Samuel Fromartz (@fromartz) of Eating Well tackles gluten. Absolutely, definitely worth a read. This was produced by @FERNnews, where Fromartz serves as editor-in-chief. FERNnews is a non-profit investigative journalism effort focused on food, agriculture, and environmental health in partnership with local and national media outlets.
Humans have a long history with wheat…going back around 10,000 years. Wheat makes up one-fifth of all the food eaten worldwide, and is an important source of protein in developing nations. Increasingly, however, wheat (and its main protein, gluten) are suspected of contributing to myriad health issues. And consumers are paying attention, according to Fromartz:
“Consumer data are pretty clear: around 22 percent of adults are trying to avoid gluten, creating an estimated $8.8 billion market that grew 63 percent between 2012 and 2014, according to market research firm Mintel. As many as 20 million Americans think gluten-free diets are healthier and around 13 million are giving up gluten to lose weight.”
Is all of this concern warranted? Read more here.