5 Gluten-Free Snacks that are Too Delicious Not to Try

Switching to a gluten-free lifestyle has been an ongoing trend spearheaded by celebrities and athletes as a means of losing weight and improving one’s overall health. Since people consider them as “reliable” personalities, it didn’t take long for the public to take notice. In fact, surveys suggest that 12% of people want to rid of gluten to make them feel healthier while another 7% want to lose weight. Moreover, younger adults between the age of 18 and 34 are more likely to follow a gluten-free diet as compared to older individuals.

There has been a lot of misconceptions regarding gluten, and most of these are due to its involvement in three clinical conditions affecting 8 percent of the entire US population: celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, and wheat allergy.

People with celiac disease are forced to adhere to a gluten-free lifestyle. Wheat allergy shares some of the symptoms, and both can be diagnosed through blood tests. Non-celiac gluten sensitivity, on the other hand, calls for a complete elimination of gluten from their lifestyle. Research estimates that around 18 million Americans are sensitive to gluten–a figure which is 6 times higher than those with celiac disease. Although those who have NCGS aren’t diagnosed with celiac disease, they do experience most of the same symptoms. While it’s not yet confirmed what causes NCGS, some patients are reported to feel much better after adhering to a gluten-free diet.

For those who have one of these disorders, gluten should be avoided. However, given the increase in the number of Americans who indulge themselves in a gluten-free diet without consulting a physician, it seems that self-diagnoses are what drive this trend. There are those who remove gluten from their diet and feel better, which is why they believe that they don’t have to be diagnosed with celiac disease or NCGS in order to switch to a gluten-free lifestyle. However, undergoing clinical diagnosis will allow physicians to determine if the disease is also present in the family. First-degree family members have a higher risk of developing a gluten disorder. Moreover, those with celiac disease also have a higher risk of developing other autoimmune conditions like thyroiditis or type 1 diabetes.