How Safe is a Gluten-Free Diet?
The Gluten-free diet is starting to grow in popularity across America. It is now even easier than ever to purchase Gluten-free products including snacks such as cookies! But is a Gluten-free diet safe or healthy?
I recently had to write a discussion paper for one of my classes for my Master's in Nutrition and the subject was supposed to be on specialized diets. The purpose was to write a brief overview of the diet and then discuss whether or not it is a healthy diet based on what we have learned.
So, naturally like any blogger would, I turned to you all to see what you wanted to hear about. And majority rules. Gluten-free diet was chosen. So I cracked down and did some research.
What I found might shock you.
Gluten-Free Diet Overview
Gluten, a protein common in a range of grains, is connected to celiac disease as well as other gastrointestinal disorders (Bulka, Davis, Karagas, Ahsan, & Argos, 2017). A Gluten-free diet is literally eliminating gluten from the foods they are eating.
For those who suffer from gastrointestinal disorders, gluten causes an immune reaction using T cells versus small bowel cells (Rostami, Bold, Parr, & Johnson, 2017). Basically, it causes an allergic reaction and can eventually lead to autoimmune disorders.
Retail gluten-free goods mainly include rice flour as an alternative to gluten rich flour (Bulka, Davis, Karagas, Ahsan, & Argos, 2017). There are other substitutes that are used such as coconut flour as well. And rice is gluten free naturally so people who follow a gluten-free diet can still eat rice.
A gluten-free diet doesn’t in itself eliminate any major nutrients from the diet. Carbohydrates can still be consumed using substitutes for gluten, fruits and leafy green vegetables for example.
The Pros for a Gluten-Free Diet
There are plenty of studies out there that support the benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet for those who have celiac disease or other gastrointestinal disorders. It has even been proven to aid in irregular bowel movements and other stomach issues.
Those who don't even suffer from a gastrointestinal disease have been following a Gluten-Free Diet. There are a few studies on how it affects those with autism, but outside of that there aren't a lot of studies done.
I know some have even said that they see a benefit when it comes to migraines. But from what I have read that may be more due to the triggers that cause the migraines, not so much curing them.
What is a Healthy Diet?
According to the Dietary Guidelines For Americans, they recommend eating a good balanced diet with nutrient dense foods across and within all food groups within calorie limits .
Basically, eat a diet with the appropriate amount of calories for your age, height, weight and activity level. The diet needs to include: Carbs 45-65%, Fat 20-35%, and Protein 10-35% from daily calories. Make sure to take in all the recommended daily values for vitamins and minerals as well.
Easier said than done right.
But again, a gluten-free diet isn't limiting a person from eating a balanced diet especially now with all the options available to them.
Is a Gluten-Free Diet healthy?
My verdict is that more research needs to be done.
While there needs to be more studies done on the benefits of a Gluten-free diet, one study found that there is no confirmation that it is advantageous in those who do not suffer from gastrointestinal issues (Rostami, Bold, Parr, & Johnson, 2017)
While another study found that the issues and insufficiencies found in gluten-free diets were comparable to the same issues found in diets that included gluten, such as inadequate consumption of vitamin D and zinc, a diet high in fats and low in fibre (Quero, et al., 2015).
And another study suggests that a gluten-free diet contains toxic levels of metals and the affects of low-level arsenic and mercury found from food using rice substitutes could escalate the chance for cancer and different recurring diseases (Bulka, Davis, Karagas, Ahsan, & Argos, 2017).
So What does this mean?
A gluten-free diet is overall a healthy diet. As long as you eat a balanced diet with the appropriate amounts of carbs, protein and fats you should be overall good to go!
Let me know if there is anything else you want to hear about!! And Check out our other Health & Wellness posts.
References:
Bulka, C. M., Davis, M. A., Karagas, M. R., Ahsan, H., & Argos, M. (2017). The Unintended Consequences of a Gluten-free Diet. Epidemiology, 28(3). doi:10.1097/ede. 0000000000000640
Quero, J. S., Jaime, B. E., Martínez, A. R., Martín, F. A., Jiménez, R. G., Murillo, M. R., & Martín, A. P. (2015). Nutritional assessment of gluten-free diet. Is gluten-free diet deficient in some nutrient? Anales De Pediatría (English Edition), 83(1), 33-39. doi: 10.1016/j.anpede.2015.06.003
Rostami, K., Bold, J., Parr, A., & Johnson, M. (2017). Gluten-Free Diet Indications, Safety, Quality, Labels, and Challenges. Nutrients, 9(8), 846. doi:10.3390/nu9080846
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and U.S. Department of Agriculture. 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. 8th Edition. December 2015. Available at https://health.gov/ dietaryguidelines/2015/resources/2015-2020_Dietary_Guidelines.pdf