Well, duh

I could have told you this. It costs to be gluten-free. In fact, I did. You read it here first.

The article points out: "The study found that gluten-free food was 240 per cent more expensive on average, and was carried at 36 per cent of supermarkets and 41 per cent of upmarket shops, forcing shoppers online, or to specialty health food shops."

Some Whole Foods (not the ones near me) carry products from their Gluten-Free Bakehouse. The Cranberry Orange Scones and the Peanut Butter cookies are both rather good. (Remember that the gold standard for gluten-free is "not bad" and that the average is "not terrible." So this really is an achievement.)

However.

Here is the ingredient list for the Peanut Butter cookies: Peanut butter, butter, brown sugar, sugar, eggs, tapioca starch, rice flour, potato starch, soy flour, natural vanilla flavor, salt, xanthan gum, baking soda.

Now explain to me why they cost $5.99 for eight of them. How do I remember the price off the top of my head? Because that's 5.99 American Dollars for eight cookies. How could I not remember?

The Cranberry Orange Scones [Rice flour, tapioca starch, butter, orange juice concentrate, cream, eggs, dried cranberries (cranberries, sugar, sunflower oil), sugar, potato starch, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, cornstarch, monocalcium phosphate), xanthan gum, natural orange flavor, salt] were $5.49 for either four or six of them.

An entire package of Oreos is what? $3.49 or something? And they go on sale sometimes.

So, yes, Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, it costs more to be gluten-free.

Next week they follow up on an observation my sister made when she was five: Eat fat, get fat.