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" Gwyneth Paltrow has done it as part of her famous cleanses.The View&amp;#039;s Elisabeth Hasselbeck touts its benefits, too. And thousands of other women have hopped on this latest dietary bandwagon, which calls for avoiding all products that contain gluten \u2014 a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Between 2006 and 2010, the sale of gluten-free foods in supermarkets rose 54 percent. But are gluten shunners really helping their health? Here, the lowdown.  Gluten-Free? Definitely: You&amp;#039;ve seen a doctor and tested positive for celiac disease For those who have this serious condition, avoiding gluten is anything but a fad: Eating even the tiniest amount sets off an autoimmune response that causes damage to the lining of the small intestine, explains Tricia Thompson, M.S., R.D., author of The Gluten-Free Nutrition Guide. That damage can lead to nutrient deficiencies and cause a range of mysterious-seeming symptoms, including diarrhea, skin rash, and depression, as well as long-term risk of intestinal cancer. Diagnosis is confirmed by analyzing tissue samples from your GI tract. Currently, a strict gluten-free diet is the only treatment, but \u2014 the good news \u2014 sticking to the diet reverses the damage, your symptoms, and the risks.  Gluten-Free? Possibly: You have celiac-like symptoms, but no diagnosis Many people with ongoing gastrointestinal upset, as well as such seemingly unrelated problems as chronic fatigue syndrome and joint pain, find relief after adopting a gluten-free diet. They may have a &amp;quot;gluten sensitivity&amp;quot; \u2014 a disorder associated with a wide range of maladies but not with the same intestinal damage as celiac disease. But don&amp;#039;t just put yourself on a gluten-free diet, warns Alessio Fasano, M.D., director of the Center for Celiac Research, University of Maryland School of Medicine. In order to avoid serious problems, &amp;quot;work with your doctor to rule out celiac first, then try a test run.&amp;quot; If a gluten-free plan seems to help, consult a nutritionist to develop a sound diet. Gluten-Free? Probably not: You want to lose weight You&amp;#039;ve heard it before: It&amp;#039;s total calories, not gluten or carbohydrates, that cause you to put on or take off pounds. In fact, gluten-free versions of foods are frequently higher in calories than their regular counterparts; a gluten-free English muffin from Foods by George has 210 calories, for example, compared with just 120 calories for a Thomas&amp;#039; Original English muffin. And gluten-free food products tend to be low in fiber, which helps fill you up. One thing that will get thin on such a diet: your wallet. These specialty items can cost more than twice as much as wheat-containing versions. For more info on going gluten-free, check out our video:      "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/health/diet-nutrition/advice/a18751/gluten-free-diet/>