Gluten-Free Diet Applications for Different Diseases Apart from Known Therapeutic Effectiveness

Aim: gluten-free diet is a type of therapeutic diet for the treatment or relief of symptoms of celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy diseases, and it has been applied for therapeutic purposes against diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome, obesity, neurological diseases and cardiovascular diseases in recent years. in this study, it was aimed to investigate the attitudes towards gluten-free diet of adult individuals who were not diagnosed with celiac, gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy by the doctor. material and methods: data were collected by online survey via social media channels. out of total 594 questionnaires, 221 were not evaluated because they were filled by individuals with celiac, gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy, diagnosed by a doctor. results: the majority of the participants were women (95.7%) and participants stated that they used gluten-free diet for reasons such as creating good feeling (55.2%), healthy thinking (39.7%) and weight loss (18%). the participants also stated that they definitely agree the statements such as gluten-free diet would be effective in strengthening the immune system (47%), increasing exercise performance (35.9%), and improving quality of life (61,4%) and a reduction in gis problems experienced with gluten-free diet stated by 66% of participants. some of the participants stated that several micronutrients deficiencies may occur with gluten-free diet applications, such as vitamin b (34.9%), vitamin a (9.4%), vitamin e (8.3%), vitamin d (5%), 4), iron (7.8%) and zinc (5.6%) deficiencies. conclusion: although a significant portion of the participants defined following gluten-free diet as difficult (29%) or very difficult (37.5%), they follow this diet because of their belief in the positive changes that the gluten-free diet will cause in health conditions. it is thought that obtaining information about gluten-free diet through media channels rather than scientific sources is the main reason for misperceptions about gluten-free diet.