Editor's note: Dr. Arthur Agatston is the medical director of wellness and prevention for Baptist Health South Florida. Creator of the best-selling South Beach Diet series, he is the author of the new book, "The South Beach Diet Gluten Solution."

If you're confused by the gluten-free diet craze, you're not alone.

Like many people, you've probably heard about the phenomenon but really don't understand what gluten is or what, if anything, you should be doing about it. Yet millions of people in this country are turning their lives upside-down trying to avoid it.

Here are five things you need to know about gluten:
FULL POST

Domino’s Pizza is delivering some good news to gluten-free eaters, but not everyone with sensitivity to the stuff is happy with the move.

The pie chain announced that it will be offering gluten free crust at all of its nearly 5,000 stores in the US beginning this week, and claims to be the first delivery chain to do that nationwide.

"The prevalence of gluten sensitivity has become a real issue with significant impact on consumer choice, and we want to be a part of the solution,” said J. Patrick Doyle, Domino's Pizza president and CEO. “Now, the whole group can enjoy Domino's with the addition of our new Gluten Free Crust."

But Domino’s has a big caveat in its announcement: the crust is only appropriate for people with “mild gluten sensitivity.” That has some that suffer from Celiac disease scratching their heads and angered that they are left out and potentially put at risk.
FULL POST

Elizabeth Gordon is the author of 'The Complete Allergy-Free Comfort Foods Cookbook and Allergy-Free Desserts'. She was diagnosed with multiple food allergies in 2007 after the birth of her first child and decided to combine her social work background with her love of the culinary arts to help people just like her. She cooks up new treats, weekly, on her blog allergyfreedelights.com

The United States is home to 9 million adults and 6 million children coping with food allergies ranging from annoying rashes to life-threatening anaphylaxis. Millions of other families are taking note of government-funded initiatives like Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move project and reaching for less processed and more natural fare.

While healthy and safe eating is the common denominator between these groups, there is likely another: sticker shock when the checkout person hands over the grocery receipt.
FULL POST

5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

A few years back, when people heard the words “gluten-free,” the words “tough” and “tasteless” also came to mind. Now, with so many options available in stores and restaurants, gluten-free is kissing its drab reputation goodbye.

Mastering the art of gluten-free baking is easy with a few simple tips to ensure great texture (no cardboard here!) and flavor.

Just in time for the holiday cookie season, Whole Foods Market's gluten-free guru Lee Tobin offers five tips for gluten-free cookies that are good enough to bring to your next holiday party, or even offer up to Santa ... if you're nice enough to share them.

Five Tips for Gluten-Free Cookies: Lee Tobin
FULL POST

5@5 is a daily, food-related list from chefs, writers, political pundits, musicians, actors, and all manner of opinionated people from around the globe.

We've said it once, we'll say it again: "Celiac? To heck with that!"

Don't get us wrong - we think a nice, crusty baguette is pretty groovy in its own right, but just because you're gluten-free (gluten is the group of natural proteins found in all forms of wheat and wheat flour) doesn't mean your life has gone to hell in a breadbasket.

Amy Gjerde is the co-owner of Woodberry Kitchen with Spike Gjerde - who just so happens to be the executive chef and, as the last name might have denoted, her husband.

Amy also has Celiac disease, but that's not stopping her from living the good - and delicious - life.

Five Places You Won't Miss The Gluten: Amy Gjerde
FULL POST

Jennie Bragg is an Editorial Producer in CNN’s Money Unit. Previously - When did G-free get all...sexy?

Where I come from, baked goods only happen on birthdays and other such special occasions, and they come with a little help from Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker. Many critics would agree that my mom makes the best brownies in the world and if anyone is still wondering about her big secret, they come from a box. So, it was slightly out of character that I baked chocolate chip cookies this weekend - from scratch.

Why stray from tradition? Because gluten-free baking mixes taste like cardboard.
FULL POST

(Health.com) - Sarah Cooper was a new mom in her mid-20s, busily juggling her family and a career as an electrical engineer, when everything came to a halt.

She lost all her energy. She developed acne. And she began experiencing gastrointestinal problems: bloating, diarrhea, cramping, constipation. Her doctors, thinking something must be missing from her diet, put her on various vitamins, none of which helped.

"It was all I could do to go to work," she says.

After years of failed treatments, Cooper's luck changed. She saw a doctor who suspected she might have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that can appear at any age and is caused by an intolerance to gluten.

A protein found in wheat, barley, and rye (and countless food products - like bread and pasta - that contain those grains), gluten gradually damages the intestines of people with celiac disease, preventing the absorption of vitamins and minerals and setting off a slew of related health problems, which can include fatigue and bad skin.

Read the rest of "Will a gluten-free diet improve your health?" on CNN Health.

Previously – Gluten defined and When did G-free get all...sexy?

Jennie Bragg is an Editorial Producer in CNN’s Money Unit. Previously - Gluten-free and well-fed: the sneaky stuff

Fashion week has come and gone here in New York, but with all the models, designers and wanna-be fashionistas roaming about town just a week ago, I got to thinking a bit about trends. Like shoulder pads and last season’s romper, diets tend to go in and out of style.

So what’s hot right now? You guessed it: the gluten-free diet.

Popularized by celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow and Elisabeth Hasselbeck, the G-free diet is all the rage. Once a solution for those diagnosed, like me, with celiac disease, now 93% of gluten-free interested dieters have never been diagnosed with celiac, according to research by the Hartman Group, a consumer research group.

So if you don’t have a gluten allergy or intolerance, why are you eating gluten-free?
FULL POST

Jennie Bragg is an Editorial Producer in CNN’s Money Unit. Previously - Celiac? To heck with that!

When it comes to food - and pretty much everything else in my life - I have always been a creature of habit. This gets me into what I refer to as food ruts; I eat the same thing for breakfast or lunch (or both) for days, weeks, even months at a time, until I wear myself out completely and decide I can’t stand the sight of said food anymore.

Such was the case recently with almonds. I loved them. I couldn’t get enough. I put them on yogurt, oatmeal, salads, and ate ‘em by the heaping handful. Then, out of nowhere, my almond joy vanished.
FULL POST

Jennie Bragg is an Editorial Producer in CNN’s Money Unit

My very first word was cookie - raisin cookie to be exact. Family legend goes, it came out something like, "raymee cook cook." The details are trivial. The moral of this story is that shortly after I left the womb, I discovered my first true love: carbs.

As I grew older, my meal of choice became quite obvious: the basket of bread. Who needs to order at all when the best part of a meal comes at the very beginning, for free?

And so it was, for 24 years, that I lived the life of a glutinous gluten monster - until that fateful day. After about two years of terrible stomach issues and running from doctor to doctor, I was diagnosed with Celiac Disease. That's the no-carbs-for-the-rest-of-your-life disease (or at least not the good carbs).
FULL POST