Gluten intolerance: most self-diagnoses don't hold up

Most people who self-diagnose gluten intolerance don't actually have it

A recent study published on ScienceDirect, in which bars with and without gluten were blindly administered to people who claimed to improve on a gluten-free diet, found no significant differences in their symptoms. The conclusion is clear: much of non-celiac gluten sensitivity may be a placebo effect or simply misattributed.

The finding that demolishes the narrative: the double-blind study

The researchers recruited a group of people with irritable bowel syndrome who claimed to feel better after cutting out gluten. They were given identical bars, some with gluten and some without, without knowing which was which. The result: there were no statistically significant differences in symptoms between the two groups. In other words, gluten was not the culprit behind their discomfort.

Historical and anecdotal arguments against the anti-gluten fad

It has been pointed out that cereal flours have been consumed in Europe for at least 90-100 generations. If intolerance were as common as claimed, natural selection would have eliminated sensitive individuals centuries ago. Moreover, cases like that of an elderly man who reached 99 years of age breakfasting and dining on Easter cakes (mona) soaked in milk, without any problems, illustrate that flours are not the enemy some portray them to be.

Real alternatives to blaming gluten

Digestive discomfort can have many causes: stress, histamine, changes in the quality of modern flours, or simply a poor combination of foods. Always blaming gluten is a convenient shortcut but often a mistaken one. Those who insist on self-diagnosis without medical testing are probably seeking attention or an excuse to avoid certain foods, but the data indicate the problem is not gluten.

The rise of gluten-free diets has created a multimillion-dollar business that feeds on this narrative. Meanwhile, those who actually suffer from celiac disease (a confirmed autoimmune condition) see their condition trivialized. Current evidence suggests that, except for diagnosed celiacs, gluten is not the demon we are being sold.