If you prefer to eat gluten free, go ahead and tell me why.

Unless you have celiac disease, you likely don’t have a reason that is medically sound.

There’s a huge dietary fad in which people are making a point of avoiding anything that has gluten in it. This is due to the idea that gluten must be, in some way, unhealthy, even if those who think so aren’t really sure why.

But here’s the thing: unless you have celiac disease, you probably don’t have any reason to avoid gluten at all.

To accommodate those who have celiac disease, companies have labeled their foods as “gluten free.” After that, along came the masses, making the assumption that those avoiding gluten know some dietary secret that make them so healthy. And with the food industry making piles of cash off these impressionable people, would you really expect them to clarify matters?

Since then, “gluten free” labels have appeared on various products, including products that wouldn’t have typically had gluten to begin with. There are burger patties marketed as “gluten free”:

Source: Peta.org

You were probably already thinking of pointing out that that’s a veggie burger, and the source of the image was Peta.org, so it’s already as though the product was precision-engineered to prey on the impressionable. But there’s more: there’s also a gluten free dairy creamer:

Source: Silk.com

It’s not just lactose free and gluten free, it’s also non-GMO verified. This is one product that’s especially suited to those paranoid about their food.

If you have celiac disease, avoid gluten. But if you’re like so many people who buy into fad diets, stop being so impressionable. Marketers have been making big bucks off of you, because you really don’t know what’s going on.