People Believe Gluten Is Harmful...and So It Is

Going gluten free is all the rage these days. In fact, according to a study, about 30 percent of consumers reported that they'd like to cut back on the amount of gluten — the protein that gives breads their elasticity — in their diets. As a result of this weird trend, companies have climbed aboard, and now sales of gluten free foods and products are expected to hit about $15 billion by the end of 2015. Why, all the sudden, do so many people believe they have gluten intolerance? Well, the question is actually the answer. People think gluten is harmful, and so it is.

What is happening with the gluten free boom is a perfect example of the nocebo effect. It's the opposite of the placebo effect. While the placebo effect refers to people believing something helps and so it does (regardless of their being zero proof that it benefits them), the nocebo effect refers to people believing that something is harmful to them, and so it becomes that way. For some reason, gluten's moment in the sun has led to people believing it is harmful. This despite not many people actually having a problem with it.

In 2012, the Mayo Clinic's report on celiac disease (which can lead to serious digestive problems) and gluten intolerance (which is really not a big deal at all) concluded that only 1.8 million Americans have celiac disease. Meanwhile, about 18 million Americans seem to have gluten intolerance and 80 million Americans follow a gluten free diet, despite not having celiac disease or an intolerance. Major companies noticed these numbers — especially the latter — and got to thinking: There are probably more people out there who we can get to think they have an issue.

Rebecca Thompson, a marketing manager at General Mills, told the New York Times that even if the Mayo Clinic's report says not many people have a problem with gluten, there's a market here because — well, we're all lazy. "When you think about the dynamics in a household, where there are likely to be three other people eating at the same time as one person with celiac or gluten sensitivity, it’s much easier to prepare one meal for everyone," Thompson said. Eventually, more marketing dollars were put behind gluten free products and suddenly, everyone was asking themselves if that tiny stomach ache was because of the notorious gluten.

Peter Gibson, a professor of gastroenterology in Melbourne, Australia, found that the nocebo effect was only being reinforced by companies' marketing. He conducted an experiment on 37 people who did not have celiac disease or an intolerance, and found that no matter what they were fed, if they were told it contained gluten (even when it didn't) they reported that their stomachs were in pain.

While this is sort of hilarious — that so many people would just adopt a diet for no reason — please don't use it to harass others. The next time someone tells you they're gluten free, don't raise a big fuss about the nocebo effect. Just be glad there's more pizza for you.

[Image via Flickr - Andrea Ngyeun]