# Why is "GLUTEN-FREE!" such a desirable selling point these days? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 8, 2014, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620 "2014-04-08T05:39:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/41 "2014-04-09T00:04:17Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I tried some hard cider once. Found it painful, with all the sour & the dry. Anything on the sweet side to recommend? I might need to build up to it like I did with beer - I didn’t start out with porters, for example. I’ve also thought about mead, though I’d not know where to start with that. Woodchuck ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/42 "2014-04-09T00:11:43Z")
Anyway, it’s been an interesting conversation, and an enlightening thread. Many thanks to you all, and I’ll try in future to minimize (or even forgo) my internal eye-rolling the next time I’m told the fresh-made mozzarella I’m tasting is gluten-free. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/43 "2014-04-09T00:39:30Z")
> [@minor7flat5](#): > > I now realize I ought to change my attitude about peanut allergies. Because to someone else the gluten-free business seems pointless. > > But it sucks to see the dark side of one of these allergies. > > I recently posted to the Doper Milestones thread that it has been about a year since my wife hit her low weight of just above 80 pounds, a weight where she had not an ounce of fat at all. She couldn’t sit comfortably at the piano because of the hard bench on her backside. A year ago I didn’t know how much longer she would live. She had been wasting away for 5 months, being fed intravenously with TPN 16 hours a day from a pump she carried around in a backpack. > > Is it gluten causing this? Every time she has something with gluten in it, she gets sick. But the specialists tell her that it’s not worth testing her for it because she has naturally avoided eating gluten for long enough that the test would not show a gluten allergy. And it’s not worth the risk of eating the stuff long enough for her to test positive. > > She doesn’t eat gluten, and she feels better. That’s a fair deal as far as I’m concerned. > > Note that the USA might even be bringing up the rear on this. Last time we went to Brazil I saw that every single food product on the shelves said either “This product contains gluten” or “This product does not contain gluten”. That sure makes it easier to choose one’s foods. I have a friend who is now below 80 lb. She suffers nearly constant nausea. I have tried suggesting that it might be worth trying a gluten-free diet. No, her doctor did a tine test and she is not allergic to gluten. But celiac disease is not an allergy. At this point I would try anything on the off chance. What does she have to lose? She is also vegetarian and I would also suggest that a good way to gain weight might be a thick steak. I have an aunt who has genuine celiac disease and the recent fad has resulted in many more gluten-free choices in the market. Once she had a serious attack that was traced to “lite mayonnaise” someone served her. Nowadays lite mayonnaise, at least Hellman’s, claims gluten-free. ---
**Author:** ![RivkahChaya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rivkahchaya/32/8919_2.png) [@RivkahChaya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RivkahChaya)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/44 "2014-04-09T00:49:52Z")
If someone has not eaten meat in a long time, meat can make them sick, because they lack the enzymes to break it down. Someone who has been vegetarian for a long time has to ease back into eating meat, if they want to make that choice. I’d leave her alone before she says she is allergic to steak to shut you up. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/45 "2014-04-09T01:15:48Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > When you pass blood from eating something, and stop passing blood when you stop eating it, that’s probably a good indicator to avoid it. Word. (Do people still say “word”?) > [@](#): > > I LOVE dark beers and porters, but now I know I can’t have them. I avoid all beer now. _\>sigh\<_ Me, too. Unfortunately, I have to now avoid most beers because of a barley _allergy_, rather than a gluten problem. But, you know, for people who need to avoid wheat, barley, or rye due to allergies the “gluten-free” label is helpful (at least until they figure out how reliably remove gluten from those items). > [@](#): > > I’ll write down the name of the beers you recommend and keep them in my wallet. I’m unlikely to ever see them, but you never know, and by the time I do find them I’ll be long overdue for a treat 🙂 I miss the dark beers and porters, I used to really love them and I haven’t found any gluten/barley free options that mimick them. Redbridge reminds me of Heineken. Not sure exactly what New Grist Mill reminds me of, but it is a sweeter beer. Um… well, neither is a superior premium taste but they are pretty damn close to beer. > [@](#): > > I miss the speed and convenience of eating like a healthy person. Correction: eating like a non-celiac. If a person with gluten-sensitivity stays the heck away from gluten then that person will, indeed, _be healthy_. Don’t start thinking of yourself as sickly. Yes, you have an issue with something but that doesn’t mean you have to stay sick. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > As far as things like celiac becoming more common, my son’s doctor said disorders and allergies were becoming more common because people don’t cook from scratch anymore, or at least, that was her theory. I think it’s also because they put stuff into processed food that you wouldn’t if you were making that food at home from scratch. I mean, who the heck routinely puts _soy flour_ into their homemade bread? I mean, sure, as a variation of bread, just as you might add raisins or nuts or something, but as part of the basic bread recipe? Yet a LOT of factory-made bread does just that. Soy is in everything. Wheat is in everything. Some variation of corn is in everything. > [@Sehmket](#): > > Face - it’s not beer, but most ciders (I think all of Woodchuck’s) are naturally gluten-free. They’re not beer, but they’re becoming more and more popular, and can fill in the same function for those of us who don’t drink beer. Well… they could if I liked them, which I don’t. I wish I did like cider but every time I try it (usually every few years, because I’d really like a beer substitute at this point) I really can’t stand it. And yes, I have tried Woodchuck’s. > [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > Believe me, nothing makes me much stabbier than “don’t like” = “allergic.” I had an employee a while back who was really, actually, dreadfully allergic to tomatoes and tomato products. OMG - I don’t remember working with you! (I, too have a tomato allergy) > [@](#): > > On those occasions when I picked up lunch for the crew, I had to be the Food Police regarding his meals, because no one seemed to grok that it wasn’t okay to just remove the tomato slices or wipe off the catsup with a napkin. Oh, gosh - somewhere on the Dope (probably more than once) is the story of how a spoonful of ketchup in a large crockpot of stew not only had me to Terrible Things (from both ends) to the dinner host’s guest bathroom but wound up with me in the Rockford, Illinois ER on Halloween. Yep, people Do Not Get It. I don’t care if they think I have an eating disorder or am just batshit crazy, I have a real reason to be paranoid about what I eat. > [@](#): > > And I have seen tons of people say “I’m allergic to tomatoes” and then douse their fries in a gallon of Heinz. It’s frustrating! It makes me stabby. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/46 "2014-04-09T01:40:23Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Anyway, it’s been an interesting conversation, and an enlightening thread. Many thanks to you all, and I’ll try in future to minimize (or even forgo) my internal eye-rolling the next time I’m told the fresh-made mozzarella I’m tasting is gluten-free. 🙂 So many times, I just end up thinking “Is there ANY WAY they can have put gluten in here? If there is ANY WAY I’m going to read the label.” Especially after having trouble for a couple of weeks last summer despite being very careful about what I was eating. Turns out it was the damned ibuprofen I was taking for a sore knee. ---
**Author:** ![Sehmket](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Sehmket](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sehmket)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/47 "2014-04-09T01:44:48Z")
> [@RivkahChaya](#): > > Woodchuck Yes, Woodchuck tends towards the sweet, whereas, say, Crispen and Strongbow are a bit dryer. Try Woodchuck’s 802 or Raspberry. Their spring is also quite sweet, although the maple doesn’t quite work for me. The pink is the other seasonal right now, and the description says it’s sweeter, but I’ve never gotten around to getting it. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/48 "2014-04-09T03:17:47Z")
> [@Hari\_Seldon](#): > > Once she had a serious attack that was traced to “lite mayonnaise” someone served her. Nowadays lite mayonnaise, at least Hellman’s, claims gluten-free. GEt a blender and learn to make real mayo, it is worlds better than storebought. Takes probably 5 minutes to make, and there are a number of different ways to boot it up to change to different flavor profiles ranging from garlic and italian herbs to horseradish, to wasabi to chipotle. Thin it out with some milk into a creamy dressing. Dip stuff in it, mix it into flaked cooked fresh salmon along with fine dice of celery, carrots and onion, and make into patties and do the whole egg wash and bread with mochi flour [Koda Farms makes a wonderful rice flour from their mochi sushi rice. Light, fluffy, perfect for doing tempura or breading croquetes] and shallow fry in a pan for croquettes. I was raised with some odd foods added to my diet, I was eating Japanese goodies at about 5 or 6 years old … I loves me some [mochi and wagashi](http://blog.wagashi-net.de/category/wagashi-sweets/). First Japanese sweet I ever had was [mizu yokan](http://onokinegrindz.typepad.com/ono_kine_grindz/2005/05/imbb_emmizu_yok.html). I usually have one of the little [gift bags](http://www.amazon.com/Kashihara-Yokan-Traditional-Japanese-Flavors-New/dp/tech-data/B009S0UUOE) of multiple types of yokan slices around the house to use as a quick dessert. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 7:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/49 "2014-04-09T07:33:46Z")
> [@Muffin](#): > > Of course a lot of folks don’t want to eat gluten. Gluten is made from [glutes](http://http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gluteus_maximus_muscle), i.e. people’s big butt muscles. Now that you know the truth, do you want to eat some stranger’s butt? Definitely get to know them first. ---
**Author:** ![Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/96bed5/32.png) [@Patty\_O\_Furniture](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Patty_O_Furniture)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/50 "2014-04-09T08:55:56Z")
Gluten-free shampoo and conditioner is available. Why, you ask? Because [some people apparently swallow it while they shower](http://www.theceliacdiva.com/gluten-free-shampoo-conditioner/). That’s right, they don’t spit it out when it gets into their mouth, _they swallow_ it. ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/51 "2014-04-09T12:43:49Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > I was in Costco yesterday, doing my weekly marketing, and of course, grazing. Nearly every demonstrator took great pains to tell all and sundry that the product they were sampling is “Gluten-Free!” Turns out there is a wide range of gluten sensitivities. The reactions caused by gluten are pretty uncomfortable and usually the patient suffers other health issues as well. My point is that lots of people might find a benefit from a gluten free diet even though they haven’t been diagnosed. And the pay-off for them is very noticable. So lots of people are looking for gluten free just in case that is the cause of their problems. The food industry has noticed and the emphasis on gluten is increasing rapidly. For the rest of us, it is just another “fat-free” or “all-natural” craze. ---
**Author:** ![tim-n-va](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim-n-va/32/3001_2.png) [@tim-n-va](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tim-n-va)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/52 "2014-04-09T13:00:06Z")
Recommending specific items is tricky because, hey, we are all individuals. With that caveat, my family (all of whom can eat gluten) like the frozen pizza crusts from “Against the Grain”. I like the Angry Orchard cider, especially the ginger and cinnamon ones. I’ve never encountered it but I’ve read that some shredded cheeses are “dusted” to minimize clumping and that can be with corn starch or flour. Low end sour cream can have added thickeners, again possible wheat. Bottom line, I read the ingredient listing for everything. When I was first diagnosed my wife and I were just browsing and reading labels and she noticed that cream of wheat contains gluten. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/53 "2014-04-09T14:31:49Z")
> [@tim-n-va](#): > > I’ve never encountered it but I’ve read that some shredded cheeses are “dusted” to minimize clumping and that can be with corn starch or flour. Low end sour cream can have added thickeners, again possible wheat. Bottom line, I read the ingredient listing for everything. And those things can often be hidden wheat - if you read the ingredients it might be “modified food starch” or “dextrin”- which could be darn near anything. Fortunately, allergen labeling has gotten MUCH better. On the other hand, buckwheat isn’t wheat at all and doesn’t have gluten in it, which doesn’t mean you should eat buckwheat pancakes, which may have wheat flour in them. Gram flour is gluten free - not related to graham crackers at all (which are not - although there is a lovely box of gluten free graham like crackers made to get your s’more fix). ---
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 2:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/54 "2014-04-09T14:38:19Z")
> [@bup](#): > > Besides what \*\*Dangerosa \*\*said, sometimes wheat is in stuff you don’t expect. Cream of \*\*\*\*\* soups (most brands) - I guess it’s a cheap thickener… Most cream soups have a _roux_ base–(usually) flour cooked in oil or fat. As do gravies & gumbo. That’s just traditional cooking. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/55 "2014-04-09T15:37:03Z")
Ah, beer. You know what I like about a good beer? It’s like a liquid form of a really good bread. You know what gluten-free beer is like? Not that. Harumph. ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/56 "2014-04-09T16:32:06Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > On the other hand, buckwheat isn’t wheat at all and doesn’t have gluten in it, which doesn’t mean you should eat buckwheat pancakes, which may have wheat flour in them. Gram flour is gluten free - not related to graham crackers at all (which are not - although there is a lovely box of gluten free graham like crackers made to get your s’more fix). There’s a local crepe place that makes all-buckwheat crepes. They aren’t “normal” but they are good, especially the dessert ones. Something about the combination of the sour/bitter buckwheat and the sweetness of fruit is wonderful. I didn’t know about gram flour until I found a local Indian restaurant that did pakora and bhaji and labeled them gluten free. SO WONDERFUL. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Claverhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/13edae/32.png) [@Claverhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Claverhouse)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2014, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/57 "2014-04-09T17:39:38Z")
I don’t like beer, and rather like gluten — at least in those seitan/mock duck meat substitutes from China — but here are a few beer links. Good old **[CAMRA](http://www.camra.org.uk/glutenfreebeers)**, favoured society of British beardie beerlovers, has a page. A Seattle merchant has Belgian **[Greens](http://www.merchantduvin.com/brew-greens-gluten-free.php)**. Splendidly named **[Glutenberg](https://glutenberg.ca/en/beers)** in Canada has canned beer. Gluten Free **[Beer](http://www.glutenfreebeer.org/links/)**. There’s also an odd English **[shop](http://www.gluten-freeshop.co.uk/p0/beer-lager-and-ale-cases-of-12-18-2432-48/137.htm)** for those who don’t want gluten, they deliver overseas, but the cost would be prohibitive considering America has equally good shops, so included merely for the list of beers. ---
**Author:** ![Cugel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cugel/32/1199_2.png) [@Cugel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cugel)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/58 "2014-04-10T13:22:17Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > And those things can often be hidden wheat - if you read the ingredients it might be “modified food starch” or “dextrin”- which could be darn near anything. Fortunately, allergen labeling has gotten MUCH better. In Australia, it’s required by law to declare allergens ([http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/food-business-issues/allergies-and-intolerances/legal-obligations-around-allergenic-foods/](http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/food-business-issues/allergies-and-intolerances/legal-obligations-around-allergenic-foods/) So I’m happy enough to eat things that aren’t specifically labelled gluten-free if the ingredient list passes muster. ---
**Author:** ![perfectparanoia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a5b964/32.png) [@perfectparanoia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/perfectparanoia)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2014, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620/59 "2014-04-10T15:31:33Z")
> [@Cugel](#): > > In Australia, it’s required by law to declare allergens ([http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/food-business-issues/allergies-and-intolerances/legal-obligations-around-allergenic-foods/](http://www.foodauthority.nsw.gov.au/industry/food-business-issues/allergies-and-intolerances/legal-obligations-around-allergenic-foods/) > > So I’m happy enough to eat things that aren’t specifically labelled gluten-free if the ingredient list passes muster. That works great for common allergens but if you are allergic to, say, watermelon (that’s right, folks, I am severely allergic to watermelon), you still need to be a little cautious and think about the food that might have been run on the same processing line. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-gluten-free-such-a-desirable-selling-point-these-days/685620.md?page=2)