Gluten-free foods are not healthier alternatives, says expert

Avoiding gluten can put you at greater risk of heart disease

There’s no reason to believe that eating gluten-free foods is better for you unless you have coeliac disease, an expert has claimed.

According to Coeliac UK, around one in 100 people in the UK suffer from coeliac disease.

However, gluten-free food has become a worldwide foodie trend, even among those who would do well to include gluten in their diets.

Suzanne Mahady is a gastroenterologist, a clinical epidemiologist and a senior lecturer at Monash University in Australia.

She strongly advises against avoiding gluten unless you have coeliac disease, as you could be putting your health at risk.

“For people without coeliac disease, there’s no evidence to support claims a strict gluten-free diet is beneficial for health,” she writes for The Conversation.

“It’s even possible the opposite is true, and the avoidance of dietary whole grains resulting in a low fibre intake may be detrimental.”

Mahady explains that even though gluten-free eating has become a popular wellness trend, it may not be as advantageous as many people believe.

“Gluten-free foods are frequently perceived as a healthier alternative, because of an alignment with a ‘wellness lifestyle’,” Mahady writes. “But is there scientific evidence to support this?”

In 1999, researchers from the University of Toronto carried out a study in which they discovered that consuming wheat fibre can provide you with additional protection against cardiovascular disease by lowering the levels of triglycerides in your blood.

A recent study that was published last year also came to a similar conclusion.

After analysing data from thousands of participants over the course of 26 years, researchers concluded that people who don’t have coeliac disease should not be encouraged to follow gluten-free diets.

“Long term dietary intake of gluten was not associated with risk of coronary heart disease,” they concluded.

“However, the avoidance of gluten may result in reduced consumption of beneficial whole grains, which may affect cardiovascular risk."

Avoiding gluten has also been linked to an increased risk of Type 2 diabetes.