Gluten intolerant, celiac or just overconsumption of refined grains?

I am puzzled by all the ‘gluten free’ foods that are sprouting up on the grocery shelves lately, and it seems like so many folks are discovering that they are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease. I’m even more puzzled by how many seem to know that they have these disorders, without having actually being diagnosed as such.

I have a friend who is getting her doctorate in nursing, and was diagnosed with celiac disease several years ago. She was diagnosed as such, having done the hard tests - they’re nasty, and invasive. She’s not the only celiac I know, either. These are people with a very serious problem.

However, the gluten intolerant ‘diagnosis’ seems to be going through a kind of vogue lately. And, I’ve begun to wonder, based on personal experience, if it’s really a gluten intolerance or a reaction from all the highly refined grain products - so often combined with too many other harmful ingredients and sugars -  that are manufactured into the American diet, whether they need to be there or not.

The end result may be the same, but the cause may not always be what the gluten free marketing blitz would like everybody to believe. Coming from a marketing background, I’m very suspicious that the food industry would seriously love to start selling gluten intolerance to create whole new markets for products yet to be invented.

Like I said, personal experience is what is driving my suspicions.

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