title: "But we're not hypochondriacs": the changing shape of gluten-free dieting and the contested illness experience.
abstract: "Gluten free" exploded onto the American foodscape in recent years: as of January 2013, 30 percent of U.S. adults reported reducing or eliminating gluten in their diets. How do individuals participate in the expansion of gluten-free dieting, and what are the implications of that expansion? This article is based on 31 in-depth, semi-structured interviews conducted between May and October 2012 with gluten-free and -restricted persons. I identify three interrelated factors contributing to the expansion of gluten-free dieting among non-celiacs. Participants broaden the lay understanding of gluten-related disorders, undermine biomedical authority, and diagnose others. Such participant-driven change, termed self-ascriptive looping, is one factor in the diet's rapid popularization. I show how participants question the doctor-patient relationship and increase social contestability for other dieters. My findings challenge previous work on contested illness and suggest food intolerances may require a reconceptualization of contested illness experience.
authors: University of Kansas, Department of Anthropology, 1415 Jayhawk Boulevard, Fraser 622, Lawrence, KS, USA. Electronic address: LaurenRMoore@ku.edu.
authors: Lauren Renée
authors: LR
authors: Moore
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000178:diet therapy; D055050:Diet, Gluten-Free; D005260:Female; D005512:Food Hypersensitivity / Q000523:psychology*; D005983:Glutens / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D036301:Qualitative Research; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D005983:Glutens
keywords: Contested illness; Food intolerance; Gluten free; Illness prototypes; Self-ascriptive looping; United States