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24th Apr 2017

Expert Suggests Irish People Are Wasting Millions On Gluten-Free Foods

James Fenton

As many as one in five Irish people are now following a gluten-free diet but according to a leading expert they are wasting their time and money.

Professor Fergus Shanahan from UCC’s Department of Medicine, told Today With Sean O’Rourke this morning that only around 1% of the population suffer from coeliac disease which is a genuine gluten-sensitivity condition:

“That number is well supported by solid science. That number is 1% in general in the Western world and throughout most of the world. That number has coeliac disease, which is a distinct, scientifically confirmed, gluten-sensitivity condition.”

According to Professor Shanahan, the gluten-free craze is nothing more than a a fad which will soon die a death:

“I’m simply saying that this whole area, this whole fad, is not new…. Fads and waves, even though they generate a lot of money, and they may be good for the economy of some people, that doesn’t make them right.”

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