This is not a book about gluten — or at least, not only about gluten. It’s about why we believe what we believe about food, and how fear-based narratives have shaped everything from dietary fads to public health policy. Dr. Alan Levinovitz, a scholar of religion and philosophy, brings a fresh lens to the conversation: comparing modern food movements to moral panics, religious dietary laws, and cultural mythmaking.

The Gluten Lie doesn’t deny that food can affect health — far from it. But it pushes back against absolutism. Against the idea that there is one perfect diet. Against the demonisation of entire food groups based on shaky science or personal anecdote. And most importantly, against the guilt and anxiety so many people now carry around what they eat.

As a clinical herbalist, this book felt like a gentle yet necessary challenge. While we often use food as medicine, Levinovitz reminds us to tread carefully: to avoid overstating, oversimplifying, or spiritualising nutrition in ways that inadvertently harm. For patients who’ve been on endless elimination diets, or who feel like every meal is a moral choice, this book can be incredibly liberating.

The writing is smart, balanced, and often funny. It’s not anti-health, anti-gluten-free, or anti-nutrition — it’s anti-dogma. And that makes it a useful tool in any practitioner’s kit, especially when working with disordered eating patterns, diet fatigue, or the mental health effects of chronic health journeys.