A simple story in the April issue ofNational Geographicshould become the poster child for everything that’s wrong with our national discussion of critical health and nutrition issues. Titled “Gut Reactions,” the article cites a respected Mayo Clinic physician who blames gluten overload in Western diets for the huge surge in celiac disease during the past half-century. In just two paragraphs, the writer indicts farmers, bakers, snack producers, meat processors and spice manufacturers as the culprits for this overload.

All too often, medical coverage in the media is one-sided, and like selective memory, blatantly ignores evidence to the contrary. Such a single-minded focus on complex medical topics makes for good-selling books and filling up magazines, but it’s not an intelligent way to address the cause of debilitating conditions such as autoimmune diseases.

A healthy debate is always better than a gut reaction in the long run.