On Saturday The Times reported with some gusto that food intolerances were a figment of our oversensitive and pampered western imaginations – much to the satisfaction of those who believe many of thousands of people claiming to be allergic to wheat or lactose-intolerant are more likely to have deeper psychological issues around food created by our image-obsessed society.

We have the luxury of being picky and you don’t hear about much food intolerance in the Third World, they argue.

Today The Independent cheerfully informed us that Serbian tennis sensation Novak Djokovic’s blistering undefeated start to 2011 is down to a change in his diet. On discovering that he was a coeliac, the man who can’t stop winning subsequently cut out the pizza, pasta and bread.

Let’s get things straight: coeliac disease is a real medical condition, and its sufferers are very different to those who describe themselves as wheat-intolerant.

But once again there is a great deal of confusion about the real number of coeliacs in the UK.

The Times claims there are only 25,000 sufferers in the UK, while the Indy puts it a tad higher… at 600,000. This chasm in reporting perpetuates the polarisation of opinion on the subject while also muddying the waters.

But does it really matter whether a condition is genuinely physical or purely psychological? The symptoms are real enough in both cases and so, for that matter, is the treatment: a change in diet.

This is where the food and drink industry comes in. Over the past two years, sales of gluten-free foods have doubled in value to £100m, with the overall free-from category hitting £350m.

Just last week we reported that all of the leading bread brands lost sales last year except one. Genius, the gluten-free brand, was up a staggering 163.1%.

It would take a very cynical soul indeed to suggest that manufacturers and retailers are exploiting the fears of modern consumers (although some will persist with this view). Rather, like most other categories, it is about creating choice. It doesn’t matter if consumers are coeliacs or not: if it makes them feel better, that is enough.

One thing that is for certain is that when Djokovic touches down in the UK next month for the grass court season he should have no trouble finding stuff to eat on supermarket shelves. He’ll even be able to get back on the bread - although if the winning run is still going, he’d probably do better to leave things as they are.

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