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Last summary folks, but there were so many, I could not include them 
all. Ron Hoggan, author of Dangerous Grains, also wrote a thorough 
rebuttal for the LA Times. Lets hope they publish it. Thanks everyone! 
-Megan

I know someone who is gluten free because she thinks it is healthier. 
 she avoids gluten and dyes, and no telling what else for no apparent 
reason other than I guess she just thinks it must be better for her 
and her kids.  I don't have a problem with that per se, but if too 
 many people do that then I feel like maybe those of us with actual 
medical issues won't be taken as seriously.  For us it is not a 
choice, but a necessity.  If it becomes more mainstream it might be 
hard to convince people of the necessity of the diet for those who are 
gluten intolerant.

I guess we can expect some blowback. Happens every time a new diet 
trend comes out: "Changing your diet can be dangerous!". Nevermind 
that the average American diet is really, really, really bad from a 
health standpoint.

The obvious response though is that NO ONE stays on ANY diet for a 
huge length of time unless there is some worthwhile difference. The 
research right now is indicating that something like 5 out of 6 people 
have gut changes when they eat gluten ... they don't get "celiac" but 
they do have problems. When that sort of research hits the press, more 
and more people will just start avoiding the stuff. Shoot, Paul Newman 
started avoiding it in the 70s!

Gluten is a mild toxin, but it also has druglike effects, and no one 
really wants to hear that they might have to give it up. Remember how 
much resistance there was to the idea that cigarettes might cause 
cancer? When doctors and nurses smoked in the hospital? And how silly 
the idea was that cigarette smokers might have to do it outside the 
office?

The most upsetting thing about the article you posted is the "quirky 
health kick" aspect.  You know as well as I how it feels to sit in a 
restaurant and yearn for those hot breadsticks on the table; how your 
mouth waters when you see a Pizza Hut commercial; to fake a smile and 
kindly excuse yourself when everyone else is enjoying dessert at the 
restaurant table (and the only thing GF on the menu is milk and you 
are lactose intolerant!); to tell your child he cannot take a piece of 
birthday cake because it will make him sick and feel like you have a 
hole in your heart because you can't make him better; and you cannot 
socialize the way you used to -- friends always have to come to your 
house so you can assure the food is not cross-contaminated.

This is not a "quirky health kick".  There is no other way of life for 
us.  It would seem, J. Cromley should consider better research.  When 
I google "GF, Gluten-Free, Gluten-Free diet, et." every link is pro, 
informative and immediately linked to Celiac which explains the need 
for a GF diet.  What exactly did this person google?  Even if you 
google the cons of the GF diet, there are positive links!

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