My daughter noticed this on MSN.com today, and I just had to take a snapshot of the MSN homepage showing that "Gluten-Free Diet" is currently an "A-List Search" term! (note: I added the yellow ellipse in the picture above). It's sort of interesting that such a search term would rank right up there with the Princess Diana inquest, election results, and Rosie O'Donnell.
Perhaps Gluten-Free Diets are really taking off these days, and maybe even for more people than just Celiac sufferers and the gluten intolerant among the population. Maybe a lot of people are just simultaneously recognizing various symptoms of potential Celiac Disease or gluten-intolerance in their lives too. Or, maybe it is that all of us that are Gluten-Free are just getting ready for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season and the gluten-free baking that we're going to have to do soon (or, perhaps we're even searching for those special gluten-free diet christmas gifts).
Maybe it has been rumored that the gluten-free diet is the cure-all for various non-Celiac-related conditions too, or perhaps someone hyped it as a great weight-loss diet. Well, whatever the case, it is rather fascinating to me that for a condition / disease that supposedly only affects perhaps one in a hundred, there sure are a lot of people performing searches for gluten-free diet items (at least according to MSN today). The way I see it, exposure and recognition of the condition and the diet are what matters, and even something as simple as "Gluten Free Diet" being a top search-term for a while is a great thing to help this along.
5 comments:
Some lady was on Oprah complaining of fatigue and brain fogs on Monday. Dr. Oz had her diagnosed with Celiac's. I wonder if that publicity is what caused the surge. Goodness knows millions of people follow the Oprah show like its a religion.
Alli,
That could certainly be the reason. Oprah definitely has a huge following, and all it would take is for a significant percentage of her watchers to go exploring the gluten-free diet on the web to crank up the search ranking. Thanks for stopping by.
I know of two non-Celiacs who have gone gluten free. One has hyper thyroid and the other has fibro myalsia (or however you spell it). It is not just us Celiac folks who are looking to gluten as a possible source of health problems.
Shannon,
I too seem to be running in to a LOT of people going gluten-free for one reason or another. Autism is one (typically people trying gluten-free diets for their kids - some claim it helps), thyroid issues as you mentioned are another, and Fibromyalgia too (which, some believe gluten is a "trigger" for). I've known a few people (not known to have Celiac Disease) that claim they lose a few pounds and feel less bloated and have less GI issues if they simply avoid gluten. So, there seems to be plenty of reasons people may consider the gluten-free diet option. Thanks for your input Shannon.
I can tell you why I searched the gluten free diet. My chiropractor said, after seeing my blood results, that although my thyroid was within normal limits, it was low, and a gluetin free diet would help!
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