New diets in our fad-crazed society seem to reveal themselves on a frequent basis, and one of the most recent trends to appear is going gluten-free. While people who have celiac disease need to live a life free of gluten, this diet option is not for everyone. 

Gluten is a general term used to describe the natural proteins that are found in wheat, rye and barely. These three grains are common ingredients in most cereals, breads, pastas, food colorings and other household foods, which makes going gluten-free incredibly difficult. 

People who need to follow a gluten-free diet are those who develop an intolerance to gluten, which is known as celiac disease.

Celiac disease occurs when an individual’s body can’t digest gluten, which, in turn, damages the small intestine. Because of this bodily response, people afflicted with a gluten intolerance have to follow a completely gluten-free diet. But this is a rare occurrence — only 1 in 133 Americans have celiac disease.

The hype of going gluten-free has gone too far, spreading to many people who do not need to avoid gluten, which can be detrimental to their health. A common reason people choose to rid their diet of anything that could contain gluten is to lose weight and follow a diet they believe is healthier. Unfortunately, the change to an anti-gluten lifestyle may have just the opposite effect. 

Consumer Reports released an article comparing 81 gluten-free foods with their traditional counterparts. Generally speaking, the gluten-free foods contained far less vitamins and a substantial increase in sugar, sodium and fats.

The chart compared a Walmart brand muffin with a Whole Foods brand, gluten-free muffin. The gluten-free muffin had more calories, sodium and sugar. It also cost twice as much as the Walmart brand.

Since the majority of gluten-free products scored as poorly when compared with the generic muffin, it’s fair to conclude that gluten-free is not an overall healthier food choice if you don’t have to make that lifestyle change. 

Harvard Health found that many people who switch to gluten-free diets will be deprived of necessary vitamins and nutritional elements. Fortified cereals and breads have become primary sources of most “B” vitamins in the United States, and their gluten-free alternatives generally lack these essential nutrients. A “B” vitamin deficiency can lead to anemia, skin disorders and depression.

Many people have also eliminated gluten from their diets to help prevent cancer and minimize their overall risks of the disease. These people have been misled about the connections between gluten and cancer, and surprisingly have the situation backward. 

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics states that no correlation between gluten and most cancers exists. The exception is for individuals who suffer from celiac disease or have a gluten intolerance. Individuals who are not afflicted with these intolerances decrease their chances of getting cancer when they eat more whole grains.

Aside from the health implications of an unnecessary gluten-free diet, the financial issues can also be crippling.

The National Center for Biotechnology Information and the National Institutes of Health released a price comparison of gluten-free products and their counterparts that contained gluten. On average, the gluten-free products cost 242 percent more than the traditional products.

This can make switching to a gluten-free diet a very costly and potentially pointless endeavor, especially if the diet change isn’t necessary for your health. 

The dangers of following food trends and going gluten-free outweigh the benefits. Gluten is a protein that has been around of centuries, and it doesn’t have adverse side effects that warrant panic in individuals who don’t have celiac disease or an intolerance. 

While some people need to consider and implement a gluten-free diet, it’s certainly not a lifestyle change that should be done without proper medical justification.