While some people are legitimately allergic to gluten -- or at the very least, have an intolerance to the protein -- others may have adopted the gluten-free diet in an effort to stick with the latest healthy-living trend. Recently, Jimmy Kimmel sought to expose some fad dieters and healthy-living fanatics for their lack of knowledge about what gluten actually is. In the latest pedestrian question video for Jimmy Kimmel Live, people near a "popular exercise spot" were asked if they knew what gluten was. Some came close. Others, not so much.
What is gluten? As it's explained in the Jimmy Kimmel Live video, gluten is a protein composite that's often found in bread, pasta and other foods. It seems fair to score points to anyone who answers "It's in wheat" or even really "wheat," though wheat is not technically gluten by definition. But it's close enough in terms of how it might affect a person's diet, as abstaining from wheat is pretty much a requirement for gluten free living. But the first guy in Kimmel's video didn't even manage that answer. His only response (that we're shown, anyway) is "I don't know." At least he admits it! The next guy comes closer by saying it's a flour derivative and that it's in wheat. The next girl says it's wheat, citing her Russian friend's book, which is close to accurate, but then she mentions rice, which is wrong. Rice does not contain gluten.
And finally, there's the guy who says he doesn't eat rye, wheat, oat, bran, dairy, nuts or eggs. The rapidity in which he answered that question makes us think maybe that's not the first time he's said that. He doesn't totally know what gluten is, but he gets points for "the wheat" hand gesture, in my book.
Gluten-free may be considered a "fad" but gluten intolerance does seem to be on the rise, or awareness of it is anyway. We can snicker at the gluten-free people who don't really know what gluten technically is, but the bright side to the faddishness of the diet is that it's likely creating more of a demand for gluten free options. Those people with Celiac disease or an actual gluten allergy or intolerance benefit from that if it means supermarkets and restaurants will start offering more gluten free options, right?
