Everywhere you go, you’ll see restaurants promising a large gluten-free menu, and overhear people refusing food by saying “Oh, I’m sorry—I’m on a gluten-free diet.” However, you might be left feeling mystified about why there has been such a massive surge in the gluten-free trend, and you may be wondering whether you too should opt to eject gluten from your life.
In this succinct, information-packed video from TED-Ed, William D. Chey explains absolutely everything you need to know about the nature of gluten, why some people’s digestive systems aren’t able to process it, and the nature of allergies.
He helpfully distinguishes allergic reactions to wheat from non-celiac gluten sensitivity, so his video is ideal viewing for those who are in the middle of investigations into their own digestive discomfort.
As it turns out, the issues suffered by those who identify as sensitive to (or intolerant of) gluten are a lot more complex than they first appear—in fact, that symptoms that develop in response to wheat and other grains aren’t exclusively due to gluten at all.
By the end of Chey’s presentation, you’ll also be well aware of the potential to suffer from the “nocebo” response to gluten. In other words, since it is so prominently discussed as problematic, 
people are more likely to assume that it can—and will—cause them a problem.
Armed with this awareness, you’ll be less likely to jump to any conclusions about what’s causing painful trapped wind or episodes of bloating, and therefore more likely to end up with the right diet and treatment for any digestive problem that you have developed.
