The Truth About Gluten: Myths and Facts
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Think gluten is evil? Think again. Gluten is often only an issue for people with celiac disease, who experience symptoms like abdominal pain, constipation, weight loss, and fatigue when consuming gluten, the Celiac Disease Foundation points out. According to Mayo Clinic, people who have a wheat allergy may be able to eat nonwheat gluten-containing foods. And, says Rachel Begun, a registered dietitian-nutritionist and coach in New York City, while people with nonceliac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) need to avoid gluten, they may not have to avoid cross contact with gluten. This is something to discuss with your healthcare team.
The fact is that gluten-containing foods can be beneficial to your health if you don’t have a sensitivity or allergy to them. Learn more about some common myths and facts about gluten below.
1. Myth: Gluten-Containing Foods Are Bad for You
For people with celiac disease and NCGS, avoiding gluten can help manage symptoms. But generally speaking, you don’t need to target gluten in your diet if you’re trying to eat healthier.
Gluten-containing foods tend to be some of the healthiest out there, actually. For example, grains that contain gluten, such as barley and rye, are considered whole and provide beneficial fiber, vitamins, and minerals to your diet. (Gluten-free whole grains, like buckwheat, rice, quinoa, and oats — if not cross-contaminated during growing or manufacturing — offer similar benefits, according to Mayo Clinic.)
If you’re eliminating gluten just to eliminate gluten (that is, in the absence of NCGS or celiac disease), you may find eating a healthy diet to be harder. One reason for that is many products marketed as gluten-free contain more fat, sugar, and sodium than their gluten-containing counterparts, research cited in one article notes. “In order for some gluten-free foods to have texture and taste, they may have more fat and sugar added,” says Rubin. What’s more, per the aforementioned article, gluten-free products may offer fewer key nutrients such as iron, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamin compared with gluten-containing foods that are enriched.
Ultimately, unnecessarily removing gluten from your diet may not provide any health benefits.
2. Fact: Eating Gluten Adds Protein to Your Diet
In fact, gluten is protein. Gluten is the name for the protein found in foods such as wheat, rye, barley, and triticale, which is a cross between barley and rye. This protein helps foods maintain their shape.
Gluten can be found in unexpected fare, from wheat in certain sauces and salad dressings to barley in some food colorings, along with in malt used in malted milkshakes or malt vinegar, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation.
3. Myth: Eating Gluten Causes Weight Gain
If you’re looking to change your diet to lose weight, gluten probably isn’t the culprit.
Instead, think about the quality of your food. “Just like any dietary pattern, it’s about the choices you make,” says Begun. “In the absence of celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, replacing empty-calorie, gluten-containing foods with whole, nutrient-rich foods can certainly make you feel better, but it’s probably because you are eating healthier.”
Same goes for those with NCGS — gluten alone typically won’t cause you to put on extra pounds. “There are a variety of symptoms that may occur with gluten sensitivity, but undesirable weight gain typically isn’t one of them,” says E.A. Stewart, RD, an integrative dietitian in San Diego.
4. Fact: There Is No Diagnostic Test for Gluten Sensitivity
Instead, if someone displays symptoms, they will be given a genetic test to rule out celiac disease and a wheat allergy, says Emily Rubin, RD, a clinical dietitian for the Celiac Center, Fatty Liver Center, and Weight Management Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.
The Celiac Disease Foundation notes that testing for NCGS usually includes skin pricks, blood tests, and even an endoscopy.
5. Myth: If You Think You’re Sensitive to Gluten, You Should Immediately Cut It From Your Diet
“If you think you are reacting to gluten, don’t stop eating it!” says Begun. To be tested for celiac disease, you need to be eating a couple of servings of gluten (about two slices of whole-wheat bread) daily for six to eight weeks, per the foundation.
“It’s important to get a true diagnosis,” Begun adds, “because there may be other components in gluten-containing foods causing your symptoms — and therefore, going gluten-free may not be the proper treatment. You actually need to be eating gluten for diagnostic testing to be accurate.”
6. Fact: There Are Celiac Disease ‘Genes’
People who have celiac disease have one or both of two specific genes, the HLA DQ2 and the DQ8 genes, according to the National Celiac Association. If you have at least one of these genes — as an estimated 30 to 40 percent of people do — that doesn’t mean you have or will develop celiac disease. If you suspect you may have celiac disease, you can get genetic testing to find out if you have one of these genes before your doctor performs more tests to confirm a diagnosis.
In the case of a wheat allergy, proper treatment involves avoiding wheat-containing products. For NCGS and celiac, you’ll follow a gluten-free diet. But worrying about cross contact may not be necessary for people with gluten sensitivity, Rubin adds.
7. Myth: Gluten Sensitivity Is a Common, More Mild Form of Celiac Disease
NCGS is a different condition from celiac disease, Begun says. “While their symptoms may be similar and overlap, they are two unique conditions with different responses going on in the body,” she explains.
Symptoms of a NCGS and celiac disease may include joint pain; numbness in the fingers, arms, or legs; headache; joint pain; brain fog; and various gastrointestinal issues such as bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, and abdominal pain, according to Beyond Celiac.
“We know celiac disease to be an autoimmune disorder in which the body’s immune system triggers an attack on the intestines in the presence of gluten,” Begun says. “With gluten sensitivity, the same antibodies to gluten are not produced, there isn’t the same damage to the intestines, nor do we see an increased intestinal permeability as we see in celiac disease.”
And while many people follow a gluten-free diet, only 1 percent of Americans are diagnosed with celiac disease — and up to 6 percent of the U.S. population is thought to have NCGS, according to an article. These stats for NCGS are just an estimate, though. “Without a biomarker for gluten sensitivity, there is no way of predicting its prevalence,” says Begun.
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