Impact of a Gluten-Free Diet
What you eat instead of gluten may have negative consequences.
While avoiding gluten is most certainly a necessity for those with celiac disease, many more people have bid adieu to any foods containing it with the belief that it will lead to health benefits. But such a dietary measures in a gluten-free diet can backfire.
Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in foods of the wheat family.
A report in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition studied 23 women who followed a gluten-free diet for 6 weeks. Investigators determined that they had an increase in the intake of fat and sodium and a reduction in the consumption of fiber and some key micronutrients including B vitamins. This is compared with when they followed a diet for 6 weeks that did not avoid gluten.
Researchers also determined that the gluten-free diet increased the dietary inflammatory index, meaning that it had a higher inflammatory potential.
It likely comes down to what people are eating in replace of gluten-containing foods, which might be highly processed versions of breads, cereals and pasta that are not fortified with nutrients. With proper nutrition education, however, those adhering to a gluten-free diet can be guided towards more nutritious options.
See also: Another Win for Gluten
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD
Matthew Kadey, MS, RD, is a James Beard Award–winning food journalist, dietitian and author of the cookbook Rocket Fuel: Power-Packed Food for Sport + Adventure (VeloPress 2016). He has written for dozens of magazines, including Runner’s World, Men’s Health, Shape, Men’s Fitness and Muscle and Fitness.
