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Tuesday, Jul 31, 2012 5:16 PM UTC

Is your problem gluten?

Or just faddish eating?

By

Topics: From the Wires,

Is your problem gluten? In this Thursday, July 14, 2012 photo, Michele Kelly, owner of Pure Knead bakery, poses with a rack of freshly baked gluten-free sandwich bread in Decatur, Ga. A research team led by the Mayo Clinic's Dr. Joseph Murray looked at blood samples taken from Americans in the 1950s and compared them to samples taken from people today, and determined Celiac disease, triggered by gluten, has been increasing, confirming estimates that about 1 percent of U.S. adults have it today, Murray and his colleagues reported Tuesday, July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)(Credit: AP)

ATLANTA (AP) — Gluten-free eating has exploded in America, but scientists aren’t sure how many people are doing it for medical reasons.

A study released Tuesday suggests that nearly 2 million U.S. adults have celiac disease, a digestive disorder caused by foods that contain gluten, a protein that is in wheat.

In the past few years, scientists have also identified another group of people as “gluten sensitive” — a different condition with similar symptoms.

But there is no test for gluten sensitivity, and how many people actually have it is a matter of debate.

Meanwhile, gluten-free has become a fad. Americans will spend an estimated $7 billion this year on foods labeled gluten-free, according to the market research firm Mintel.

___

Online:

Celiac disease: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/index.aspx

More Mike Stobbe.

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