Gluten –Free: The Facts Behind The Trend

Gluten –Free: The Facts Behind The Trend

By Katherine Sabal

Whether you like it or not, the two word term ‘gluten-free’ has been coming up a lot more often, not only in the grocery aisles but also in the media. People all across the nation have noticed, in some capacity, this growing food trend. As people become more aware of the benefits of cutting down on or expelling gluten from their diets, demand for gluten-free products has grown greatly over the past few years.

Gluten Free Lava Cakes

According to a survey conducted by the NPD Group, a consumer research firm, thirty percent of adults are interested in cutting down or avoiding gluten altogether in their diets.  This growing interest has contributed to the growing gluten-free food market which today stands as a $4.2 billion industry. The gluten-free interest has grown so much that even the restaurant industry can’t ignore it.  The interest is most definitely there and growing, with 200 million restaurant visits in the past year including a gluten-free order.

Taking in all of these numbers, the question might still remain: What is a gluten-free product? Simply put, a gluten-free product is a product that does not contain gluten, a protein composite found in grains such as wheat, spelt, barley and rye. Gluten is what gives dough its elasticity, helping it to rise and keep its shape resulting in a final bakery product with a chewy texture.

Gluten Free Cookies

So, why are there an increasing number of people trying to avoid gluten in their diets?  One reason is that 3 million Americans have been diagnosed with celiac disease, making the disease four times more common than it was 50 years ago. People who suffer from this disease cannot consume any gluten as it can cause intestinal damage. Another reason is that a growing number of people are finding that they are sensitive to gluten and suffer slight allergic reactions if they consume food with gluten in it. One other reason is that there is a growing number of consumers that are interested in embarking on a course towards a "healthier lifestyle" overall and they believe the eradication of gluten from their diet is a good step in that direction.

But even with this increased talk of the gluten-free food trend, it can be very hard to find good tasting gluten-free product that makes consumers not miss the “real” thing. Knowing this, Davidovich Bakery  refused to release it's gluten free line until it was confident they were offering the best gluten-free products that are on the market. Davidovich Bakery makes available to customers an assortment of gluten-free products such as breads (baguettes, raisin bread, hot dog and hamburger rolls), muffins (chocolate chip and banana chocolate chip), chocolate chip cookies, brownies, coco lava cakes, chocolate and vanilla cupcakes and even pizza crusts and a vegan birthday cake. Davidovich Bakery offers gluten-free products for every occasion. And don’t worry; a gluten-free bagel is in the works! Davidovich Bakery is hard at work developing the best gluten-free bagel - a product usually very high in gluten - it can offer to consumers.

Gluten Free Sandwich Breads

Gluten Free Muffins