Study gives thumbs-up to gluten-free pasta made from banana flour

A study found the taste of gluten-free pasta made using green banana flour was preferred over that of regular whole-wheat pasta, University of Brazil researchers said. The banana pasta had a significantly lower fat content, and taste testers who compared the two said there was a difference in appearance, flavor, aroma and quality. http://www.upi.com/Health_News/2012/06/24/Banana-flour-touted-for-gluten-free-pasta/UPI-78681340583738/

Study: Gluten is culprit in many nonresponsive celiac cases

A U.K. study of 100 patients with nonresponsive celiac disease found 45% had not entirely eliminated gluten from their diets. More than half of those were consuming gluten accidentally, and 47% were not consistently following a gluten-free diet. Twelve percent had microscopic colitis, 9% had bacterial overgrowth in the small bowel and 9% had refractory celiac diseasehttp://www.celiac.com/articles/22914/1/Most-Cases-of-Non-Responsive-Celiac-Disease-Due-to-Ongoing-Gluten-Consumption/Page1.html

"Gluten-free" doesn't necessarily mean healthy

The incidence of gluten-related disorders has risen significantly in the last half-century, and so has the amount of gluten in foods, according to a study in the journal BMC Medicine. But eating a gluten-free diet in the absence of a gluten-related disorder can deprive the body of needed nutrients, says Joanne Slavin, a professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Food Science and Nutrition. "A lot of those [gluten-free] products are absolutely full of fat, full of calories, full of sugar," she says.http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/06/01/making-sense-of-the-gluten-free-food-frenzy