Is The Gluten-Free Fad Going to Fizzle?

Oct. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- Because celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Scarlet Johansson, Hilary Clinton and now tennis great, Novak Djokovic have gone gluten-free, people believe that the gluten-free diet is just the next biggest fad, which will eventually fizzle like the Zander machine and the grapefruit diet. But for the 1% of Americans who have celiac disease and the estimated 15% of the world’s population that has a gluten-intolerance, “gluten-free” is not a fad. It’s a permanent lifestyle change. It is because of this that Heather Jacobsen has spent the last year building Stuffed Pepper ™ , a community website for the gluten-free lifestyle that’s here to stay.

1 in 133 Americans have celiac disease, and its believed that 95% of them haven’t been diagnosed yet. Luckily, awareness of the disease is increasing, so there is hope in finding those who are still undiagnosed. At the same time, there is also a newly recognized group of people with Non-Celiac Gluten Intolerance, who exhibit serious symptoms after eating gluten, but don’t necessarily have celiac disease. Some estimate that as much as 15% (or more) of the world’s population is gluten intolerant. All this points to the fact that “gluten-free” is only becoming more prevalent, and there’s no fad about it.

Heather has been gluten-free for 10 years, long before most people had ever heard of the term. After taking gluten out of her diet, her digestive system improved dramatically, as well as her overall health. Having lived successfully on the gluten-free diet for a decade, Heather started a humble little blog last year, with recipes, restaurant reviews and tips for people new to the gluten-free lifestyle. But as she entered the gluten-free blogging community she discovered so many talented chefs, creating far better recipes than hers, as well as a worldwide abundance of gluten-free bloggers offering restaurant guides, product reviews, and general advice, just as she had set out to do. So much information existed, but seemingly overwhelming for the newly diagnosed gluten-intolerant person to digest. That’s when the idea of her blog snowballed into an idea for a community website, where all of this information can be provided for the community, by the community, in an easy-to-navigate manner.

It became clear that Heather’s best contribution to the gluten-free community would be her organizing skills. And Stuffed Pepper ™ was born. Stuffed Pepper ™ provides gluten-free resources, by and for the gluten-free community. Talented chefs post mouth-watering gluten-free recipes with eye-catching photos, to illustrate that gluten-free does not mean taste-free.  Community members provide honest ratings and reviews of restaurants and products. And experts on gluten intolerance provide guidance on health and nutrition to the gluten-free consumer. Members of the site are given tools to create a more personalized experience, while at the same time they can enjoy the camaraderie of being part of a virtual gluten-free world.

Stuffed-Pepper ™ launched Tuesday, October 18, 2011. The first featured recipe is a fabulous “comfort” food that even gluten-eating people will enjoy. Visit http://www.stuffed-pepper.com for more details.

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Stuffed Pepper is a community resource for the gluten-free lifestyle, by and for gluten-free people. We have recipes, restaurant listings, a marketplace, articles and videos - all to help you achieve a happy and healthy gluten-free life.