GLUTEN SENSITIVITY Real or imagined?

The gluten-free trend has taken the world by storm – starting, Gwyneth Paltrow claimed in an interview with The New York Times, when she released her gluten-free cookbook in 2015. She’s not quite right, it turns out, the same as in her earlier claim about single-handedly popularising yoga. But that’s our Gwynny.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health, the gluten-free products industry had already grown by 136% between 2013 and 2015, translating to a cool $12 billion (almost R200 billion) in sales. In 2019 it was valued at $4.3 billion, reports Allied Market Research – and it’s estimated to reach $7.5 billion by 2027.

So that would mean a vast and growing number of people have gluten-sensitivity issues, or are finally recognising them, right? Not necessarily. It turns out much depends on which camp you are in on this controversial issue dividing social media, family lunches, and even the