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gluten is removed from their diets and their intestinal tracts heal, according to the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston. Those with a non-celiac gluten


sensitivity or wheat allergy also experience a range of symptoms, including bloating, brain fog and joint pain, when they ingest gluten. According to the Center, as many as 7 percent of Americans, or 18 million people, fall into this vague category, due to a far less understood immune response distinct from what’s linked to celiac disease.


GLUTEN-FREE LIVING Most People Benefi t from Gluten by Judith Fertig


THE DARK SIDE OF S


ales of gluten-free products reached $973 million in 2014 and are projected to grow to $2.34 billion in 2019, according to Packaged Facts, a market research publisher. Many such products cost more than their gluten-based counterparts.


Gluten Sufferers The latest study, published in the American Medical Association


publication JAMA Internal Medicine, found that the number of Americans with celiac disease remained relatively stable from 2009 through 2014 at about 2.7 million. Meanwhile, marketers for gluten-free products report about 40 million consumers. Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disorder in which ingesting gluten causes issues such as intestinal damage, anemia and fatigue. Those affl icted improve when


Gluten Benefi ciaries The many Americans unaffected by gluten may want to avoid gluten-free products, says Dr. Michael Greger, a Washington, D.C., physician specializing in clinical nutrition. The bestselling author of How Not to Die, Greger founded the educational nonprofi t NutritionFacts.org and is a founding fellow of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine. “Just because some people have a peanut allergy doesn’t mean every- one should avoid peanuts,” says Greger. “Some evidence suggests that a gluten-free diet may adversely affect gut health in people without celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or wheat allergy.” He cites a small study published in Gut Microbes which found that a one-month,


26 Central Florida natural awakenings


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