Advertisement

Gluten-free – more than just a fad?

Aug 18, 2014

Gluten-free diets are trending – and they are big business. Although it was once only those with certain medical conditions who avoided products with gluten, going gluten-free has now become so popular that it has spawned a multi-million-dollar industry which may be more than just a passing fad.

This movement has arrived at time when consumers seem to be more confused than ever about what to eat. And what’s most fascinating about the gluten-free trend is that it has captured a market of people largely unaware of what gluten is, and why they should avoid it.

To food manufacturers, this widespread confusion about the so-called health benefits of going gluten-free represents an opportunity, and one that is reaping rewards.

Put simply, gluten – meaning glue in Latin – is the protein found in wheat, barley, rye and triticale which holds food together (gluten, for example, gives dough its elasticity).

In people with coeliac disease, the body reacts abnormally to gluten, causing a range of medical issues including bowel damage, stomach upsets and chronic systemic inflammation.

According to Coeliac Australia, only about 1 in 70 Australians suffer from the disease. Despite these relatively low numbers, the rapid uptake of the gluten-free diet means gluten-free bread, pasta, muffins and biscuits are now commonly bought packaged goods, with manufacturers targeting a much broader range of consumers than just coeliac sufferers.

Fuelling the growth of this industry is the common misconception that gluten-free foods are more pure and nutritionally dense than their traditional counterparts. There is an assumption that gluten-free equals healthy, which often isn’t true, particularly with regard to prepared foods.

“Gluten-free food is no healthier than food containing gluten unless you have a diagnosed gluten intolerance or coeliac disease,” says accredited practising dietician Tania Ferraretto.

“For most people, there is no benefit in following a gluten-free diet”.

Estimates of the global value of the gluten-free industry hover around $6.6 billion. In Australia alone, the market is worth around $90 million, with sales anticipated to increase exponentially as the consumer base expands over coming decades. The recent launch of gluten-free pasta by food giants Heinz and Barilla highlights two companies clearly keen to enjoy a slice of the multi-billion-dollar (gluten-free) pie.

But the gluten-free trend is broader than the consumer packaged goods industry. A recent article in the New York Times reported the trend is now changing the way top chefs in some of the world’s best restaurants write their menus. Dissatisfied with predictable gluten-free staples, imaginative chefs are becoming more creative with their fare, potentially paving the way for a new style of cuisine shifting the focus away from grains and their by-products.

Foods previously avoided by some people for purported health reasons, such as rice, are enjoying a resurgence in popularity among those avoiding gluten. The gluten-free “super-food” quinoa has also become popular as a protein-packed alternative to traditional pasta or noodles.

Whether the buzz around gluten will lead to a permanent change in the way people eat remains to be seen. What is clear, however, is that this emerging market will continue to grow.

With an increasing number of people reducing the amount of gluten in their diet comes the hope that those glutinous products will be replaced with fresh food – vegetables, fruits, meat, nuts and oil that are naturally free of gluten. In the meantime, commercially available gluten-free products are here to stay.

Just remember: that gluten-free muffin may not be as healthy as you think.

This is part of a series of articles from Lucy Travers, an entrepreneur in the health and wellness industry who hails from Adelaide and now calls New York City home. In addition to her roles in health-food start-ups, Travers is a health coach and writes about health and wellness on her website, www.lucytravers.com. You can also follow her on Twitter at @LucySTravers 

Local News Matters
Advertisement
Copyright © 2024 InDaily.
All rights reserved.