Separating The Wheat From The Chaff

The sudden appearance of celiac disease (CD) and gluten intolerance as health concerns over the past decade requires a few remarks. Gluten is a protein found in a number of cereal grains. The common offenders are wheat, rye, barley, spelt, triticale and products derived from them. The prevalence of CD in the United States and most European countries has been identified as 0.71% of the population. The number of people thought to have a Gluten Intolerance (but not CD) is a similar number. Most of those people had not been formally diagnosed. According to an article in the American Journal of Gastroenterology, most people who were following a gluten-free diet did not have celiac disease.