Ten Celebs Who Went Gluten-Free

An estimated one in every 133 American suffer from celiac disease, a digestive disorder that damages the lining of the small intestine because of a reaction to a substance known as gluten. This substance, which prevents food from being digested in a healthy manner, is found in wheat, barley, rye and (possibly) oats . Symptoms can include everything from abdominal pain to diarrhea and mouth ulcers. Following diagnosis, it’s essential to stick with a gluten-free diet, since failure to do so can lead to serious complications, including intestinal cancers and liver disease. As a result of increased awareness of celiac disease, more people are going gluten-free, and even those who don’t suffer from it are following a gluten-free diet because of its health benefits. Here are some celebrities who suffer from the illness, or who have gone on a gluten-free eating plan.

Bill Clinton

Although the former president has never officially said he has celiac disease, he has been open about his allergy to wheat. Last year he said that he tries to eat gluten-free whenever possible. And the fact that his daughter Chelsea’s wedding cake was famously gluten-free indicates that she was watching out for her father’s nutritional intake. (It’s not known if Chelsea herself has any allergies to grains.) Clinton has also said he has an allergy to dairy products.

Keith Olbermann The controversial broadcaster has a mild case of celiac disease and is vigilant about following a gluten-free diet. "The bottom line here,” he has said, “ for somebody with celiac, even the slightest amount of wheat can be like poison ... [with] all the things that can go wrong — internal bleeding, bone density loss, organ disorders, malnutrition, digestive problems of every kind."

Gwyneth Paltrow Paltrow, well-known for her interest in health, has touted the benefits of gluten-free cupcakes in her newsletter GOOP. Although neither Paltrow nor her 6-year-old daughter Apple have celiac disease, they both like gluten-free food.

Elisabeth Hasselbeck The outspoken "View" co-host believes so strongly in the benefit of a gluten-free diet that she’s written a book about it called “The G-Free Diet.” She cites herself as her own best example: While in the Australian outback for the show “Survivor,” she didn’t have any grains containing gluten and found that she felt much better than she had in previous months. Now she advocates the diet both for weight loss and (more controversially) for the treatment of autism.

Rachel Weisz It’s not clear that Weisz, the Academy Award-winning actress, has celiac disease. But she has said that she suffers from an allergy to wheat, and so she's avoiding gluten.

Victoria Beckham As you’d expect from the fashion icon, Beckham does everything she can to keep herself fit and healthy. She’s said to be allergic to dairy, which is another symptom of celiac disease.

Ryan Phillippe Reese Witherspoon’s hunky ex-husband told "Men’s Health" magazine that he began eating a gluten-free diet after a physician determined he had a wheat allergy. He feels a lot better these days--even though he’s had to give up beer.

Jenny McCarthy McCarthy gave birth in 2002 to a son, Evan, who was eventually diagnosed with autism. Angry at what she considered misinformation from Evan’s doctors, McCarthy researched the issue herself, and found parents who believed that a gluten-free and casein-free diet helped their autistic children. (Casein is a substance found in most milk and cheese.) Today, McCarthy, who wrote “Louder Than Words” about the diet and its effect on Evan, says her son has improved tremendously. “I’m here to offer a little treatment with a little hope,” she has said.

Zooey Deschanel The star of the hit Fox show “The New Girl” also lives with celiac disease. Deschanel says she doesn’t mind not eating gluten because “it’s not good for you anyway.”

Susie Essman The comedian best known for her role in Larry David’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” revealed in an interview that she had celiac disease, and that hasn’t eaten any meat in nearly 30 years. She took a lighthearted yet factual approach to the illness by saying, “I don’t have to worry about my weight anymore.”