[ColdNoMore]

Be careful of jumping on the 'gluten-free' bandwagon, thinking that it is automatically healthier...unless you have been diagnosed with celiac disease.

Most People Shouldn't Eat Gluten-Free - Scientific American

If you embrace such a diet, you'll end up "eating a lot of foods that are stripped of nutrients," Tallmadge said. Studies show gluten-free diets can be deficient in fiber, iron, folate, niacin, thiamine, calcium, vitamin B12, phosphorus and zinc, she said.

"You can eat a healthy diet without gluten, but you have to be very knowledgeable, and most people aren't," Tallmadge said. People who go gluten-free may feel better because, to avoid the protein, they end up cutting out desserts and junk foods, thus losing weight. "They mistakenly attribute that to their gluten-free decision," Tallmadge said.

The Dangers of Going Gluten-Free

The good in grains

According to a 2010 comprehensive review in Nutrition Research Reviews, whole grain cereals can protect the body against the disease and aging process caused by oxidation. Oxidation is involved in all the major chronic diseases: metabolic syndrome, obesity, diabetes, cancers and cardiovascular disease.

A whopping 21 percent of Americans are currently making an active attempt to eat gluten-free, according to a Gallup poll published July 23. That percentage dwarfs the 1 percent of the U.S. population diagnosed with celiac disease — the only medical condition that requires gluten-free products for someone with the disease to live a healthy life.