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A gluten-free diet is a lifesaver for celiac sufferers. Without removing gluten — a protein found in wheat, rye and barley grains — from a celiac sufferer’s diet, the intestine will destroy itself, and can lead to premature death if undiagnosed. But for those of us without celiac disease or a wheat allergy, the benefits of a gluten-free diet are debatable. “A gluten-free diet is not necessarily a healthy diet,” says Peter HR Green, director of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University. “It lacks fiber and, in the case of prepared gluten-free food, it’s often more rich in fat and cholesterol. There are people whose symptoms — fatigue and brain fog, for example — get better on a gluten-free diet, but we don’t know why that is. The mechanism is unclear.”
People on a gluten-free diet may lose weight — but that’s because they’re eating fewer carbohydrates like bread, pizza and bagels, which are high in starch. It’s basic math. Fewer carbs = fewer calories. But gluten is not the enemy.
“There’s nothing in gluten that makes you gain weight,” says Karen Ansel, registered dietitian and spokesperson for the American Dietetic Association. Rather, she says, it’s large quantities of refined carbohydrates that are bad for you. Small portions of unrefined carbohydrates like whole-wheat pasta and bread are still considered healthful. In other words, Ansel says, “whole grains are good.”
FOODS CONTAINING GLUTEN
* Pizza, pasta, bread, doughnuts, pretzels most cereals and cookies, beer … you know, all the fun stuff. Anything with standard white flour, wheat, barley or rye!
* Gluten hides in many processed foods like soy sauce — and also jams and jellies — so make sure to check the labels.
* Many soups have flour as a thickener, so no chowder. Even miso has a little bit of gluten in it.
GLUTEN-FREE FOODS
* Rice, rice pasta, corn, corn chips, popcorn
* Buckwheat, quinoa and amaranth
* Flours made from rice, tapioca and potatoes
* Oats, potatoes, sweet potatoes, legumes, beans, nuts
* Bard’s gluten-free beer, Budweiser’s Redbridge beer, wine, sake