Gluten, the name for a combination of two proteins found in wheat that gives bread and pasta its texture, is avoided by some for different reasons. Those with celiac disease, which occurs in about one in 100 people, experience intestinal inflammation after eating even a small amount of gluten.

But others without a diagnosis of celiac, dubbed non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS), report feeling better after going gluten-free. Science hasn’t yet determined if this improvement is thanks to gluten or some other factor in a gluten-free diet.

Regardless of motivation, the gluten-free movement has plenty of followers in central Arkansas, and more and more are jumping on board. Downtown Little Rock’s gluten-free Dempsey Bakery opened in 2011, and business has been steady since.

Nancy Nolan
Paula Dempsey has always said her gluten-free bakery is for the kids who struggle with food allergies, including some of her own grandchildren. “It’s their birthday and they get this tacky cupcake and everybody else gets the Kroger cake,” she says, “How fair is that? I just couldn’t stand it.”

“I am constantly amazed at how many new customers we get daily,” says bakery owner Paula Dempsey. “Many have been sick for many years and have gone gluten-free for various reasons, and they feel so much better, they never want to eat it again.”