Newsweek: A New Diet Villain

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A New Diet Villain

Americans are spending about $2 billion a year on gluten-free

products, which advocates claim can help with everything from autism

to ADHD, but is the trend more about hype than health?

By Springen for Newsweek. http://is.gd/adRR

About six years ago, Diane and Jim McConnell and their son,

Jr., 11, embarked on a dramatic diet change. They decided to

give up foods containing gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and

barley. Sticking to the regimen is no easy feat—gluten is ubiquitous

in the American diet, as well as in other nonfood products. Not only

is it in almost every kind of commercially baked good and pasta, it's

even in medications, lipsticks and Play-Doh.

Why take such a life-changing step? It all started when

Jr. began suffering from chronic constipation. " Sometimes I couldn't

play with my friends because I was hurting so bad, " he says. His

condition baffled doctors, who initially prescribed laxatives. He

stopped growing and started losing weight. Finally, doctors diagnosed

his condition as celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder of the small

intestine that's caused by a reaction to the gluten protein gliadin.

The only treatment is a gluten-free diet. Bye-bye, regular pizza and

birthday cake.

For McConnell and the estimated 3 million other Americans

with celiac disease, staying away from gluten is a fact of life if

they want to prevent long-term intestinal damage and the myriad

digestive discomforts that come with the disease. But they're not the

only ones avoiding this common protein. Gluten has become the new diet

villain. Over the past year, manufacturers in the United States have

sold more than $2 billion worth of products with " gluten-free " claims,

according to the Nielsen Co. Devotees of the diet include parents of

children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and

autism, pregnant women, people with allergies and others who say they

simply feel better on a gluten-free diet. Some 15 million to 30

million Americans are buying gluten-free products, says registered

dietitian Kupper, executive director of the Gluten Intolerance

Group. " It's a much bigger market than just the celiac population. "

High-profile abstainers are adding to the hype. During her

21-day cleanse this summer, Oprah Winfrey avoided gluten. (She

followed the advice found in former model Kathy Freston's book

" Quantum Wellness, " which urges people to eliminate sources of toxins

and allergens.) The actress McCarthy put her autistic son on a

diet free of the protein.

But is this trend more about hype than health? " To my knowledge,

celiac disease is the only indication for a gluten-free diet, " says

gastroenterologist Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center

at Columbia University and author of " Celiac Disease: A Hidden

Epidemic. " " All this gluten intolerance, and using the diet to treat

autism, ADHD … there's no documented scientific reason for that at

all. However, patients without celiac disease often do notice an

improvement in a whole spectrum of gastrointestinal or neurological

symptoms when they start a gluten-free diet. But it's not defined by

any medical diagnosis. "

Even without direct scientific support, many families of

autistic kids just say no to the protein anyway. The theory is that

kids with autism may have a " leaky gut, " which allows some toxins from

gluten-containing foods to get into their brains and cause problems,

says Bell, executive vice president of Autism Speaks. Bell's own

son was a " nonresponder " to the diet. But anecdotally, he says, " as

many as 20 to 40 percent of kids seem to respond favorably. "

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