In this thread: People experiencing somatic issues have relief of their symptoms by placebo diet changes, and are angry when other people point this out.
Does the placebo effect work in reverse? If you try something, confident that it wont do anything, then it wont? If so, then a simple proposal. Cut gluten/wheat/bread/sugar out of your diet for a couple of weeks. If all goes your way, you will feel the same you do today. Or, maybe a bunch of people have found something that works and in a couple of weeks you will feel overall better.
No, the placebo effect works through any intervention at all.
Also, I have tried a gluten-free diet extensively under the care of a gastroenterologist, in the course of investigation into stomach problems. I've had all the tests you can have, and all came up negative.
Because a substantial minority of people have functional gastrointestinal issues that are well addressed by the same treatments as somatic pain: antidepressants, stress reduction, and placebo treatment.
The rate of actual gluten intolerance is some 4-5 fold less than the rate of functional disorders - it's nigh on impossible that all those eating a gluten-free diet have gluten intolerance (let alone celiac), but it's extremely likely that they have functional gastrointestinal disorders.
