Gluten-free, fad or bust?
Only 1 percent of the U.S. has celiac disease, but a gluten-free lifestyle has turned into a billion-dollar industry.
By Tori Sundholm and Peyton Witzke | Sports Reporters
Katharine Griffin examines her fuji apple chicken salad sitting atop a light oak table at Panera Bread in Roseville, Minn. Mass amounts of saliva begin to form as she eyes a bread bowl filled with autumn squash soup waiting to be ripped apart by the stranger next to her. Griffin has had to change her lifestyle to avoid foods like the mouth-watering bread bowl — bread contains gluten.
“Celiac disease looks different for a lot of people.” — Katharine Griffin
Griffin was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2013.
“Celiac disease looks different for a lot of people,” Griffin said. “Some people break out in hives, some throw up and some just get an uncomfortable feeling in their stomach. Personally, if I eat gluten I feel like death has come upon me. I just feel downright bad for the remainder of the day.”
The Celiac Disease Foundation depicts gluten as a nickname for wheat proteins found in many foods. These include durum, emmer, spelt, farina, farro, KAMUT® khorasan wheat and einkorn, rye, barley and triticale. Gluten is responsible for holding foods together and provides stability. In the Latin language, “gluten” translates as “glue.”
Tammi Mild, Bethel Dining Services Administrator, emphasizes the importance of students with medically diagnosed allergies being able to feel at home in the Monson Dining Center. If a student is diagnosed with a medical condition or allergy, Mild receives information from the student’s doctor and then the student will have one-on-one time with the Sodexo chefs.
“Our kitchen is 98 percent scratch, meaning almost all of our food is made in-house,” Mild said. “Our salad dressings are homemade, our condiments are homemade. We don’t churn our own butter, obviously. We do buy our gluten-free pizza crust because we don’t want any cross-contamination.”
Patients diagnosed with celiac disease have various clinical symptoms caused by gluten, but many people without the disease choose to eat gluten-free. For non-celiac Bethel sophomore Katie Saffell, eating gluten-free is a temporary decision she hopes will improve her health. Saffell has a concealed medical condition which causes imbalances within her body. She chose to go gluten-free after she read an article online that suggested cutting gluten out of her diet might help with the imbalances within her body.
Even though Saffell doesn’t have celiac disease, eating gluten-free is still a medical decision for her due to her condition — a decision that isn’t so easy at times. Her favorite snack is Spicy Sweet Chili Doritos, the only flavor not gluten-free.
“I’ll stand in the aisle and look at them and say ‘No, Katie. If you’re going to do this you actually have to do it,’” Saffell said.
Saffell said she doesn’t necessarily feel better when eating gluten-free, but she does notice feeling uncomfortable if she eats a large amount of gluten after not eating it for a while. According to Healthline.com, gluten-free foods are expected to be a $6.6 billion market by 2017, but only one in 133 Americans are affected by celiac disease.
“Gluten-free people (without celiac disease) sometimes get demonized, but the fact that it is a fad is helping people who actually have celiacs,” Saffell said.
Saffell has a family member with celiac disease and said gluten-free options didn’t use to be as readily available as they are now. Years ago, individuals with celiac disease used to have to frequent specialized groceries or cut gluten foods out of their diet completely. Now, an abundance of gluten-free foods can be found at the local Trader Joe’s.
“However, it is very sensitive. Because even without a medical issue some students may feel better if they eat gluten-free.” — Tammi Mild, Bethel Dining Services Administrator
Mild said eating gluten-free is more common now because it’s a fad. More students eat gluten-free, but celiac diagnoses aren’t increasing.
“However, it is very sensitive,” Mild said. “Because even without a medical issue some students may feel better if they eat gluten-free.”
Griffin sees a difference between wanting to cut back on carbs and physically not being able to consume gluten. She must constantly explain her gluten free lifestyle is not by choice, but Bethel has accommodated students’ allergy needs.
“You can get a specially made gluten-free pizza, a burger with a gluten-free bun — all of that stuff,” Bob Schuchardt, Bethel’s Sodexo General Manager said. “Each student is able to get their own special dietary needs taken care of here.”
Eating a gluten-free lifestyle, however, requires more work in the preparation process according to Chef Clark, Bethel’s Sodexo Executive Chef.
“When a gluten-free student comes to one of the formats and wants something assembled gluten-free, let’s say a gluten-free cheeseburger, it’s a little more work then because we are preparing one item,” Clark said. “The cook has to change their gloves, get out a new cutting board, things like that just to make one item.”
Although it may be tedious work to prepare fresh meals, for students like Saffell and Griffin, being gluten-free is pertinent to their health. Saffell hopes going gluten-free will enable her body to become balanced. Griffin doesn’t have the freedom to choose, but will have many food options in the years to come due to the growing gluten-free industry.
