Is A Gluten-Free Diet Really Healthier?

Have you noticed the abundance of gluten-free foods available at grocery stores or on menus these days? The proliferation of gluten-free products, along with the marketing of them, might lead you to believe that they are the new panacea to better health or weight loss.

So, what's the real story? Will going on a gluten-free diet improve your health or help you lose weight? The answer is that it depends. Limiting your intake of gluten means you are cutting out many starchy, refined carbohydrates, and that in itself can help your weight and health. Eating gluten-free, however, is a must for those with celiac disease, who face real risks from ingesting gluten.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye products. Most cereals and breads contain gluten. Examples of gluten-free grains include brown or wild rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat and amaranth.

What is not widely known about gluten-free products is that they still contain the same number of carbohydrates as their gluten-containing counterparts. In this regard, there is no health benefit to choosing the gluten-free versions.

For example, a typical slice of gluten-free bread contains 15 grams of total carbohydrate -- the same amount as a regular slice of bread. A snack of gluten-free crackers can contain 30 grams of carbohydrate per serving, the same as regular crackers.

The seriousness of celiac disease

So why avoid gluten in the first place? For those with celiac disease, their health demands it. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease resulting in a true intolerance to gluten. If someone with celiac disease consumes gluten, it causes the villi, or little hair-like projections that move food through the gut, to atrophy. This atrophy can cause bleeding, malabsorption of nutrients and other health complications.

According to the National Institutes of Health, more than two million (or one in 133) people have celiac disease. However, only about 1 percent of the population has actually been diagnosed. To get an accurate diagnosis, you need a blood test and/or small bowel biopsy to determine if there is atrophy in your gut.

Gluten sensitivity -- difficult to diagnose

Research shows that another 39 percent of the population may be susceptible to having celiac or gluten intolerance/sensitivity. Some experts believe gluten sensitivity exists, but no research or tests to date are available for diagnosis. Symptoms of gluten sensitivity are diffuse, and can include headaches, fatigue or irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

In addition, there is a small amount of research showing that gluten is associated with some forms of inflammation in the body for those with auto-immune diseases such as diabetes or Multiple Sclerosis (MS).

Your body knows best

Many who go on a gluten-free diet may lose weight and feel better, but it has nothing to do with avoiding gluten. Just cutting out starchy, processed forms of carbohydrate or limiting carbohydrate intake helps with lowering insulin resistance, which leads to weight loss and improved energy.

If you have celiac disease, eating gluten-free is your only option. If you believe you have gluten sensitivity, going on a gluten-free diet is worth exploring. For the rest of us, there's no need to follow the trends of what is currently in vogue with food manufacturers. Eating simple, unprocessed foods according to what your body can tolerate is the best way of eating.

Susan is the author of "A Recipe for Life by the Doctor's Dietitian." For more information, visit susandopart.com.

 

 

 

Follow Susan B. Dopart, M.S., R.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/smnutritionist

Comments

[Sayer Ji]

11:55 PM on 03/29/2011

Modern common bread wheat contains over 23,000 distinct proteins, any one of which (if insufficiently digested) may induce an antigenic challenge, and this is just the tip of the iceberg when we are talking about the heavily repressed Dark Side of Wheat http://www.greenmedinfo.com/page/dark-side-wheat-new-perspectives-celiac-disease-wheat-intolerance-sayer-ji It can be argued that wheat represents a human species specific intolerance, and much of the adverse effects are associated with wheat lectin which does not require immune-mediation to do harm to the body.

[hagagaga]

12:29 PM on 03/28/2011

Alright let's eliminate the huge elephant in the room: American M.D.s have never acknowledged the seriousness of Celiac. When my sister was three or four years old, she started having seizures, one of which caused her to fall off playground equipment and break her arm. The neurologist that she was taken to attempted to convince us that the only solution was to keep her medicated for the rest of her life. When my mother found out about Celiac, she asked this neurologist if it was possible that she had it, and he told us not to bother getting her tested. Due to the stubbornness inherited from my grandfather, my mother kept going and managed to get my sister tested with the leading expert in the United States (who happens to be Italian). It turned out that she did have Celiac, and eliminating the gluten eliminated the seizures. When that doctor came to the United States, he was shocked by how few people had Celiac. Then, he realized that it was just that not enough people knew about Celiac because it would affect the pharmaceutical industry.

[hagagaga]

12:10 PM on 03/28/2011

I generally eat gluten-free food because I have mild celiac disease. It's nowhere near as bad as some peoples' reactions, such as my sister who has seizures from gluten-containing food, but in general, it's a good idea for me to eat gluten-free food most of the time.

Also, the villi are not the only thing that can react. I know people who have accidentally used shampoo that had gluten-containing ingredients which caused hair to fall out.

[salmonellae]

10:16 AM on 03/31/2011

You are so right about the HUGE elephant in the room of US Dr.s being totally ignorant of how deadly toxic wheat is. But you either have Celiac or you don't----it never comes in a mild form. Your reactions may be mild, but it's doing the same deadly damage to your body. Once it destroys your villi, then the toxins usually contained in the foods we eat can travel to areas not meant for them---thus causing the rest of the awful symptoms, damage and further auto immune. Yep---Celiac is gaining awareness---but never to the extent it will when Big Pharma figures out a pill for it...

[Jill Parente]

09:07 AM on 03/28/2011

Going gluten-free is a trial and error process as to what works best for YOUR lifestyle. Symptoms vary, lifestyles vary, our family dynamics vary and our diets vary. Celiac or gluten intolerance is a disease, and an individual's disease at that. As a certified nutrition consultant, following my diagnosis 10 years ago, I vowed to dedicate my life to helping others in their gluten-free journey.
My business, www.GoGlutenFreeGracefully.com main objective is to help build AWARENESS on this brilliant disease, that once diagnosed and taken seriously will change your life! I've had the pleasure of helping people all over the world, ease into the lifestyle transition that many people find to be the toughest battle. My monthly newsletters are aimed towards building awareness for diagnosed individuals, AND their friends and family members who will serve as the support network.

[twwv8]

08:38 PM on 03/25/2011

We are about 6 months into GF/CF for our 5 yr old autistic son. My wife has been great about cooking more from scratch so we know what is actually in the food we eat. Thankfully there are many great products and resources available now that weren't around just a few years ago.
We have seeen great advances in his behavior and verbal abilities, whether it is the diet or all his OT and speech therapy (probably a combination). It's a small price to pay.

[Ian Hillway]

03:01 PM on 03/25/2011

The numbers in this article aren't adding up... "According to the National Institutes of Health, more than two million (or one in 133) people have celiac disease. However, only about 1 percent of the population has actually been diagnosed."

So... 2 million people have celiac disease but less than that (1 percent) have been diagnosed. The problem with that statement is that one in 133 people is 0.7 percent. So the numbers presented seem to indicate that more people have been diagnosed than are thought to have it.

This, combined with the author's need to stress that gluten free products still have carbohydrates at similar level to their counterparts, it makes this article seem more like a rushed opinion piece with some quick wikipedia research thrown in as opposed to a serious article with scientific merit.

This is further reinforced at the end with "Many who go on a gluten-free diet may lose weight and feel better, but it has nothing to do with avoiding gluten." I am sure this is true. But as you just explained, for many who do go off of gluten and lose weight and feel better, it has EVERYTHING to do with avoiding gluten. Your final comment seems to dismiss offhand the immense impact gluten has on some people's lives.

It is obvious that you personally don't think much of the gluten free movement, and see it as just another fad diet, but please attempt to retain some objectivity.

[Marsha Maresca]

01:16 PM on 03/25/2011

I really don't care for the tone of this article. Yes, it is true that most of the new gluten free packaged products are not terribly healthy, but not everyone who is gluten sensitive is ready to give up their baked goods. This is a great start. How about the incredible amount of packaged foods on the market that are low fat but loaded with sugar?
And I do not agree that a small percentage of people are gluten sensitive. Most docs just are not on board with this yet, but if they were and knew how to work with the unreliable tests, I believe that the percentages of gluten sensitive and celiacs would be shocking.
I have never been tested but took myself off gluten after a year of severe bursitis in both knees that multiple doctors could not help me with. After a month gluten free my pain was dramatically better and the last bit of pain went away when I stopped eating dairy.
It is a huge commitment to eat this way, but the benefits are unquestionably worth it.
There are so many people like me who have removed gluten from their diets without the support of a doctor, and I don't believe that we are being counted in any statistics.

[WillHarper]

02:16 PM on 03/25/2011

Marsha, you are absolutely spot on! This is a huge problem that is not being addressed in conventional medicine or main stream media. You had the strength and inspiration to change your diet after suffering from an inflammatory condition, but so many of us struggle for years with painful conditions that could be improved or cured by giving up trigger foods. Evereyone who walks into a doctors office with a chronic inflammatory complaint should be advised about trigger foods. The fact that this doesn't happen is indicative of how far our healthcare system is from actually being concerned with health.

[PandorasInk]

02:31 PM on 03/24/2011

I can't believe these people who call food allergies a mis-informed trend. That's a terrible attitude. How is a food sensitivity, allergy or intolerance a trend?? I have a sensitivity to gluten, never been tested. I have arthritis that flares like mad if I eat more than one serving of food with gluten a day, and if I eat any at all I have bowl issues. I'm also allergic to dairy. Didn't know that until I cut out everything but veggies, fish and beans for a month and reintroduced foods- now dairy makes me throw up and causes arthritis flares as well. (and makes my face burn, weird, right?) I'm also sensitive to soy, organic soy gives me horrible gas and loose stools, and GMO soy give me that plus arthritis flare ups. This is not sexy stuff. These are concrete physical effects, and people who dismiss this as a mis-informed trend are insulting.

[SithRose]

02:23 AM on 03/25/2011

It's the folks who do NOT have food allergies that we're calling blind followers of a misinformed trend. Not the people that actually NEED gluten-free food.

[sweetums]

09:10 PM on 03/27/2011

I have the same reaction as you, Pandorasink. If I have gluten, dairy, red meat, or nightshade veggies, my arthritis flares up. I stay away from soy because of my hypothyroidism. I don't think we are as unusual as we may think -- lots of arthritis out there that could be helped or eliminated (like mine) with diet changes. Also -- Dr. Mark Hyman has written about food sensitivities and heavy metal toxicity (which I have). Check out his articles.

[WillHarper]

01:14 PM on 03/24/2011

This is VERY important! Many people have intolerances to certain foods, but not necessarily allergies. I went thru ten years of hell, seven surgeries, painful nerve blocks and tests, and a truckload of brain killing pharmaceuticals. I lost all my savings to medical bills, almost lost my marriage and my mind. Finally, I went to a naturopath, Dr. Aimee Shunney in Santa Cruz, CA and after a few tests, including an elimination diet, she found that I was wheat and dairy intolerant. But that isn't the end of the story! People who are intolerant of certain foods tend to be prone to an inflammatory response. It is your immune system reacting to years of eating something your body saw as an irritant. In my case, long term inflammation led to toxins building up in my muscles, nerve inflammation, even my heart began to beat irregularly. So for many, many of us, just eating a gluten free diet or not drinking milk is not enough to shut off this immune/inflammatory response. You should avoid all inflammatory catalysts! Cut way back on sugar. Eliminate simple carbohydrates altogether, incuding gluten free flours. Drink tea instead of coffee. If all Americans adopted this diet, our healthcare crisis would be eliminated. Cases of diabetes, arthritis, heart disease, even certain cancers would be much reduced. We could take control of our own health. How nice would that be?

[CanWeEatThat]

08:03 AM on 03/24/2011

I write a blog about living gluten free and having Celiac disease. It surprises me after 14 yrs of eating this way, there are finally some mainstream options that don't taste like cardboard. The idea that it's a health fad makes me laugh out loud.

Gluten intolerance, sensitivity, and Celiac (no S) disease are all real and it is a blessing and a curse to know you can't eat like the rest of the world any longer. Headlines like these, I'm sorry to say, make people click on the article, but are misleading. The demand for gluten free products is for the literally millions of us who can't eat gluten for what ever reason. If someone wants to attempt the diet for other reasons, more power to them!
Laura @ CanWeEatThat.typepad.com

[hagagaga]

12:18 PM on 03/28/2011

It was a joy to me as well a few years ago when I discovered that some food didn't taste horrible. I remember once, I went on a week-long trip with school and the food accommodations for me included pizza that was probably made with rubber tires instead of rice and xantham gum. It was a huge relief more recently when I realized that my reactions don't happen unless I'm eating very large quantities (I ate several slices of pizza on Thursday without much of a reaction). I'll be staying mostly GF for my entire life, but I am very happy that I have a much weaker reaction than most people with celiac (such as my sister, who gets seizures).

[TakeSake]

12:19 AM on 03/24/2011

It took me a long time to track down my intolerances. Eventually I figured out that I was both gluten and lactose intolerant. Therefore, the singular substitution and challenge tests I did gave false negatives. Once I got rid of both, and worked on that for a couple weeks before I noticed a change, and tracked down all the inadvertent sources, I noticed a difference.

I replaced anything based on wheat with rice. Sometimes I make white rice, sometimes I mix it with brown rice. Those things I can't substitute I skip. I have cooked rice available all the time from my automatic rice cooker.

Here are a few easy recipes!

Breakfast:
1. Put cooked rice in a bowl.
2. Toss in walnuts, pumpkin seeds, cashews, etc.
3. Throw in raisins, grapes, or anything in season. Hint: avoid apples.
4. Slice in a banana.
5. Top off with hemp milk. I cut it 50/50 with water.

I buy all those in bulk. Easily cheaper than any cereal. Just as fast.

Lunch - work:
1. Rice in a container.
2. Whatever leftovers there were.

Lunch - home:
1. Fry up a couple eggs in olive oil. Watch the heat.
2. After flipping over once, top with kimchi.
3. Serve on rice.

Lunch:
1. Stir up a pack of natto.
2. Serve on rice.

[wm1066]

04:18 PM on 03/25/2011

I sometimes mix brown and white rice but I cook them separatley to keep the white rice from getting mushy. I'm a coeliac and I was told I had lactos problems..but I found it wasn't the dairy but the mixing of dairy and citrus in my diet. The citrus curdled the dairy in my gut. The citrus sets up an acidic stomach and when you have dairy it doesn't mix well. Try cutting out citrus for awhile and then try some dairy.

[EatBeyondLimits]

11:20 PM on 03/23/2011

Most people will be startled to realize that more people are affected by gluten than just Celiacs. I know a lot of people who are so surprised at how their health has improved by going gluten free. If more than a third of the population would benefit from being on a gluten free diet, this trend will continue to grow. Food manufacturers will do with gluten free food what they always have done - make processed food-like substances. It's really up to each of us to decide how we want to eat, whether we have an issue with gluten or not. If the societal norm was to eat real, unprocessed food then eating gluten free outside the home wouldn't be so hard, would it?

[portrait of a lady]

01:59 AM on 03/24/2011

A friend of mine tried to convince me I had Celiac disease so I tried some of the gluten free breads. Are they awful? I even tried baking some of my own! Finally had a test done. I don't have the disease but definitely have an intolerance for wheat even though I eat/ate very little. Today I do the plant based diet so no prob. I've only been on it for a few years and eat lots of brown rice which I love. Brown rice pasta is pretty good as long as its not overcooked.

[sweetums]

09:16 PM on 03/27/2011

I had read that in certain populations -- such as those with Jewish heritage -- the majority of those populations are gluten intolerant and don't know it.

[Fred Butters]

11:07 PM on 03/23/2011

"Examples of gluten-free grains include brown or wild rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat and amaranth."

Quinoa isn't a grain, it's more closely related to Spinach.

[zooperman]

11:05 PM on 03/23/2011

It is definitely healthier for people with gluten intolerance. Doesn't seem to bother anyone else.

[Carl Caroli]

10:29 PM on 03/23/2011

My sensitivity to gluten results in never ending bouts of eczema, not celiac's disease. when I eliminate bread and pasta, my eczema goes away. When I cheat, it returns. Simple as that.

[hagagaga]

12:20 PM on 03/28/2011

Celiac has more effects than just the villi. My sister gets seizures, for example.