Will Fickle Fad Dieters Kill Gluten-free Food Demand?

This is my fear. What happens when the "Me Too" crowd decide on another fad and will that leave the gluten free market devoid of the choices that have popped up in the past couple of years?

While I've welcomed the broader choices and better quality of gluten free food, this has been a concern of mine for years. I don't want to return to the days when I couldn't eat in restaurants, mushy gluten-free pasta and pasty bread!

I am celiac and don't mind the increased products stating gluten free. However, I find many of them are not actually gluten free and it has caused me many problems. I still have to stay with the things I am assured of. They are allowed to put some gluten in and still call it gluten free by the FDA. That is the big problem.

Most of these are processed foods anyway. No big loss.

I have Celiac, and I'm allergic to corn, sulfites and have to avoid soy because of my thyroid. Many gluten free food products are loaded with my allergens. So, I don't have many products to choose from, as it is. I would hate to lose what few I can eat. I've already discovered that stores in my area are no longer selling some of the gluten-free food products that are safe for me. Others are putting what few they do sell, in with the regular gluten containing products, and the gluten-free ones are hard to find. I think the gluten-free diet is already rapidly losing it's luster. Not good news for celiacs, for sure.

When I was diagnosed with diabetes the low carb craze was in full swing. So it was easy to control my blood sugar at first, lots of options. Then the craze died, the options faded. Now also diagnosed with celiac disease, I'm enjoying those popular options, though combining them with a low carb diet can be challenging. I actually gained weight my first year of gluten free because, aside from losing the absorption issues, I went hog wild on cookies and things I wasn't eating even in glutened form. Now I'm back on track. But I don't expect the options to last.

But at least doctors will start listening when you suggest the problem is gluten. I ended up overnight in a cardiac unit because the ER docs simply couldn't hear me when I told them that vomiting from being massively glutened caused my sudden catastrophic drop in blood pressure. IV fluids brought me right back, but no, I had to wait 24 hours in the hospital before they concluded that I really didn't have arrhythmia. At least I got a really thorough heatl screening for the price of my copay!

I am a fan of the gluten free products but, gained weight adding back (even though gluten-free) bread, pasta, pizza etc. While the flours used in making the aforementioned products are gluten-free they are high in the Glycemic Index, high in carbs, and spike blood sugar. I am now using the gluten-free products on a rare occasion and have lost the weight. I have a thyroid issue and need to be gluten-free so this is not a fad for me. I did fine without all the gluten-free foods on the market and can do it again. They are a great convenience and taste good but the price is too high health wise.

Fads come and go, but this one has the potential to make things worse for the celiac disease community. I worry about cross contamination and products manufactured in a non-dedicated facility. Once those who can eat gluten tire of being gluten-free (can't run out to McDonald's for a burger), major food producers will cut back on their products. Perhaps that will better for all of us, as most of the processed foods, gluten-free or not, are not healthy.

Yes, I believe there's already been a "downturn" in gluten-free products. Already Sprouts have shrunk their gluten-free aisle's down to 1. They used to have about 3 or 4. My last 3 or 4 shopping trips there I noticed this, and I'm sick about it. I tell them what I can't find anymore, and corporate doesn't care. The cashiers do, but corporate does not.