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[Carnby]

I think people with stomach problems assume gluten is causing it. The gluten free fad didn't help this. I myself made the mistake. When I got sick of eating gluten free foods, I cheated and started eating bread again. And I was feeling just fine.

But my stomach symptoms eventually came back, but this time I knew gluten was not the cause. After experimenting with foods, and paying attention to what actually made me sick, I discovered it was fructose.

My moral of the story is, don't assume that it's gluten. It could very well be. But diet fads can distract people from discovering the real cause. Also, see a doctor. That's the only way to really know.

The reason it was poorly diagnosed for such a long time was due to a set of rigidly narrow symptoms that barely scrape the surface of the ways this autoimmune disease can manifest itself. It's not just "eat bread, get a tummy ache." We now know that people can develop dozens of varying symptoms and, in many cases, no symptoms at all while being verifiably positive for Celiac. I didn't possess classic Celiac symptoms which delayed my diagnosis by years while my health deteriorated. We've learned so much more about the disease in the past decade or so and an explosion of diagnoses as a result isn't a surprise. Learn how to identify the disease properly and you'll be able to help more people.

This right here. I was getting sick from eating pizza. And not just a little sick. I'm talking food poisoning symptoms. I said "it's gotta be the pizza. There's gluten in pizza. I must be gluten intolerant. It can't be the diet soda I was drinking. There isn't gluten in soda." Another example was at a summer birthday party. "It must be the cake I ate. It can't be the watermelon. There's nothing wrong with watermelon. It's all natural." Like many, In fell for the "it's gotta be gluten" fad.

 

[Curiocity]

Boyfriend and I did a gluten-free diet for a couple of weeks; he has chronic inflammation and fatigue among other things and those symptoms diminished significantly. (The diet had no real impact on me.) Since then, he's been off gluten, and when he eats it he gets a sharp smack in the carpal tunnel.

We're going in with the assumption that there's more to it than gluten (could be something else that rides along in those foods, or who knows what else).
We're not exactly on the gluten-free happy fad train but hey, if it makes him feel better, we'll sure as hell take advantage of it for now.

In other words, it's easy to dismiss the fad, but it's hard to blame people for trying when they have a positive return. The gluten-free fad does seem less insidious than the usual weight-loss fads, regardless of how solid the science is.

 

[Metroxed]

For everyone that "has" celiac's, what did you do before this fad started? Get gassy when you ate bread?

I was diagnosed "silent" Celiac's disease. I actually didn't feel anything when eating gluten. I could eat some pasta or muffins right now and nothing at all would happen, I'd feel alright. The thing is, two years ago or so I developed some lactose intolerance. At first I could only eat diary products in the morning (at night they would cause pain, flatulences, etc), and slowly it "evolved" until I could not eat anything diary at any moment without discomfort.

I went to the doctor's for a lactose intolerance diagnosis and I got Celiac's. I've been several months without eating products with gluten, but I still struggle with diary products.

 

[Stet]

Assuming they are full of shit just means you're being dismissive and a jerk. My sister has had stomach problems since she was a kid and countless doctors and specialist could never conclude why until a few years ago when they recommended her to stay off gluten for a month to see what happens. Surprise surprise they went away.

Not really, he just has his numbers off. It's more like 97% of the population.

 

[Who]

Rice is better than bread by miles and miles anyway.

Anybody here live in USA? Our "bread" sucks.

Yeah all bread in America sucks. Every last slice.

Spoiler

jimmy johns has the most delicious bread known to man

 

[entremet]

Yeah all bread in America sucks. Every last slice.

Spoiler

jimmy johns has the most delicious bread known to man

American has some excellent artisanal breads. The supermarket stuff is garbage.

 

[Clockwork5]

My belly grumbles after I eat bread and pasta but it kinda tickles so I am fine with it.

 

[SteveWinwood]

The best you can say about the effect of gluten on health is "we don't really know". But some people who "fucking love science" will argue otherwise.

that fucking love science facebook like site is trash and terrible

 

[Freeza Under The Shower]

The FODMAP bit is interesting, but after looking it up, a FODMAP reduced diet seems like hell. There are so many things on the no-go list that I like.

You have to watch out for

avocados
apples/pears/cherries
broccoli/cauliflower
onions/garlic
mushrooms
xylitol (thankfully you only need small amounts to improve oral hygiene)

you just described my diet.

I'm really not sold on replacing one panic fad with another one. The answer to 'gluten' is btw in the final paragraph anyway: lack of fermentation. Properly prepared bread / wheat is harmless.

 

[cryptic]

Does it ever mention that gluten is a seed protein that has some defensive mechanism to ensure it isn't eaten as the plant wants it distributed and so will cause inflammation, no matter what(orbitz)?
A biologist I read says that's why it shouldn't be eaten, and states some people will have greater tolerance for it than others but at some point it will cause problems simply due to constant inflammation.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

What does what we started to think recently have to do with my question?


No clue what this has to do with what I said. I never expressed any idea counter to this.


This makes no sense in context with the rest of our conversation.

So you just want validation for your own opinion? I'm not giving that.

 

[A Fish Aficionado]

Does it ever mention that gluten is a seed protein that has some defensive mechanism to ensure it isn't eaten as the plant wants it distributed and so will cause inflammation, no matter what(orbitz)?
A biologist I read says that's why it shouldn't be eaten, and states some people will have greater tolerance for it than others but at some point it will cause problems simply due to constant inflammation.

Very few people have celiac disease and the nocebo effect is overstated in anecdotes. More research has to be done for anything definitive. If anything more research comes with more questions as the FODMAP study demonstrates.

 

[ElTopo]

No one posted a gif from that South Park episode yet? Damn.

 

[Timedog]

I don't eat much bread/pasta these days, save for treats--burgers/pizza/desserts.

Everytime I do though I get the runs fierce, though. Not with artisanal breads, however.

I don't mind N=1 experimentation, however, I'm not going to prescribe this to others. I just feel better not eating bread/pasta.

I'm not low carb, I eat potatoes and white rice all the time.

Artisanal bread usually uses sourdough starter, which messes with gluten.

So you just want validation for your own opinion? I'm not giving that.

I don't have an opinion, I just expressed an idea. I just have no clue what you're trying to say.

 

[toddhunter]

Assuming they are full of shit just means you're being dismissive and a jerk. My sister has had stomach problems since she was a kid and countless doctors and specialist could never conclude why until a few years ago when they recommended her to stay off gluten for a month to see what happens. Surprise surprise they went away.

My partner struggled with skin issues all her life. She had gone to countless doctors and spent a heap of money on creams and different remedies for eczema. Finally a new doctor suggested testing for allergies and boom, gluten intolerant.

A new diet helped a massive amount.

One note, people should be aware that gluten-free does not mean "healthy". It may be the GF products you eat are healthier, but often the GF alternatives are packed with other unhealthy things to make up for the lack of taste.

 

[Stet]

Does it ever mention that gluten is a seed protein that has some defensive mechanism to ensure it isn't eaten as the plant wants it distributed and so will cause inflammation, no matter what(orbitz)?
A biologist I read says that's why it shouldn't be eaten, and states some people will have greater tolerance for it than others but at some point it will cause problems simply due to constant inflammation.

What? "Seed protein" doesn't mean anything. Tons of plants depend on seeds being eaten.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

One of the things I want people to get from this is that Celiac's is real and it's serious. Some good things have come, such as more available places to eat out and eat from but many people just believe in the panacea of Perlmutter and Davis. Including companies that profit from it.

Yup. Though cross contamination is so prevalent that I pretty much have to avoid eating out everywhere.

It also appears that people with celiac disease are much more likely to get lymphoma, if there's still gluten in their diet: http://www.m.webmd.com/diet/news/20130805/lymphoma-risk-varies-for-celiac-disease-patients

One doctor I spoke with (who also has celiac) suggested that even if you've had traces of gluten a few times that year, you're still much more likely to get lymphoma. I need a second opinion on that, though. Not sure if I really buy it.

 

[TouchMyBox]

Most people have no trouble digesting FODMAPs, but these carbohydrates are osmotic, which means that they pull water into the intestinal tract. That can cause abdominal pain, bloating, and diarrhea.

Yep, this is me alright. Been gluten-free for 11 months now and my abominal pain has almost completely faded. A year-straight of unsolid bowel movements is what got me to get on the diet so I was doing pretty bad.

 

[scott!]

For everyone that "has" celiac's, what did you do before this fad started? Get gassy when you ate bread?

I find it hard to believe as soon as gluten-free is a thing, Celiac's come out of the woodwork. I always assume 99% of people who claim to have it are full of shit, and had a stomach ache once after consuming gluten.

See, actually knowing someone who got a medical diagnosis and actually has painful reactions (often for several hours) when accidentally consuming something that got cross-contamination with gluten, your dismissive tone makes you come off as a real ass. I hope that you don't follow this logic in other areas. "Oh the second that people being gay doesn't immediately lead to a lynch mob, look at all these gay folks coming out of the woodwork."

Grow up.

 

[Ohnonono]

If my wife eats gluten or eggs she gets SEVERE eczema. Like hands bleeding face falling off terrible horrible stuff. So she does not really have a choice! I would hate for these new gluten free products to disappear though because it makes it easier for her.

 

[Somnid]

Food is a very precious part of life. It's not surprising that is has become what is essentially a religious topic complete with belief systems and little grounding. I really wish people would stop deifying science like it knows everything. Science doesn't say anything it produces studies and studies indicates correlation. Fallible people setup, record and interpret these studies. There's plenty we don't know, plenty we have an incomplete picture of, and this why we shouldn't go off and start preaching these things as gospel.

 

[The Elite]

If my wife eats gluten or eggs she gets SEVERE eczema. Like hands bleeding face falling off terrible horrible stuff. So she does not really have a choice! I would hate for these new gluten free products to disappear though because it makes it easier for her.

The only good thing that has come out of the gluten free fad is that it helps people who actually can't have any gluten in their diet.

 

[Timedog]

What? "Seed protein" doesn't mean anything. Tons of plants depend on seeds being eaten.

Maybe theyre talking abput wheat germ agglutin, which protects wheat from insects but also is likely harmful to mammals.

 

[Byakuya769]

End of the day, I didn't see gluten free options until the craze about them, so I bet a lot of clinics are happy to have options now.

 

[bogg]

I think the main thing people should take from diet research like this is there is no magic "stop eating X and you will feel great!".
If you are having dietary issues you should change your diet, cut certain foods that may cause these problems, see how you feel. Later on gradually introduce food back into your diet so you can pinpoint what stuff is not good for you and your tolerance for it.
It basically boils down to experiment and find the right diet for you.

 

[Stet]

Maybe theyre talking abput wheat germ agglutin, which protects wheat from insects but also is likely harmful to mammals.

So not gluten at all.

 

[Opiate]

The reason it was poorly diagnosed for such a long time was due to a set of rigidly narrow symptoms that barely scrape the surface of the ways this autoimmune disease can manifest itself. It's not just "eat bread, get a tummy ache." We now know that people can develop dozens of varying symptoms and, in many cases, no symptoms at all while being verifiably positive for Celiac.

While fully admitting that Celiac disease exists, I want to highlight one point: headache, nausea, fatigue -- these symptoms are caused by virtually every disease we know, from colds to caffeine withdrawal all the way up to serious diseases such as many types of cancer.

Celiac disease is one of several modern ways that people self-diagnose their vague, non-specific symptoms. Other examples (that don't have a basis in reality the way Celiac disease does) are electromagnetic hypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity.

The risk is that Celiac becomes a sort of garbage pail diagnosis, where doctors (but especially non-doctors; people who self identify as "health experts" or nutritionists, for instance) diagnose people with Celiac because they have persistent nausea and fatigue which cannot be attributed to anything obvious.

Not only are these non-specific symptoms attributable to a wide array of diseases, but sometimes there isn't even a disease; sometimes, 50 year old men go to doctors because they've had headaches and back pain and nausea and fatigue, and the explanation is essentially "this is what it feels like to be 50 years old and mostly sedentary with a poor diet."

In short: my worry is that Celiac disease will end up being over diagnosed, particularly as a self diagnosis or as a diagnosis from health gurus.

 

[SniperHunter]

Gluten issues are horrible. I suffered a lot in my teens and early 20s. Been gluten free for about 4 years now, health is much better

 

[Dongs Macabre]

Does the fad actually help those who have Celiac's? It's great that there are more options, but it seems like it would make the preparing of gluten-free food more lax, since it won't affect the majority of people buying it.

 

[Aiustis]

I had a friend with Celiac disease. Made me more conscious of what was in food. I'm kind of glad that it's become a fad because it means more options for people who can't tolerate gluten. At the same time I get aggravated by it because being a fad means there will be people treating it like it's not a legit issue.

 

[Opiate]

I had a friend with Celiac disease. Made me more conscious of what was in food. I'm kind of glad that it's become a fad because it means more options for people who can't tolerate gluten. At the same time I get aggravated by it because being a fad means there will be people treating it like it's not a legit issue.

And people treating it like an issue when it isn't, of course. Celiac disease' symptoms are so broad and so general that there is an inordinate amount of non-clinical diagnosis going on.

 

[Dash27]

I personally am not a believer that gluten is inherently bad for most people. I have tried the Paleo/Primal diet and I liked it a lot, even made a big GAF thread on it a while back. But I dont attribute the good things in Paleo to avoiding gluten. It's much more the focus on good, whole, unprocessed foods, reducing sugar and getting enough fat.

So agree with the article on gluten for the most part. But this:

Fad dieting is nothing new in America; it’s what we do instead of eating balanced, nutritiously wholesome meals. Scarsdale, Atkins, South Beach, Zone, flexitarian, pescatarian, and paleo have all been awarded their fifteen minutes of fame and then shoved aside for the next great diet. They are rarely effective for long. Some nutrition specialists say that the current preoccupation with gluten-free products reminds them of the national obsession with removing fats from foods in the late nineteen-eighties. “Low-fat” foods are often packed with sugar and calories to make up for the lack of fat. The same is true of many products that are advertised as “gluten-free.”

comes off as rather dismissive. He acknowledges how bad the advice has been on nutrition. We all know the obesity problems in modern societies. Is it any wonder there are ever new methods of correcting it? Paleo saying to avoid gluten is much better than doctors prescribing less fats and more carbs. Telling people to eat margarine rather than butter. Telling people eggs are bad and cereal is good.

In short, a lot of the fad diets he dismisses based on the gluten thing, get it more right than many other nutrition advisors out there.

 

[tbm24]

And people treating it like an issue when it isn't, of course. Celiac disease' symptoms are so broad and so general that there is an inordinate amount of non-clinical diagnosis going on.

What would you suggest people do then as opposed to self-diagnosis and medical examiners(I do mean doctors not a nutritionist) both come to the same conclusion?

 

[Opiate]

What would you suggest people do then as opposed to self-diagnosis and medical examiners(I do mean doctors not a nutritionist) both come to the same conclusion?

I don't understand the question. I'm talking about cases where people self diagnose as gluten sensitive even when experts disagree (i.e. making an issue of something which doesn't exist). That's where these fad diets come from.

 

[hey_it's_that_dog]

For everyone that "has" celiac's, what did you do before this fad started? Get gassy when you ate bread?

I find it hard to believe as soon as gluten-free is a thing, Celiac's come out of the woodwork. I always assume 99% of people who claim to have it are full of shit, and had a stomach ache once after consuming gluten.

Celiac can manifest as gas, a rash, and most importantly, long-term damage to the digestive system that can lead to malnourishment and elevated risk of cancer.

There's a blood test that detects antibodies and a biopsy will confirm that the villi in the small intestine have been damaged, if someone has celiac's.

There are a ton of people who avoid gluten for invalid reasons or have not been diagnosed formally, but Celiac is real and the rise in detection can be explained by a rise in awareness as well as other factors, which I believe are mentioned in the article.

Does the fad actually help those who have Celiac's? It's great that there are more options, but it seems like it would make the preparing of gluten-free food more lax, since it won't affect the majority of people buying it.

That's a good question. I've encountered lots of restaurants that label items as gluten-free, but they aren't actually up the standard required by a legit celiac sufferer. Celiacs have to be extremely vigilant anyway, so it's not necessarily an increased danger to them if they are taking good care of themselves to begin with, but it's very disappointing when they think they can eat something and then can't. I believe there is a law/policy (in the US) that will be enacted soon requiring more stringent standards for labeling something gluten-free. For packaged foods, I think labeling standards are in place that sufficiently distinguish completely gluten free foods from foods that don't themselves contain gluten but may have been in contact with gluten at some point. So I wouldn't worry about a negative effect on real celiacs at the supermarket.

The upside to the popularity of avoiding gluten is that more products become economically viable. Special gluten-free shit is incredibly expensive in most cases. Fortunately there's plenty to eat that is naturally gluten-free, but everybody wants a cookie once in a while, right?

 

[Somnid]

comes off as rather dismissive. He acknowledges how bad the advice has been on nutrition. We all know the obesity problems in modern societies. Is it any wonder there are ever new methods of correcting it? Paleo saying to avoid gluten is much better than doctors prescribing less fats and more carbs. Telling people to eat margarine rather than butter. Telling people eggs are bad and cereal is good.

In short, a lot of the fad diets he dismisses based on the gluten thing, get it more right than many other nutrition advisors out there.

Two wrongs don't make a right. Vilifying food especially based on incomplete data is harmful especially because there may be long term consequences we do not understand. Just because one might have a less bad or even the possibility of a good outcome doesn't mean it's okay to continue a flawed process.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

While fully admitting that Celiac disease exists, I want to highlight one point: headache, nausea, fatigue -- these symptoms are caused by virtually every disease we know, from colds to caffeine withdrawal all the way up to serious diseases such as many types of cancer.

Celiac disease is one of several modern ways that people self-diagnose their vague, non-specific symptoms. Other examples (that don't have a basis in reality the way Celiac disease does) are electromagnetic hypersensitivity and multiple chemical sensitivity.

The risk is that Celiac becomes a sort of garbage pail diagnosis, where doctors (but especially non-doctors; people who self identify as "health experts" or nutritionists, for instance) diagnose people with Celiac because they have persistent nausea and fatigue which cannot be attributed to anything obvious.

Not only are these non-specific symptoms attributable to a wide array of diseases, but sometimes there isn't even a disease; sometimes, 50 year old men go to doctors because they've had headaches and back pain and nausea and fatigue, and the explanation is essentially "this is what it feels like to be 50 years old and mostly sedentary with a poor diet."

In short: my worry is that Celiac disease will end up being over diagnosed, particularly as a self diagnosis or as a diagnosis from health gurus.

I can understand people inaccurately self-diagnosing, or getting wrongly diagnosed based off of nothing but a list of symptoms (especially from "health gurus"), but are you also suggesting that the blood tests and endoscopies that gastroenterologists use to diagnose celiac disease aren't accurate enough? It seemed like you might be suggested that in the bold. I would certainly hope that no real doctor would diagnose a patient without performing these tests.

 

[McLovin]

I went Paleo/Low carb well over a year ago. Basically gluten free. I noticed a huge difference in my skin. I had super rough ashy elbows, now they are smooth and silky

 

[Opiate]

I can understand people inaccurately self-diagnosing, or getting wrongly diagnosed based off of nothing but a list of symptoms (especially from "health gurus"), but are you also suggesting that the blood tests and endoscopies that gastroenterologists use to diagnose celiac disease aren't accurate enough? It seemed like you might be suggested that in the bold. I would certainly hope that no real doctor would diagnose a patient without performing these tests.

I haven't heard of that personally, but what I have heard of are doctors diagnosing non-celiac gluten sensitivity, which doesn't exist according to the preponderance of evidence.

 

[jetpacks was yes]

I haven't heard of that personally, but what I have heard of are doctors diagnosing non-celiac gluten sensitivity, which doesn't exist according to the preponderance of evidence.

Oh I see. That is interesting. I remember when I first went in to get testing, my doctor didn't think it was even worth getting the blood test for celiac disease since it's so uncommon, but I said might as well. And as luck would have it, I was one of the lucky few people to have actual celiac disease. The funny thing is that celiac disease doesn't have the same effect on everyone. I did present some of the usual stomach issues, but others have entirely different and also very generic symptoms, such as fatigue and lack of concentration. If anything, celiac disease is probably under-diagnosed. "gluten sensitivity" may very well be overdiagnosed, though.

I hope that this turns out to be nonsense.

 

[Dash27]

Two wrongs don't make a right. Vilifying food especially based on incomplete data is harmful especially because there may be long term consequences we do not understand. Just because one might have a less bad or even the possibility of a good outcome doesn't mean it's okay to continue a flawed process.

True, but when you have a huge body of evidence that the experts suggestions on nutrition hurt more than help. When doctors are prescribing statins and drugs and parroting the fat is evil garbage, is it any wonder people self diagnose and look elsewhere for answers?

The people in these primal and paleo communities are trying to figure things out. Sure you'll have the dogmatic scare mongering in some corners but I've found most to be open minded.

 

[Opiate]

True, but when you have a huge body of evidence that the experts suggestions on nutrition hurt more than help. When doctors are prescribing statins and drugs and parroting the fat is evil garbage, is it any wonder people self diagnose and look elsewhere for answers?

The people in these primal and paleo communities are trying to figure things out. Sure you'll have the dogmatic scare mongering in some corners but I've found most to be open minded.

Where do you hear doctors suggesting fat is evil?

And just to be clear, doctors are doing lots and lots of research on low carbohydrate diets. The preponderance of evidence, thus far, suggests they don't work very well (e.g. not more effective than low fat diets long term).

 

[Dash27]

Where do you hear doctors suggesting fat is evil?

And just to be clear, doctors are doing lots and lots of research on low carbohydrate diets. The preponderance of evidence, thus far, suggests they don't work very well (e.g. not more effective than low fat diets long term).

Rather often, and statins are routinely pushed as a quick fix. Here's a fairly recent article :

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/...eart-disease-link/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=1

Many of us have long been told that saturated fat, the type found in meat, butter and cheese, causes heart disease. But a large and exhaustive new analysis by a team of international scientists found no evidence that eating saturated fat increased heart attacks and other cardiac events.

The new findings are part of a growing body of research that has challenged the accepted wisdom that saturated fat is inherently bad for you and will continue the debate about what foods are best to eat.

For decades, health officials have urged the public to avoid saturated fat as much as possible, saying it should be replaced with the unsaturated fats in foods like nuts, fish, seeds and vegetable oils.

That avoidance of fat led to a large increase in carbohydrates, and not in vegetable form. Usually fat was replaced with sugar.

Even reading that article you can see the conflicting interpretations and opinions on what to do with the information. But suffice to say the prevailing theory for 60 years has been saturated fat increases cholesterol and cholesterol leads to heart disease.


As a corollary, statin use is ever widening:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/natio...249318-4be4-11e3-be6b-d3d28122e6d4_story.html

 

[Lazaro]

I'm coeliac but that's only because I also suffer from Atopic Eczema as well as Asthma.I had constant stomach aches and other bowel problems as well as horrible skin flare ups before I stopped eating gluten.

From what I understand Wheat-based products only cause harm to people with weak immune-systems. So its not exactly dangerous if your diagnosed with gluten-intolerance, which seems to be the condition getting mixed up with celiac disease these days.

Also most gluten-free breads and GF baked goods contain very high amounts of sugar. So you're more likely to gain weight than to lose it from going on a gluten free diet. Celiac sufferers usually have trouble absorbing nutrients due to intestine damage so in weight gain is likely to happen.

 

[Mr. Wonderful]

oh fuck off when people can agree what that is maybe we can talk but doctors are always (hyperbole) right until they are wrong and "balanced, nutritiously wholesome meals" actually means nothing given the amount of debate about what that means.

we don't know

its all really in its infancy everything up to this point has been more about scientists opinions than evidence.

BS. We totally do. You can measure the antioxidants and nutrition being removed during processing.

 

[Draft]

Boy that last paragraph stings, huh? Why are American's so infatuated with diets instead of just eating decent food? I want to blame advertising but every country has ads, so idk.

 

[Doran902]

Boy that last paragraph stings, huh? Why are American's so infatuated with diets instead of just eating decent food? I want to blame advertising but every country has ads, so idk.

Yeah it does. Its easier to pretend something is evil and to avoid it entirely than to just use willpower to eat things in moderation in a healthy balanced diet. People would rather completely eliminate it than have to rely on themselves not to overdo it.

I personally think a big factor in america is that city life and office work is stressful to most people and food is a quick and easy way to give instant satisfaction.

 

[Kisaya]

I think I have a minor allergy of gluten cause I always get bloated after eating grains.

I was on a grain free diet a year ago and it did well for me, but after personal and money problems I had to just eat whatever I can get my hands on. It sucks :/

 

[Kickz]

Yeah it does. Its easier to pretend something is evil and to avoid it entirely than to just use willpower to eat things in moderation in a healthy balanced diet. People would rather completely eliminate it than have to rely on themselves not to overdo it.

I personally think a big factor in america is that city life and office work is stressful to most people and food is a quick and easy way to give instant satisfaction.

Boom, eating bad food is a nice way to get a shot of dopamine