Why your gluten-free diet could be making your health worse

There’s no doubt that gluten-free diets are “in”. Gluten-free labels have stormed supermarkets, restaurants are adding GF options to menus and even celebrities are onboard. Hey, if Gwyneth Paltrow does it…

But are the benefits of a gluten-free diet overstated? With more and more people choosing to shirk bread and pasta, we’re looking closer at who really needs a gluten-free diet. And why it might be healthier for some people to eat wheat after all.

First, make sure it’s really gluten you’re reacting to.

Got gut issues? Not all food intolerance symptoms are caused by gluten, but if you have concerns here are the conditions to test for.

• Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disorder, often marked by severe gastro symptoms and nutrient malabsorption. This is diagnosed through blood tests or biopsies and can be only be treated with a lifelong gluten-free diet.

• Non-Coeliac gluten sensitivity is increasingly recognised as a cause of less severe gastro symptoms, as well as headaches, fatigue and “brain fog”. The best way to diagnose this is by eliminating all gluten for at least a month and slowly reintroducing it and monitoring your symptoms.

It’s crucial to rule these conditions out, or your gluten-free diet could actually be doing more harm than good! Here’s how…

If it’s not gluten, you could be ignoring another gut issue.

When gut symptoms arise, a common solution is to target gluten. But there are many other reasons why things go haywire down below.

“Other reasons for bad health – other food intolerances, stress and abnormalities – are all avenues that need to be addressed,” says IQS dietician, Natalie Bourke.

For example, gluten-containing products are also high in fructans (a FODMAP which some people find difficult to digest). In this case, wheat could be giving you issues – but so could onions, garlic and broccoli.

Whole grains can actually be good for your gut.

While we don’t recommend a whole lot of white bread and processed cereals, whole grains are very rich in fibre – and suddenly cutting them out can lead to issues like constipation and gut bacteria imbalance.

“Dietary fibre is a source of food for your good gut bacteria. They need to be fed just like us,” says Natalie.

Gluten-free foods are not automatically healthier.

A recent study of over 3,200 products found that gluten-free foods were no healthier than their wheat counterparts. In fact, some gluten-free products are actually pumped full of other stuff to make up for the gluten that’s taken out. So, if you’re buying gluten-free in order to eat “clean”, you could actually be dosing up on crappy vegetable oils, processed soy and, of course, sugar.

“Lots of people just buy everything with a gluten-free sticker. If you really want good gut health, you can’t just swap one processed food for another,” Natalie says.

Whatever the case, you shouldn’t give up gluten on a whim. It’s important to speak with a professional to find out exactly what’s causing the issue, because, hey, nobody wants to give up sourdough if they don’t have to!

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