Clarification on gluten

The intended messages of my September column may have been misunderstood by some readers. Those who medically need to avoid gluten certainly should avoid it. Further, it helps those sufferers when foods are clearly labeled as lacking gluten, and I think that it is a good thing when they are. What I think is a fad is the pattern of people buying products that are gluten-free who have no medical reason to avoid gluten. I never intended to minimize the seriousness of celiac disease or of sensitivity reactions to gluten, and I certainly did not mean to minimize the suffering of people who have those conditions, which is indeed quite substantial.