Yes, frustrating when you read ingredient labels.... e.g. yoghurts with gelatine is not a toxic concern for me, I can understand this additive for the texture, but not everybody likes dead animals on their plate either when eating something considered non-dead animal product...getting side tracked.
If someone is truely, medically established gluten intolerant = coeliac disease, a completely gluten free diet is essential
(to avoid serious health risks further down the track, not only the discomfort now is an issue from abdominal pain, distention, blood in stool to gas, malabsorbtions leading to secondary problems from infertility to anemia and osteoporosis)
Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder. An immune response to gluten, to this protein, a reaction, that one should not have. But if you do, one needs to avoid this protein gluten.
Those specific antibodies destroy the microvillies in the guts (hence the absorbtion issue with secondary malnutrition issues and pain issues and immune system stress down the track causing higher cancer risks).
My in-law family runs this disease and late diagnose caused early death (lymphoma, a common elevated cancer risk in untreated coeliac patients) hence we had a screen of non-symptomatic family members even too.
We are all fine, not even gene carrying.
I am not aware of any bad health impact of gluten alone, if one is not suffering coeliac disease.
Since gluten has been in at least my ancestry tree for a long time, I will keep it in my diet, especially as going vegan often enough out of vegetarian, it is a great source for protein, too. (seitan)
Gluten free 'for fun' in non-coeliac disease people is a different story, as mentioned I highly believe the 'feeling better' has to do with the life style change in general that any gluten avoidance brings with it since one must read labels detailled to avoid hidden gluten and with those ingredients come other additives, that are avoided automatically. Also it could be that they reacted to something else, another protein, that is not gluten, but comes in combination like a wheat allergy.
I highly believe a good diet is key to health for sure.
Some are allergic to other proteins than gluten in cereals.
So that must be kept very apart and not confused.
e.g. Wheat allergy. - it's an IgE allergic response with all the typical allergic reactions. You can search internet if interested. It's a huge field.
Personally I don't think a protein named gluten can do harm in people, who are not coeliac or allergic to it.
If anyone knows better with good solid studies (other than from sale promoting adds), please, please, I would love to hear about them.
We tried striced gluten free for months.
Also be aware, that rice can be a trigger for allergies!
It's always often named as the start for elemination diets, but what if exactly that one is THE reason for abdominal problems?
People jump onto gluten since coeliac disease truely does exist,
but being 100% not coeliac disease effected or allergically reacting on it, having no gut villi destruction, I would quickly forget about it and rather look elsewhere.
Food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome (FPIES) is what parents obsevere, when they introduce new food like rice or cow's milk....
it has nothing to do with gluten.
There is no one shoe fits all and hence testing and trial and errors are neccessary when it come to 'food intolerances' and 'food allergies' other than gluten once coeliac disease is excluded.
Coeliac disease:
This antibody cause a villous atrophy in the small bowel and can hence be proven (biopsy).
For coeliac disease diagnose:
one get's an antibody blood test first (you must eat gluten for this test!),
this blood test for tissue transglutaminase antibody (tTG), IgA class, endomysial antibody is usually more sensitive than specific to avoid false negative results (as screeeing test should), but can cause false positive results.
People with a positive blood antibody test will be therefore sent for a small bowel biopsy, that is the gold standard to show, if one suffers coeliac disease.
There is a great (but maybe not everywhere available or to be paid privately) genetic coeliac test, HLA DQ2, HLA DQ8. Beware though: if positive, only 1 out of 30 (or 10, studies vary) is actually coelic disease expressing, the others are simply carriers with a not switched on gene, but can pass it on.
When it comes back negative though, one for sure has no gluten intolerance and not even the 1:10 risk.
So yes, gluten is bad for your health causing gut villi atrophy when you suffer coeliac disease.
When you are not suffering coeliac disease, this specific protein should cause no harm, but be digested and a protein source.
That's how far I understand the complex problematic brought down into one sentence.
The studies read about so called non-coeliac-gluten intolerance all point out, that people seem to think it is the gluten, but most likely something else that is avoided via gluten free diet, from any other protein in grains to actually FODMAP, polyols that are avoided and might have been the reason for symptoms, not the gluten.
Also life style, diet change itself seemed beneficial.
So a gluten free diet doesn't harm at least, if...one suffers not other allergies or intolerances or malabsorbtions, which are not gluten to blame.
Did I make sense?
Will do