Gluten-free: healthy choice or expensive fad?

I've finally gotta say it - doctors make me sick - both mentally and physically. Such arrogance as expressed by the individual in this article is commonplace. They seem to think we are all complete idiots. As if we have no awareness of what makes our bodies feel better or worse.

Why should people undergo risky, unpleasant, and invasive biopsies which recent research has shown to be far from foolproof, just to be told by a frigging paternalistic doctor 'Yes I'm afraid you are gluten intolerant' or you're not when they happen to biopsy a portion of the gut wall which hasn't yet been affected by gluten damage? When, all along, a few well-conducted tests or food challenges at home will quickly establish what foods make us better or worse.

If our eczema or asthma or whatever goes away, if we are free from hideous abdominal pain, gas, bloating, raging diarrhoea, and sickness when we stop eating bread and other wheat-containing items then it doesn't take an Einstein to deduce the obvious.

My really vicious symptoms cleared up really fast after cutting out gluten-containing foods. Yes it worked like a miracle, but your doctor is much more likely to either send you away with a diagnosis of Irritable Bowel Syndrome or arrange for you to be tested for bowel cancer. Oh my. They are way behind the eight-ball I'm afraid - head in sand, tunnel vision.

We don't need permission from doctors to trial a gluten free diet. I've been told that in Italy gluten intolerance is so rife that every baby is now mandatorily tested for it at birth. They've seen the extensive damage to children caused by years of eating gluten. All that pasta is very delicious, but it may indeed be one's worst enemy.

I've personally had too many years suffering the consequences of medical misadventure or put more honestly 'medical blundering and incompetence' that I'd no sooner risk further invasive procedures than fly to the moon. It's each person's decision to make for themselves.

I eat gluten-free foods because I can't eat wheat, and gluten-free means no wheat. But I didn't get that diagnosed professionally. I don't need a doctor to tell me that my insides burst open and bleed when I eat more than a small amount of wheat. I've played guinea pig on myself enough times in the past month. I know what's up with my body. Don't eat wheat --> Bleeding goes away; Eat wheat --> Bleeding comes back. And each time it takes 1-2 weeks to get back to "no bleeding," so I'm pretty tired of experimenting. If not eating wheat makes me feel good ... I don't need a doctor to tell me what's up. I can't get a celiac test in this country anyway. But I might get an allergy test one of these days. When I'm feeling rich.

I discovered my gluten intolerance by accident. I was on a kayaking/ camping trip a few years ago,lasting just over a week and so did not take bread in my food supply. I ate mosty fruit and veg and sea food.Having been covered in eczema since childhood, suddenly after day 5 all the eczema miraculously disappeared. Who needs a doctor's confirmation that you need to make dietry changes? The other accompanying symptoms I also lived with, when eating wheat and gluten were all listed in a coeliac book I read recently. These ghastly symptoms return every time I can't resist a good old pie or feed of pasta etc. I hope most of us are in tune enough with our own bodies to make intelligent decisions for ourselves. It's getting so much easier to purchase a variety of gluten free luxury groceries but there has always been plenty of natural alternatives.

Roz - "Why wait for a positive biopsy before adoping a healthy lifestyle and being well??" Wait, because if a person eats gluten free before the get tested or confirmed it will test negative. My doctor told me he thought I had celiac but wouldn't allow me to eat gluten free until I completed all the testing. The absence of gluten makes the test inaccurate.

I would love to put the good doctor in a locked room with my undiagnosed family and a few mince pies then let him tell us it is all in our heads - if he survived!

After a long period of ill health and endless invasive and expensive tests in search of a cause, I removed gluten from my diet and experienced massive and continued improvement in health. A trial return to eating gluten resulted in return of symptoms. I have un-diagnosed intolerance, but no doubts. Cost is not an issue as I do not need substitutes. There is a massive amount of naturally gluten free food available - it is a wonderfully light, fresh, varied and very healthy diet containing very few processed foods. Extra vitality and nil weight gain are added bonuses :-)

I have never been tested for gluten intolerance but my awful eczema is now completely gone after going gluten free. I previously tried cutting out everything else, dairy, additives, you name it with only a lessening of symptoms at best. I actually only cut out gluten when I was experimenting with my son's diet so it came as a complete surprise. I am pretty sure I would not show up as gluten intolerant on a test but if it is a choice between gluten free and the eczema, I would choose the former any day. Call me a fickle fad foodie if you like.

Hi Gaylene,

Your symtoms are oh so familiar. Coeliac disease and gluten intolerance is heritary, I would suggest you search your branch of the Louden tree for other coeliacs. Mine is riddled with them, although we don't all meet the testing criteria a gluten free diet has changed our lives.

A "FAD" DIET? The cure for a deadly disease is NOT a "fad" -- it is a medical necessity. Calling it a "fad diet" because some people try it without a doctor's prescription is silly and irresponsible. Unfortunately, I depend on lots of non-medical personnel to help me treat this disease. If they think it's just a "fad," you are sentencing me to lots of misery or living in a bubble. No one should have to disclose their medical history and testing record just to be served the diet they need to be healthy. Sure there are people trying a gluten-free diet, for whom it will not be the cure they're hoping for. But when it takes an average of 11-13 years for U.S. doctors to diagnose celiac disease -- you can't blame lots of miserable people for trying it without their doctor's help. AND gluten-free doesn't have to be expensive. Lots of healthy foods are naturally gluten free (meat, veggies, potatoes...), and my "gluten-free" labeled lunches cost me about $1.30. That's a LOT cheaper than most packaged meals.

There is something here that needs to be more deeply investigated. I have developed the symptoms of heartburn/reflux everytime I eat bread particulary white bread cake biscuits and wine. Has something changed in the processing of flour additives or preservatives etc. Im definitely reducing from my diet anything with flour and all wines.