Starting a Gluten-Free Diet: A Guide for Beginners

This article originally appeared in Eating Well.

It's one of the most buzzed-about diets today-but how do you get started eating a gluten-free diet? While less than one percent of Americans have celiac disease and follow a gluten-free diet as a medical necessity, more of us are ditching the bread for other reasons. One in five Americans say they try to eat gluten-free foods, while one in six avoid gluten altogether, according to a 2015 Gallup poll.

There are lots of rumors swirling around the gluten-free diet. "Some people believe it's a healthier way to live or an opportunity for weight loss, however there's no research to confirm that removing gluten from your diet leads to either of those things," says Rachel Begun, M.S., R.D.N., culinary nutritionist and gluten-free diet expert. In fact, eating too many gluten-free packaged foods can cause weight gain, but more on that in a minute.