Mashed's Exclusive Survey Uncovers People's Favorite liveGfree Product At Aldi

Discount grocery chain Aldi is known for offering a wide array of quality products at no-frills prices. One of the retailer's popular product lines is liveGfree, which encompasses a wide array of gluten-free items like cereal, bread, pasta, and pancake mix. Basically, anything that's normally ruined by a gluten allergy or intolerance is available in 100% safe form at your local Aldi.

For some people, eating a gluten-free diet is a personal choice, but for many others, it's an absolute necessity. People diagnosed with celiac disease must avoid gluten (which is technically a protein) because it can cause an immune response that results in serious inflammation and potential long-term damage to the GI tract (via MedLinePlus). Celiac disease also makes it hard for the body to absorb nutrients when gluten is involved, which can lead to malnourishment and many other not-so-good results.

Some people have a gluten sensitivity, meaning they experience a lot of the same issues as people with celiac disease (constipation, diarrhea, bloating), but don't deal with the long-term damage associated with the disease. Then there's gluten intolerance, which also results in uncomfortable symptoms when gluten is ingested. This could turn out to be celiac disease, but might not. Other people just feel better when they don't eat gluten, and personally report fewer headaches, fatigue, weight gain, and depression when they avoid it altogether.

Clearly, Aldi's liveGfree line is meeting a need for a significant chunk of society, and after polling shoppers, it became obvious that there are a couple of clear favorites.

Gluten-free products have come a long way in recent years; there are now numerous better-tasting options available to people who can't or don't want gluten in their diets. Mashed surveyed nearly 600 people and found that the most popular liveGfree product at Aldi is the pasta, which earned 22.16% of the vote. Aldi currently has a few gluten-free pasta options, including its organic gluten free brown rice & quinoa pasta, available in either fusilli or penne shapes. The store also sells a gluten free fettuccine, as well as a gluten free deluxe macaroni & cheese (or Deluxe Shells & Cheese), which is made up of rice pasta.

The second and third-place items were both nipping at the pasta's heels, however. 20.62% of respondents prefer liveGfree's gluten-free pretzels above anything else. No doubt those respondents were devastated to discover that the fan favorite has been discontinued "as a core product," per Aisle of Shame, however the snacks do occasionally pop up in store as a limited-time-only "Aldi Find" item. The brand's gluten-free bagels are also extremely popular, garnering 19.93% of the vote. Next are the liveGfree wraps with 16.84% of the vote, followed by the sliced bread at 12.20%, then the gluten-free baking mix at 8.25%. No matter which one each Aldi customer personally prefers, chances are they're just glad to have a wide range of solid, gluten-free options to choose from.