It’s all the rage to have a food allergy.



Maybe not, but if it were a fad, allergies are big right now. Restaurant servers, flight attendants, even your mom know all about the ingredients in their foods, and they don’t blink an eye anymore when the subject comes up from the public. They stand ready with alternatives, warnings and a little sympathy — arranging alternative dishes and substitutions.



Top bad boys: Eggs, soy, milk, corn, nuts and gluten.



These foods create havoc in some folks’ systems. Like spooning sugar into a car’s gas tank, these basic ingredients cause system failure — in humans everything from hives to asthma to even death.

The gluten that holds things together

It sucks to be allergic to gluten. Next to corn, gluten resides in a ton of popular dishes and products — everything from pizza to doughnuts (you know, the good stuff). Found in wheat, rye and barley, gluten causes serious health problems in people — and finding alternatives hasn’t, in the past, proven easy.



But that is changing.



According to a 2008 USA Today article, food marketers estimate that 15 to 25 percent of consumers want gluten-free foods, even though only 1 percent of the population has been diagnosed with celiac disease — the most severe form of gluten intolerance, according to Cynthia Kupper, executive director of the nonprofit Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (gluten.net).



“There is a fad aspect,” Kupper, who personally suffers from celiac disease, told USA Today.



Still, gluten intolerance may simply be undiagnosed, but in reality exists in many more people than doctors have seen. People may self-diagnose based on their own experimentation, never seeking formal medical care.



In 2003, just 40,000 Americans had been diagnosed with celiac disease, but USA Today’s research discovered diagnoses climbed to 20 million by 2008.



“And, if everyone with the disease were diagnosed, it would be 3 million, Alessio Fasano, medical director of the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Research in Baltimore told USA Today.

But I love pizza

Enter Garlic Jim’s — the spicy pizza house, which introduced a gluten-free pizza last year — the second store rollout taking place nationally in Lakewood (6030 Main St., Lakewood Towne Center).



“I am amazed by the public’s enthusiasm for gluten-free pizzas,” says Dwayne Northrup, CEO, Garlic Jim’s. “I had no idea that so many people suffered from gluten intolerance. I’m very glad that we can provide Garlic Jim’s delicious gourmet pizzas to those who have been denied pizza.”



OK, fine, but how does it taste?



It’s easy to say, “Shut up and eat your pizza — you’re lucky to have it, gluten intolerant people.” If you can’t have pizza, then anything is better than nothing, right?



Garlic Jim’s gluten-free pizza tastes a bit chewy and a little denser than regular crust, but at the same time, it still has the garlic infusion and basic tenants of pizza. Served thin and crisp, I enjoyed the pizza — it’s a win for the anti-gluten crowd.



According to Rick Stevens, owner of the Lakewood Garlic Jim’s, the crust includes the following: rice flour, tapioca flour, water, potato starch, potato flakes, olive oil, sugar, yeast, salt, Italian seasoning, and garlic powder.



Those familiar with gluten-free cookies or other baked goods won’t bat an eye at that list.

Beer goes with pizza

The good news doesn’t stop there. Last week, Anheuser Busch joined the bandwagon and introduced wheat-free beer.



According to Celiac.org, since 2004, 10 craft breweries have unveiled wheat free beers, but with beer giant Anheuser Busch in the game, one could expect more to come.



Beer typically includes wheat and barley, however researchers discovered how to use sorghum to capture the traditional taste of beer.



Isn’t America an amazing place to live?