A gluten-free diet may or may not always be a medical necessity.
Individuals suffering from wheat allergy and Celiac disease are the ones who cannot tolerate gluten in their diets at all. However, studies show that only 1 in 133 Americans suffer from this disease. That makes the incidence less than 1%. When these people ingest gluten, an immune response is triggered in their bodies, leading to several other complications in their body systems.
The other group of people who are sensitive to gluten has a gluten food sensitivity or food allergy. A study shows that about 6% to 7% of Americans may suffer from gluten sensitivity.
There are many other gluten-related disorders like a brain-related autoimmune disease, gluten ataxia, or a skin-related disorder called Dermatitis herpetiformis. These disorders call for eliminating gluten, and symptoms are reduced or reversed with a gluten-free diet.