Re: Hippy science is easy and wrong (B.C. Views, Jan. 21)
Before Tom Fletcher entirely dismisses the gluten-free diet by referring to gluten as “the new evil,” I would like to remind him and readers that approximately one per cent of the population actually has celiac disease.
This is an autoimmune disease whereby the absorptive tissues of the intestine are destroyed by the body’s reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.
The only path to restored health and prevention of other related complications such as osteoporosis, anemia, and some nasty cancers of the gut is a strict, gluten-free diet for life.
Another estimated five to six per cent of the population suffers from non-celiac gluten sensitivity.
Research on this condition is in the early stages but medical researchers confirm that it is “real” and symptoms are similar to those of celiac disease.
For some of us, eating gluten-free restores our health and is literally life-saving.
Anne Wraggett, president, Canadian Celiac Association