Let’s stop tolerating gluten allergy fantasists

The number of people claiming to be unable to eat certain foods — especially gluten — is rising at an astonishing rate.

Between 20 and 40 per cent of the population now believe they have a food intolerance or allergy. That is an increase of more than 400 per cent in the past 20 years.

yet according to Allergy uK, fewer than 2 per cent of the population actually have a food allergy. only 1 per cent are allergic to gluten — a form of protein found in wheat — while fewer than 10 per cent have a genuine intolerance to it.

until recently this fad for claiming to have an allergy or intolerance was thought to be relatively harmless — all it did was inconvenience your hosts at dinner parties.

But research this week has shown that eating a gluten-free diet when you don’t have a real, medically diagnosed problem can actually cause obesity, diabetes and malnutrition.

That’s because gluten-free foods frequently contain more fat and sugar.

I’m sick of people claiming to have a food allergy when they simply don’t like something or want to feel special. It’s the bane of modern life.

And what’s worrying is that restaurants have started getting cynical about it.

A friend of mine has a genuine and very serious allergy to uncooked onions. his throat swells, he can’t breathe and he’s been hospitalised in the past when he’s eaten them.

yet whenever we eat together, I see how waiters roll their eyes and patronise him when he asks them to check the recipe.

They then serve food that clearly contains raw onions anyway, because they no longer believe anyone when they say they have an allergy.

similarly, doctors become more dismissive and reluctant to order tests because so many patients claim to have an issue with this food or that.

It’s a nightmare for those with genuine intolerances or allergies, which can be very distressing and profoundly affect their lives.