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Gluten is not bad for you.

By Scott Tibbs, July 18, 2017

Gluten is not bad for you. If your diet includes the naturally occurring proteins from wheat, you will not suffer harm from that diet. There is no need for the vast majority of people to eat a gluten-free diet. This foodie fad is not based on solid science.

What I posted above is a statement of general truth. Exceptions to the rule - specifically celiac disease - do not invalidate that general truth. A general truth and a universal truth are not the same thing, but a general truth is still generally true.

Is gluten bad for some people? Obviously, people who have celiac disease should avoid it. Peanuts are not bad for most people either. For those with a peanut allergy, they are very bad and can be fatal. There are always exceptions to general truths, because of the complexity of human biology. Everyone's body is different and unique. But for most people, wheat protein (gluten) is not bad for you.

Obviously, we should be sensitive to those with food allergies. You will never find anything I have ever said or written where I argued otherwise. It has never happened, even one single time. Criticizing a foodie fad that is not based on facts or science in no way denies the fact that there are people with food allergies.

In fact, I would argue the anti-gluten fad actually harms people who legitimately have celiac disease. When tens of thousands of people are religiously (I use that word intentionally) avoiding gluten when they have no health need to do so, people who rightly see this as a fad then take real medical issues less seriously. The gluten-free fad is the classic "boy who cried wolf" scenario.