Gluten-free diets shouldn’t be adopted by people who are not coeliac
Gluten-free diets should not exist among those who do not suffer from coeliac disease, according to scientists.
According to the Telegraph, almost 1% of Brits are gluten-intolerant and face the consequences of this: vomiting, nerve problems, anaemia, inflammation and an increased risk of coronary heart disease. However, around 12% of British adults adopted this diet, thinking that it is better for the heart.
Researchers from Harvard University observed data from nearly 120,000 people older than 26 and discovered that gluten-free diets did not cut the risk of heart disease. Furthermore, restricting the intake of gluten may result in a low intake of whole grains, which are beneficial for the heart.
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“The popularity of a low gluten or gluten-free diet in the general population has markedly increased in recent years,” said Dr Andrew Chan, of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in the BMJ.
“However these findings underscore the potential that people who severely restrict gluten intake may also significantly limit their intake of whole grains, which may actually be associated with adverse cardiovascular outcomes.
“The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without coeliac disease should not be encouraged.”
Market analysis Mintel claim that in 2015 12% of new food products launched in the UK carried a gluten-free claim, as opposed to 7% in 2011. The dramatic increase is attributed to the rise of celebrity food bloggers like Gwyneth Paltrow and clean eating gurus, as well as the increasing culture of posting food photographs on social media, according to Catherine Collins, the chairman of the British Association of Dieticians.
A study from Harvard suggested that ingesting only small amounts of gluten or avoiding it altogether increases the risk of diabetes by up to 13%. The research is an observational study and it does not look into causes and effects.
Still, the researchers say that “promotion of gluten-free diets for the purpose of coronary heart disease prevention among asymptomatic people without coeliac disease should not be recommended.”
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