If you haven't yet heard the word “gluten,” you've probably been living under a rock. Celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus have embraced the gluten-free “lifestyle” — or at least have dabbled in it — and there’s no shortage of wellness bloggers and influencers who tout the purported benefits of skipping this complex protein found in wheat. The result: Most of the people cutting gluten out of their lives aren’t doing so because of celiac disease, according to a recent paper published in the journal Pediatrics. Instead, they’re doing it because of the many circulating myths out there.
A gluten-free diet is literally a life-saver for people with celiac disease, which is a genetic autoimmune disorder that damages the small intestine, triggering symptoms such as cramping, bloating, and diarrhea. In fact, going gluten-free is the only available treatment for people who have this condition.
But too many people wrongfully believe that a gluten-free diet will help boost energy, lead to fast weight loss, solve headaches or inflammation, or help with auto-immune diseases in general, explains Peter H.R. Green, MD, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. “There just isn’t any scientific basis to these claims.”
Still, it isn’t quite that simple, Dr. Green admits, as we are learning more about the existence of what’s known as gluten sensitivity.
Ahead, we debunk the major misconceptions surrounding this much-maligned protein and share the latest on who can and cannot eat gluten.
Fact: Gluten isn't evil.
Some one in three people are reportedly dodging gluten in their diets, according to data from the NPD Group. But unlike say, sugar, which is unhealthy for everybody when consumed in large amounts, foods that contain gluten are not harmful at all unless you have celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or gluten sensitivity. “There’s no evidence that a gluten-free diet is beneficial for people without celiac disease, and a small portion of people with other issues,” Dr. Green says.
In fact, whole grains that contain gluten — including those made with whole wheat (like 100% whole-wheat bread and pasta) and barley — can be very nutritious, offering fiber as well as other important vitamins and minerals. The benefits of whole grains are well-known: They have been linked to lower cholesterol and blood-pressure levels, and most recently, a decreased risk of premature death from heart disease and cancer. While there are plenty of ways to get a dose of whole grains from gluten-free foods (such as corn, millet, or rice), there’s no reason to demonize whole wheat on account of the gluten alone.
Fact: Except for a few of us, gluten is no biggie for our bodies.
The idea that our cave-dwelling ancestors didn’t eat wheat, so we didn’t evolve to be able to digest it, is a large part of why so many people say gluten is dangerous or bad for the body.
It’s actually true that we don’t produce the enzymes necessary to break down the complex proteins in gluten. So every time you eat wheat bread or pasta, your immune system kicks into gear. But unless you are among the 1% of people with celiac, this is just your immune system doing a cleanup in aisle seven, as it’s been doing for 10,000 years. “It doesn’t cause an issue for most people,” Green says. “For people with celiac, it does.”
That’s because in celiac disease, the immune system’s action doesn’t stop at gluten. It continues to attack the lining of the intestine, which is why it causes GI symptoms and can eventually lead to nutritional deficiencies as the lining becomes damaged.
Illustrated by Aimme Sy
Fact: There are other reasons to skip gluten.
Now, here’s where it gets tricky. Some people who don’t have celiac truly do have a reaction to gluten.
“I definitely recognize that there are some people with gluten sensitivity,” Dr. Green says, “but it’s much more vague.” Although there’s no definitive set of symptoms or test to diagnose gluten sensitivity yet, people who believe they have it report getting stomachaches, headaches, fatigue, depression, and some dozen other symptoms in response to eating gluten. After comparing biopsies from people with celiac, people with self-identified gluten sensitivity, and healthy controls, researchers reporting in a 2011 issue of the journal BMC Medicine confirmed that gluten sensitivity is real, and that it causes a type of immune reaction that’s distinct from celiac disease.
Illustrated by Aimme Sy
Fact: It could be something else.
Not so fast. Although some “experts” love to pin all instances of IBS-like symptoms on gluten issues, it’s far less common than people think, Dr. Green says.
That’s not to say your symptoms aren’t real, just that there might actually be something else going on. In a 2013 study in the journal Gastroenterology, researchers found that many more people reacted to fermentable, poorly absorbed short-chain carbohydrates (called FODMAPs), found in breads, beer, pastries, and pasta, than to gluten.
The way to figure out what’s really causing your symptoms is to work with your doctor or see a gastroenterologist who can run blood tests and help you sleuth out the true source of the problem.
Illustrated by Aimme Sy
Fact: A gluten-free diet, like any other diet, can be unhealthy.
The truth is that simply cutting out gluten doesn’t mean you don’t need to focus on other aspects of a healthy diet, like eating plenty of fruits and vegetables.
Food manufacturers have been quick to respond to the trend by slapping the “gluten-free” label onto everything they possibly can, and this has had the effect of creating a “health halo” (a.k.a. the perception that a food is healthier than it is).
For example, cakes, cookies, and other processed foods can fit into any diet, but they’ll never be a health food, gluten or not. Erasing gluten doesn’t erase sugar, too much of which has been linked to Type 2 diabetes and heart disease. And manufacturers often stuff gluten-free substitutes with extra salt, sugar, fat, and corn or potato starch to compensate for lost flavor and texture. An Australian study compared the nutritional value of some 3,200 foods and their gluten-free counterparts and found the differences to be negligible. So, a gluten-free doughnut? Still a doughnut.
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