Gluten free, a fad?

By now I'm sure you're noticing Gluten free products in grocery store isles, on the menu at a restaurant and all over television.  Some claim going gluten free is just a fad and I'm sure some people eliminate gluten because so-and-so did.  However gluten intolerance is truly a growing medical problem.  I, among an estimated 18 million other Americans, have a gluten sensitivity and one in every 133 people suffer from an even more serious gluten intolerance called celiac disease.  This intolerance to gluten has become more common and gluten free brands like Glutino, Enjoy Life and Udi's are reporting incredible growth even during this crazy economy.  Still sound like a fad?  Nah.  Chex cereal is among many others you'll find down the cereal isle but if you're gluten intolerant you simply skip that isle...until now.  An article from The New York Times entitled Beat the Wheat says the volume of gluten free products sold in the past year is up 37% making it a $6.3 billion industry.  For generations General Mills has boasted about the quality of its wheat flour, but after seeing these numbers, General Mills reformulated Chex.  Chex arrived on the cereal isle as gluten free in 2008.  General Mills claims that the strategy is working:  retail sales for Chex cereals are up 29% in the first quarter of the 2012 fiscal year.  Smart move!

Gluten sensitivity symptoms include but are not limited to:

-stomach aches
-fatigue
-mouth sores and mouth ulcers
-bloating
-constipation
-diarrhea
-dermatitis herpetiformis (skin rash)
-headaches and migraines
-infertility
-nausea
-joint pain

If you suffer from any of these symptoms or symptoms not mentioned (google "gluten free symptoms" for a more extensive list) cut gluten out of your diet for 2-4 weeks.  You'll be amazed!  I was thrilled when I figured out I was gluten intolerant.  It's changed my life!