why be gluten-free?

As a nutritionist, I often suggest to clients that they try going gluten-free, if it’s part of an overall healthier diet.  To go gluten free, you select more fruits, vegetables, and lean meat, and more naturally gluten-free grains like brown rice, quinoa, and buckwheat, rather than just buying prepackaged products labeled "gluten free.”

Of my clients who have eliminated wheat from their diets, many have reported feeling better. That could be because they are sensitive, but it could also be because they are eliminating junk and other carbohydrates that wreak havoc with their blood sugar.  Going on a gluten-free diet will often help you lose weight. It would contribute towards reducing your overall calorie and fat intake. And it may give you a jump-start into a total healthier diet.
 
More Americans — about 6 percent of the population, according to the Center for Celiac Research at the University of Maryland — have found that gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye (and countless food products, like bread and pasta that contain those grains) causes health problems.

Many doctors are now starting to realize that some people who don't have celiac disease may benefit from diets free of (or low in) gluten. In fact, experts now believe that celiac disease represents just one extreme of a broad spectrum of gluten intolerance that includes millions of people with less severe, but nevertheless problematic, reactions to the protein.

About 1 percent of the U.S. population has been diagnosed with celiac disease, while experts estimate that as many as 10 percent have a related and poorly understood condition known as non-celiac gluten intolerance (NCGI), or gluten sensitivity.

People with gluten sensitivity sometimes experience similar symptoms to celiac disese, though it's less clear why. That means you may or may not have that feeling of your throat closing to be sensitive to gluten. It also means that you would possibly have a stomach upset. Nonetheless, it may lead to a build-up of antibodies that increases your level of inflammation.