[Grimblewald]

We use a lot more preservatives now than we used to. We typically dont mill grain locally anymore for example, but grain is a near perfect fungal substrate, so we have to douse it in all sorts of antifungal agents so that the grain survives shipping to the phillipines and then the flour needs protection on its journey to whatever country it is going to. (warning, anecdata) Most people i know who have non coeliac gluten intolerance, tolerate gluten just fine. They can eat seitan made using locally milled / grown grain just fine. Seitan is almost pure gluten. The gluten isnt the issue for these folks, myself included. Our over-reliance on pesticides/herbicides/fungicides is, in my opinion, a very plausible explanation that appeared roughly the same time as this spike in issues.