The reason? Nutritionists and medical professionals spend a good deal of time and money on their education, so they don't want to believe that all those precious resources were wasted on learning outdated information.
When medical professionals and dieticians complain about diet "fads", they fail to see the difference between good fads and bad fads. Of course, they are right to be skeptical of fad diets, as they're often not just often ineffective, but they can be downright dangerous as well.
However, when a "fad" diet has proven itself in its ability to drastically improve the life of its practitioners, doctors and nutritionists alike should be more willing to scrutinize their dearly held beliefs.
What does this mean when it comes to "the gluten 'myth'"?
The title of the NBC article is "Allergy Myths Busted: Guess what you didn't know about gluten?"
Anyone reading it would think gluten allergies, then, are in the mind of the person consuming wheat.
A look beyond this sensationalist article will lead you to find that the quoted doctor isn't speaking about gluten sensitivity, but strictly about gluten allergies...
An allergy is defined as a specific bodily reaction to food, including (but not limited to) runny nose, itchy eyes, hives, swelling, and restricted breathing. Serious allergic reactions require immediate medical attention and are much more dangerous than uncomfortable digestive issues you may develop as a result of eating gluten.
The doctor recognizes a wheat allergy, but with this case, the reaction just doesn't come from gluten itself — and so the doctor concludes there is no recognized allergy to gluten.
However, that does not mean that there are not other conditions — including (but not limited to) discomfort and illness — that occur from eating this harmful plant protein...
The most serious one is Celiac disease, while more common conditions include gluten sensitivity and/or intolerance, which cause inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract that can lead to or worsen conditions such as Inflammatory Bowel Syndrome (IBS), food allergies, and a lack of beneficial gut bacteria.
Even if you digest gluten just fine, there are other reasons to avoid wheat. Primary among these is the fact that wheat is an inferior source of calories: It is low in nutrients, and its main source of energy comes from carbohydrates, which are the biggest cause of weight gain in the human diet.
If you're looking to lose weight and minimize the impact of wheat on your health, you're better of sticking with real unprocessed foods — like meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and eggs.
To summarize: Gluten (and wheat) may not cause allergies, but that does not mean it's not worth avoiding.
