There is no scientific proof in support of healthy adults following a gluten-free diet
So concludes a study carried out for the Nutrimedia project of the Science Communication Observatory at the Department of Communication, with the collaboration of the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre and with the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology.
A study carried out within the framework of the Nutrimedia project concludes that it is doubtful that healthy adults who follow a gluten-free diet gain any health benefits. This project is being carried out at the Science Communication Observatory (OCC) of the Department of Communication at Pompeu Fabra University, in collaboration with the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre and with the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT).
The evaluation of the scientific evidence available to answer the question posed by the public “is a gluten-free diet beneficial for the health in healthy adults?”, received in the Ask the Nutrimedia section of the website, has led to the conclusion that the scientific proof available is very scarce and does not support the consumption of gluten-free food for reasons of health in adults without celiac disease or allergies to gluten. The reason is that there are scarcely two studies that analyse this issue; in addition, these studies are observational, are of very poor overall quality and can in no case establish a cause-effect relationship between the consumption of gluten-free food and health benefits.
The available studies do suggest that it is rather the opposite, that is to say, that a diet with gluten in people not suffering from celiac disease or gluten allergies could, in the best of cases, have some minimum health benefits. Specifically, the scarce evidence available is limited to the effects of this type of diet on heart disease, coming to the conclusion that the consumption of gluten could slightly reduce the risk of heart attack or not alter it. One possible explanation for the finding is the fact that removing gluten from the diet may involve a reduction in the consumption of whole grains and, consequently, of fibre and other components pertaining to the structural matrix of cereals, which all together seem to protect cardiovascular health.
Gluten is found in cereals such as barley, wheat and derivatives (spelt and kamut), rye, the triticale (cross between rye and wheat) and oats, if harvested with wheat; it can also be present in processed foods, drugs and dietary supplements. Celiac disease is a chronic autoimmune-type disease that occurs as a reaction to gluten intake, affecting the intestinal mucosa; treatment is mainly based on following a strict completely gluten-free diet. Although the broader range of gluten-free products has made life easier for the 1% of the European population affected by celiac disease or gluten intolerance, the increase in the sales of these products appears to be rather connected with powerful marketing campaigns that have been carried out in recent years, despite being more expensive than similar products containing gluten. These campaigns have had a major influence on the perception of the possible risk arising from the consumption of gluten among the general population, making it believe that gluten-free products are a healthier alternative to those that contain it.
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About Nutrimedia
Nutrimedia is a project of the Science Communication Observatory of Pompeu Fabra University (OCC-UPF), in collaboration with the Iberoamerican Cochrane Centre and with the support of the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology. Its main goal is to analyse the degree of scientific confidence warranted by specific messages about food and nutrition (in the form of news, advertisements, myths and questions from the public). The results of the evaluations, which are published on the project website, seek to offer scientific data and criteria to help citizens to make informed decisions about food and health and to promote the dissemination of nutrition based on scientific evidence.