Why All the Hate for Gluten-free Celebrities?

Anytime attention is brought to celiac disease and gluten-free diet it's a good thing. I don't care why vast amounts of gluten-free products have flooded the market and options available in restaurants have skyrocketed. I am just glad our gluten-free daughter has wonderful options! If celebrity attention to the gluten-free diet has contributed to increased awareness, who cares! This isn't a contest folks.

I always thought that those who were critical of celebrities who have gone gluten free were part of some wheat producers' conspiracy. The more people who are gluten free, the easier it is for me to find cheaper gluten options. I have no idea why someone who has had their symptoms relieved by avoiding gluten would be critical of someone else, whatever their reason for doing it.

When I was diagnosed, my doctor suggested that I go to a celiac association meeting to learn more about it. My chapter included a section on gluten intolerance and told those in the room that if they had symptoms that were relieved by avoiding gluten, that it was likely they were intolerant and should avoid gluten. It sounded like common sense to me.

But it isn't just celebrities. I recently had dinner with a celiac who talked about other celiacs as though they were hypochondriacs. Being one, I was a bit irritated by this, as she threw around comments like the ones attributed above (about celebrities), to everyone else who avoids gluten.

Thank you Deena & G Harrison! I totally agree. I cannot stand when people criticize a celebrity or other media source for bringing more publicity and awareness of celiac & gluten intolerance. It's ridiculous! Count your blessings people! There is SO much more awareness now than there was before, SO many more resources, and best of all, SO many MORE gluten-free products available! These people that have an issue with that are negative martyrs. I truly believe that wheat & gluten are terrible for anyone to ingest. Not just people with Celiac or gluten intolerance. I would love to see it become less & less prevalent so there is less risk of exposure & so that our society as a whole is more healthy overall. Please people, get your priorities straight!

This argument reminds me of the attitudes towards vegetarians in the 70s and 80s. People make judgments based on little knowledge, not helped by newspaper articles which are based on judgments with little knowledge. Irresponsible, poor journalism, plus perhaps a smidgen of bias engendered by the lobbying of those with vested interest in the loss of sales of relevant products.

It's been 2 1/2yrs since I was diagnosed and in that time I have seen lots of choices become available for myself and fellow celiacs. I, my friends also, know what to look for on labels thanks to more awareness. Oh and sometimes you just gotta lighten up- laugh and just carry on doing what's best for you. You can always explain what celiac is to those who don't know, again thanks to awareness- oh and Celiac.com

It's such a double edged sword, to have celebrities involved in this publicly, just as with other health issues. On one hand, it's great that they bring any kind of awareness to a condition or disease that helps others-before more celebrities became vocal about it, the stores and restaurants in my area had zero dedicated gluten free items, I just had to examine everything I picked up so closely before I tried it, which translated to huge chunks of time being spent just trying to find things I could safely eat, taking all the fun out of cooking and all the enjoyment out of eating. On the other hand, not all publicity is good publicity, and not all viewers view things with an objective eye, instead only seeing what they want to see. In some cases what people see is that those who must have a gluten free diet are just picky eaters, or are trying the latest diet trend. They only see those celebrities who make it seem that way, and conclude we are all that way. Like the local baker or carry-out establishment I'd love to patronize, but cannot because they think it's just a passing fad, so they do not after years, decades, offer a single gluten free item. Or the chains like Starbucks, who discontinued their one gluten free offering I could eat, because the franchisees never advertised they had anything gluten free, then when nobody bought it because nobody knew they had it, they stopped making it. Because, they thought it was a fad, or worse didn't know of its importance to a large segment of the population.

The only celebrity listed there I know for sure has celiac disease is Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She is not promoting gluten-free simply because it is trendy or a fad diet, but is sharing what her experience has been with the condition. It doesn't make sense to criticize her. But no doubt, often the real reason she takes heat and gets pounded is because she is a conservative and on FNC.

I don't think those of us with celiac should look a gift horse in the mouth. Granted, celebrities going gluten free won't raise awareness of the disease but it doesn't diminish it either. The real benefit is in the reaction from the food industry. For instance, when General Mills recently introduced gluten free Cheerios, the company stated that it made the move because 1% of the population has celiac and 30% is avoiding gluten in their diet. My guess is that if it weren't for that 30% - Cheerios and other foods would not be gluten free. So for that, I say thank you.

Thanks for writing this Scott! I advocate the mantra: 'Let us eat food that makes us feel good without judgement, thank you.'

I don't think those of us with celiac should look a gift horse in the mouth. Granted, celebrities going gluten free won't raise awareness of the disease but it doesn't diminish it either. The real benefit is in the reaction from the food industry. For instance, when General Mills recently introduced gluten free Cheerios, the company stated that it made the move because 1% of the population has celiac and 30% is avoiding gluten in their diet. My guess is that if it weren't for that 30% - Cheerios and other foods would not be gluten free. So for that, I say thank you.

Why would you say that "celebrities going gluten free won't raise awareness of the disease"?? Many people are now aware of both the disease and the diet precisely because certain celebrities they know have celiac disease or went on the gluten-free diet.

The only celebrity listed there I know for sure has celiac disease is Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She is not promoting gluten-free simply because it is trendy or a fad diet, but is sharing what her experience has been with the condition. It doesn't make sense to criticize her. But no doubt, often the real reason she takes heat and gets pounded is because she is a conservative and on FNC.

Most of the negative comments on the Hasselbeck articles we did had nothing to do with her politics, and mostly to do with other issues mentioned here.

The only celebrity listed there I know for sure has celiac disease is Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She is not promoting gluten-free simply because it is trendy or a fad diet, but is sharing what her experience has been with the condition. It doesn't make sense to criticize her. But no doubt, often the real reason she takes heat and gets pounded is because she is a conservative and on FNC.

I think Zoey Deschanel is celiac too. Or at least Gluten Intolerant.