In an era when many mainstream doctors publicly denounce the health benefits of diets free of foods containing gluten except in the case of clinically diagnosed celiac disease, it’s refreshing to hear Dr. Arthur Agatston, creator of the wildly popular South Beach Diet, state publicly that many of the benefits his followers experience come from the elimination of wheat, rye, and barley from their diets.

In a recent interview, Dr. Agatston spoke about a couple of specific cases in which the elimination of gluten on the South Beach Diet led to an almost immediate reduction or elimination of symptoms related to acid reflux and psoriasis. He also spoke at length about tennis player Novak Djokovic, who attributes his recent rash of successes at least partly to a gluten-free diet.

While the South Beach diet does have some drawbacks, it’s still a good sign that major diets are cutting out foods containing gluten. The danger is that, without making gluten a focus of discussion, dieters will attribute their health improvements solely to weight loss or a generic sense of “eating healthy”, and will go back to eating gluten once their weight loss goals are achieved.

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