When is Gluten Alltag actually useful?

Gluten is useful in everyday life primarily as a structural protein in wheat, barley, and rye. It gives dough elasticity and helps bread rise, making it essential for many baked goods. For the vast majority of people without celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), gluten is harmless and can be part of a balanced diet. However, for individuals with celiac disease (about 1 % of the population), gluten triggers an autoimmune reaction damaging the small intestine, requiring strict lifelong avoidance. For NCGS (estimated 0.5–6 %), symptoms like bloating and fatigue are reported, but the evidence is largely mechanistic and based on self-reports; no validated biomarkers exist. Consumer DNA tests claiming to diagnose gluten sensitivity are not clinically reliable. Celiac disease diagnosis requires HLA-DQ2/DQ8 genotyping and serology, not single SNPs. Evidence: human-strong for celiac, mechanistic/unclear for NCGS. Caveat: Do not self-diagnose; consult a gastroenterologist.