF and loves it. She was tested recently for the antibody and it came back negative so she doesn't have the disease... just feels better in general.
 

Woo for be Gluten Free! I am trying to go GF being that I am GI, but I do find myself eating sandwhiches for a quick lunch and paying the price for later.  I just dont like the taste of the GF foods like pasta and bread.  You know stuff thats suppose to have gluten in it but doesnt, it just doesnt taste right to me.  So I eat alot of rice, greens, and meat ha

I'll likely end up doing this in the end. Thing is, I eat at my BFF's house once or twice a week, and eat out once or twice a week. I also hike/backpack a LOT and do that entirely nut-free (which is a whole world of challenge, let me tell you!), plus I'm on search and rescue which means grabbing filling, high-protein, high-good-fat, nut-free food from convenience stores on the way to nowhere in the middle of the night. I also have past cr@p tied up with restricted eating. Oh, and throw in that the very first thing someone told me when I found out I might have MS is "you have to go gluten-free!" and, well, it got complicated. I'm human, what can I say?

Basically, I don't want to screw with my diet and deal with all the social repercussions if it isn't going to be worth it. But you are right, in the end, I'll only know if it is worth it if I try it and my symptoms disappear. I've just had some "scientists" spew some pretty unbelievable stuff at me, so I wanted to check my own reactions of disbelief against sources I trust.

But macaroons are gluten-free. That alone means I would survive the transition.

What are the social reprecussions?
It's only a big deal if you make it a big deal. I've had Celiac since I was born. 30 years. It is a way of life for me. The only way I've known. I know it's more difficult for adults to transition - I watched my mother as a 40-year-old go through this, and my sister as a 30-year old as well. It's not easy, but I can't really think of any social reprecussions, unless your friends or family decide to make a huge deal out of it.

The fact that I eat at my BFF's house several times a week, and like to go out to eat once or twice a week. Not sure how much gluten-free would impact going out, but it would certainly impact eating meals someone else is preparing for me. Also, I've now been in close relationships with two people with very restricted eating, one by choice and one by allergies. I know how much it impacts other people, even if you try not to, especially when doing it by choice.

Well, I haven't gone completely gluten-free, but I have pretty much eliminated wheat from my diet. My digestive system is much happier, and it really hasn't been that hard. Eating out I can choose something without wheat at pretty much any restaurant I go to (Italian restaurants are a little harder than most, though....). Even fast food - I can choose a grilled chicken salad, or even get a grilled chicken sandwich and skip the bun. Eating at other people's houses? Just don't eat the past a or bread. Or if they eat a lot of pasta, buy some GF pasta of your own, offer to cook up a little for yourself (takes, what, 10 minutes to boil some pasta?) and eat with whatever sauce they are serving. It really doesn't need to be a big deal.

(I assume BFF is best friend forever?)
If the person is really your friend, they will understand and help accomodate. Like the other poster said, bring your own bread or pasta or whatever... I bring a package of GF english muffins or bagels on every trip I take - pop in the toaster for breakfast or a snack - no biggie. I usually carry Kind or Larabars in my purse at all times in case I'm at an event where I can't eat much food. I have a stash of food at my boyfriend's house and when we cook together it is always gluten free because he understands and doesn't mind. You just learn to deal with life situations the best you can, control what you can - dismiss what you can't. The majority of national chain and even fast food restauraunts post nutritional information online, including allergen guides and gluten free menus so you can look that stuff up in advance.

I just was surprised at the "social reprecussion" comment. Gluten free folks are not freaks (It seems you implied that, but perhaps I misunderstood), and it is only as big of a deal as YOU make it. Trust me, it is not that big of deal to us.


 

This is interesting - i mean, it sounds like it's something you want to try but isn't necessary health-wise.  Why not do the flex-itarian thing? Mostly that's applied to meat-eating but could you be gluten free at home and as much as possible while eating out or on your hikes but have some meals/snacks with? I mean when you go out or to a bbq or your friends' you can eat what is being served.  I am no scientist but i am willing to guess that even cutting down and minimizing the overall amount of gluten could help you without causing your friend to start making grocery decisions based on what you'll eat when you come over and driving yourself crazy trying to find foods when you're out hiking and shopping with limited choices (especially while going nut-free as well). 

No, I definitely didn't mean that! Yes, BFF is best friend forever (as distinguished from BF, which generally stands for boyfriend), and she is allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, anything that ever lived in the water, and sensitive to quite a few other things. I know what it is like to have a forced restricted diet, so I definitely don't think you are freaks! There's more behind eating at her house than is relevant here, but let's just say it is important that I eat what is served in order to foster certain relationships with members of her household. That's what I meant by repercussions, that's all.

Anywho, eventually I'll sit down and go through PubMed and figure some of this stuff out, and then figure out where I want to go with it.