(lighthearted, bouncy music)

You've probably heard a lot about gluten

in the news, right?

It's the stuff that makes bread chewy,

it's this protein formed by two chemicals,

glutenin and gliadin.

Humans have been eating this stuff

for at least 10 thousand years,

and it's one of the most heavily

consumed proteins on earth.

Recently though, gluten has become

the latest nutritional boogie man.

Anti-gluten evangelists claim

it causes everything from obesity to cancer.

Medical and nutritional experts, however,

take a dim view of these kind of claims.

So here are three of the biggest gluten myths

that they are trying to debunk.

Number one.

Lots of people are gluten intolerant.

Actually it's only a small number,

about one percent of the U.S. population

has a thing called celiac disease,

an auto immune disorder that

injures the small intestine and prevents

patients from absorbing other nutrients

from food when they ingest gluten.

And it can cause awful side effects,

from gastrointestinal distress

and chronic fatigue to anemia.

Additionally, another six percent

of the U.S. public may have

a controversial condition

called non-celiac gluten sensitivity,

or NCGS for those in the know.

Even for some people with NCGS,

gluten may not be the real problem.

In a 2013 study, researchers took

a group of people with NCGS

and they modified their diets.

They cut out a broad class

of nutrients called FODMAP's.

This includes everything from fructose

to like the fiber in bananas

and the fiber in asparagus.

When they cut this stuff out

of the patient's diets, the patients stopped

having gastrointestinal distress,

even when they ate gluten.

Okay, so maybe you need to stay away

from gluten because of celiac disease,

or NCGS, or maybe you're just convinced

that gluten is terrible for you.

Companies that manufactiure

gluten-free foods cannot wait to meet you,

and overcharge you.

Think about it, a bag of gluten-free

chocolate chip cookies, for example,

may cost close to five times as much

as the regular kind.

But you don't need to buy

a 13 dollar bag of cookies,

or a six dollar loaf of bread

to avoid gluten.

A lot of foods that naturally don't have

any gluten in them are all around you.

Stuff like fruits, vegetables,

meats, poultry,

I can keep going on,

fish, nuts, milk,

most cheeses, and yogurt,

herbs, spices, and oils,

butter, margarine, rice,

certain cereals, and

corn tortillas.

Eating a 100 percent gluten free diet

might be theoretically possible,

but according to National Foundation

for Celiac Awareness president Alice Bast,

in reality, it's nearly an impossible feat.

The FDA actually allows products to

be labeled gluten free even if they contain

gluten, up to 20 parts per million.

Furthermore, the FDA doesn't

actually require food manufacturers

to test their finished products

for gluten content.

The FDA reassures people with celiac disease

that all of this probably doesn't

put them at too much risk,

since research shows that most of them

can tolerate extremely small amounts of gluten.

However, for those who believe

that gluten is an intolerable poison

that must be avoided in any amount,

the reality is going to be difficult to swallow.

So, that's it,

and thank you for watching,

but what do you think?

Are people exaggerating the dangers

of this gluten stuff, or are they

ignoring a very real threat?

Let me know in the comments below

and for more information on this,

check out our article

The Ten Biggest Myths About Gluten

on HowStuffWorks.com.

Did we do it?

Are we hanging,

you can come out here.

Hey, were you back there the whole time?

- Yep.