Bread has always been a dietary staple across cultures, but for some people, this source of sustenance can actually be a cause of pain and illness. That’s because celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that affects about 2 million Americans, renders a person unable to digest the protein known as gluten found in wheat kernels. Gluten-free options have gained prominence thanks to increasing understanding of this condition—in fact, November is Gluten-Free Diet Awareness Month. But while it’s important to understand why individuals with celiac need to cut this out of their diet, it’s worth noting that gluten-free diets aren’t necessarily beneficial for people who don’t have this condition.
A Look at Life with Celiac Disease
For people with celiac disease, gluten prompts inflammation in the small intestines that can damage the gastrointestinal tract. This inflammation leads to uncomfortable symptoms like bloating, constipation, and diarrhea; in the long term, it can cause malnutrition because the body isn’t able to absorb nutrients properly from food.
This is why people who are diagnosed with celiac are told to transition to a gluten-free diet. Eventually, the small intestines heal from the damage that this inflammation has caused and the body will start to absorb nutrients again. However, it’s important that celiac patients abstain from gluten completely—having gluten at even one meal can trigger digestive problems all over again.
Gluten-Free as an Ill-Informed Trend
For people with celiac disease, a gluten-free diet helps them maintain optimal health. They may even find that they are now empowered to make other healthy choices—for example, if fatigue from malnutrition was preventing them from exercise, they may be more active and able to shed excess weight they’ve struggled with.
Maybe this explains why so many people equate gluten-free diets with weight loss and other benefits. Going gluten-free has seen steady popularity as a health trend since the late 2000s, according to the Harvard School of Public Health, which points to endorsements from celebrities and other people who claim avoiding gluten helps them lose weight or have more energy. In fact, a 2013 study by the global market research company Mintel found that 65 percent of Americans think gluten-free foods are healthier than their traditional counterparts. The study also noted that 27 percent of people have undertaken a gluten-free diet to lose weight.
The problem? That’s not necessarily a healthy choice…
Can Gluten-Free Be Healthy?
Yes, you can cut gluten from your diet in a healthy way if you need to. Many healthy foods are naturally free from any gluten—fruit, vegetables, poultry, meat, fish, eggs, legumes, nuts, and even whole grains like quinoa and rice are (pardon the pun) on the table. The only foods a person avoiding gluten cannot eat are wheat, barley, and rye.
It makes sense that even people who don’t have celiac disease might lose weight or feel better when they cut out gluten. After all, they’re giving up many processed foods like cookies, cake, doughnuts, pizza, sugary cereals, and white bread. The Mayo Clinic states that a gluten-free diet can be a healthy one as long as people are replacing wheat products with nutritious foods and not filling up on foods like red meat and full-fat dairy (or replacing regular cookies with gluten-free cookies).
It does take some careful consideration. The average American diet is deficient in fiber, of which whole wheat is a prominent source. Additionally, wheat foods are fortified with many vitamins and minerals. Even people who have no choice but to adopt a gluten-free diet as part of a celiac diagnosis might find themselves struggling to get as much fiber, calcium, iron, and B vitamins as they need. This is why the National Institutes on Health discourages a gluten-free diet for anyone who doesn’t have a celiac diagnosis.
If You Don’t Have Celiac Disease…
Nobody is saying you can’t eat a diet that excludes wheat. Go for it! Some people even adhere to Wheat-Free Wednesdays, giving up wheat one day a week as a way of encouraging new dietary options and trying staple foods they wouldn’t otherwise. If you’re always eating pasta, you might miss out on the fact that you really love quinoa!
But remember that many processed gluten-free products aren’t necessarily healthier than their normal versions. Gluten-free treats are still treats. When you compare nutrition labels, you might even notice that gluten-free versions of your favorite processed foods are actually higher in sugar, fat, and total calories, not to mention lower in fiber and protein. This explains why some Harvard studies have found that gluten-free diets cause weight gain and increase the risk of chronic diseases like heart disease and cancer.
The Least You Should Consider
A gluten-free lifestyle is often expensive, inconvenient, and stressful for those who don’t have a choice—and this is why it’s important to raise awareness of it and create more options for gluten-free consumers. But if you aren’t required to cut gluten as part of a celiac diagnosis by your doctor, jumping on the trend might be more trouble than it’s worth—don’t expect to cut wheat from your diet and see all your health problems automatically go away. Building a healthy diet is always a lot more complex than simply cutting out one food.
