It's a question we get all the time and the answer is yes, no, and maybe.
If you have a diagnosis of celiac disease, the answer is definitely yes.
If you are eliminating gluten from your diet because someone on the Internet has told you to do so, the answer is no.
If you think you may have a food sensitivity, then the answer is maybe. The problem with slapping a gluten-free restriction on yourself is that you may be eliminating foods you don't need to eliminate. You may have a simple sensitivity to wheat, for example, but that doesn't mean you need to eliminate ALL gluten-containing foods.
If you cast a wide net, and eliminate 200 things, and only one of them is the culprit, you've just eliminated 199 foods that you could have eaten that actually could have been productive for you. That's going to make it hard for you to stay on track, because you've limited the variety of foods you can eat, your ability to eat out, socialize, etc.
Michal Hogan, RD, one of our inCYSTers in Columbus, has shared that sometimes, when people don't have a gluten issue, simply by limiting gluten in the diet, they can create one! Don't want to go there, now, do you?
At inCYST we do believe that food sensitivities can trigger an inflammatory process and be a major factor in PCOS. We've even added that topic to our professional training. However, we believe there is a much more scientific and accurate way of pinpointing the problem. It's called LEAP testing. Many of our network members are Certified LEAP Therapists, meaning that if you believe a food sensitivity is part of your problem, they can help you to interpret a blood test that tells you EXACTLY what your issue is. So you're not unnecessarily eliminating foods, and you have a precise game plan.
To learn more about LEAP testing, go to http://www.nowleap.com/. If you'd like to find a LEAP therapist in your area, Michal is a LEAP mentor. You can contact her at nutritionresults@aol.com.