Was thinking about this issue again this morning as I was eating some Gluten Free Waffles. That's right, waffles.
Over the 30 years that I've been lifting, brown rice has been the staple carb in bodybuilder/strength gainers menu. White rice does not have the nutritional value. We also MUST stay away from flour, particularly bleached white flour, because it has zero nutritional value and is nothing but empty carbs. Additionally, there has been a trend to include nuts, particularly almonds, into diets.
So, what do most Gluten Free "flour" based foods contain? Brown Rice Flour and Almond Flour. Being floured may reduce some of the nutritional value, however, more importantly, these flour have not been bleached and still contain much of the nutritional content as the whole food.
My argument may be silly but I see nothing wrong with eating a "food" based on two other foods that the lifting community has already deemed worthy and essential.
So, why are so many people hating on the gluten-free trend then? My waffles didn't replace some other nutritional food. It allowed me to enjoy something that I normally would have never eaten. That's the way I see my gluten-free diet.