Celiac forums are taking about it, celiac bloggers are talking about it, commenters are talking about it, and for good reason. Because the answer was flat out ridiculous.
Regardless of the sarcastic, condescending tone against those of us who are self-diagnosed celiacs -- having put ourselves on an elimination diet that proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that if we aren't celiacs already, we're most definitely on that path -- the answer the author put forth was as much a blow to the low carb cause as it was for those who have gluten sensitivity.
So I couldn't help but wonder...
To what lengths is it okay to promote the low carb agenda?
To what lengths is it okay to preach our beliefs and opinions as fact?
To what lengths is it okay to get the idea of a low carb way of life into the hands of those who need it?
It was downright scary to think that this gastroenterologist was allowing his belief in a low carb diet to influence his beliefs in regards to gluten sensitivity. Crazy. And it was downright scary to think that the author of the article was just as blind, running around parroting the stupid idea that if you remove gluten from your diet and you feel better, and lose weight, it's not because gluten was making you sick. It's because you lowered your carbs in the process!!!
Okay. Whatever. But...what about all of those poor gluten sensitive individuals who are now going to believe these two? What about all of those poor overweight, gluten sensitive individuals who have been going from doctor to doctor trying to get one of them to help them with all of their accumulating autoimmune diseases and neurological disorders? Only to be told they don't know WHY they are ill, with wonky blood glucose levels and non-diabetic neuropathy. And who knows what else.
Having been there myself, I can tell you that it gets pretty discouraging. Especially when you just keep getting sicker and sicker each year.
What about all of the readers who now believe that gluten sensitivity doesn't exist because some opinon piece printed in the New York Times said so? What about all of those readers who have been persuaded that low carb is now the way to go, because if you believe you're gluten sensitive and lower your carbs, it's gonna fix it all. Low Carb Magic.
When those readers pass the torch, and pay it forward, how are they going to do it?
I don't know. The whole thing left a bad taste in my mouth, because 1) gluten sensitivity DOES exist, and 2) it was like the guys believed in low carb so badly that they were unconsciously doing the very thing they were accusing gluten sensitivity believers of doing.
On one side of their mouth, they were saying that those who believe in gluten sensitivity were blaming all of their ills on gluten. But they were blaming all the fatness in the world on carbs. Saying that a gluten free diet helps those who are overweight lose fat due to a reduction in carbs, not because they are no longer eating gluten.
The irony, of course, is that the theory itself doesn't hold water. At least, not in my experience. So I don't know how much all of this matters, if anything. All of those low carb products that most low carbers can't live without, like tortillas and wraps and pasta -- are loaded with wheat gluten. So it's not just about the carbs. Plus gluten free substitutes that most folks going gluten free also gravitate towards, myself included, are NOT low in carbs. Which means going gluten free is not necessarily low in carbs unless you make it so.
So where does that leave us? Right in the middle of some mud hole, is my guess. A lot of B.S. Does the ends justify the means? I don't think so anymore. At least, not when some folks, like those with gluten sensitivity, are being sacrificed on the alter of agenda.
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