Breaking Down Gluten: What it is and Why Not Everyone Needs to Avoid it

Whether it’s gluten-free menus at restaurants or gluten-free products in the grocery store, gluten awareness continues to grow. And while you may have heard of people avoiding gluten, many don’t actually know what gluten is and if eating gluten is actually bad. So, let’s break down the gluten-free trend and dispel some of the myths around it!

What is Gluten?

While you can get super in-depth into what gluten is and all the different types of gluten, let’s stick with the basics. The term “gluten” refers to a family of proteins called prolamins that are found in many cereal grains, including wheat, barley, and rye. One of the big misconceptions is that gluten is the same as wheat – it’s not! While many gluten-free products are wheat-free, there are products out there that remove gluten but still contain the rest of the wheat. So, if you have a wheat allergy, be sure to carefully read ingredient lists!

Gluten is a key ingredient in cooking and baking as it helps foods maintain their shape. The most obvious example of this is in breads and baked goods. Gluten plays two key roles in baking. First, when the dough is kneaded, such as with bread, pizza, and pasta dough, the gluten forms an elastic membrane, which results in a chewy rather than tough texture (nobody wants hard pasta!). Second, gluten creates pockets in the dough that traps air released from leavening agents, such as yeast or baking soda, allowing the dough to rise as it bakes.

In addition to baked goods and pasta, flour (containing gluten) is often added to other foods, such as salad dressings, condiments, and soups, for thickening purposes.

Who Needs to Avoid Gluten?

Okay, so now that we know what gluten is and its role in baking and cooking, let’s talk about why some people need to avoid gluten.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder in which the ingestion of gluten damages the lining of the small intestine. This damage makes it so the body can’t absorb nutrients properly, which can result in vitamin and mineral deficiencies, unintentional weight loss, early onset osteoporosis, and many other long-term health conditions if not treated with a gluten-free diet. A blood test is used to test for Celiac Disease, and then a biopsy is required to confirm the diagnosis.

While Celiac Disease is a serious condition, it’s estimated to only affect less than 1% of the population. So then, why are other people avoiding it? There are some proposed health/weight loss reasons why people choose to go gluten-free, which we will get to next. But there are also individuals who test negative for Celiac Disease yet have an improvement in GI symptoms when on a gluten-free diet. There’s a bunch of research currently looking at whether people are actually gluten-intolerant or if there’s another ingredient commonly in gluten-containing foods that these individuals may be reacting to. For anyone in this camp, it’s important to work with a registered dietitian to help identify triggering foods and build a healthy diet around any food avoidances/intolerances.

Myths Surrounding Gluten and Health

There are tons of books, magazine articles, and even blogs out there talking about how much healthier it is to go gluten-free, but what does the research say? Here are the three most common myths surrounding gluten and what science has found:

Myth 1: Eating gluten increases inflammation

Inflammation is a big deal; after all, chronic inflammation in the body increases our risk for serious diseases, such as heart disease and diabetes. But does eating gluten increase inflammation (in non-Celiac individuals)? The short answer is no. In fact, the Nurses’ Health Study and another study looking at long-term gluten consumption both found that eating gluten did not increase the risk of heart disease. Surprisingly, both studies found that avoiding gluten was actually associated with an increased risk of heart disease. Why would this be? Both studies also found that individuals avoiding gluten had significantly lower consumption of whole grains, which supply heart-healthy fiber. So it’s likely that it’s fiber intake, rather than gluten, that is the key to promoting heart health.

Bottom Line: eating gluten will likely not increase inflammation; however, it’s important to be choosing high-fiber options and limiting high-sugar grains and cereals.

Myth 2: Going gluten-free will help you lose weight

Now this is an interesting one, as going gluten-free could result in weight loss if your prior diet was high in sugary, processed foods and now you’re eating more fruits, vegetables, and protein. In the NHANES study, they found a decrease in weight and waist circumference over 1 year on a gluten-free diet; however, the majority of people on a gluten-free diet were health-conscious, active women. For people simply swapping their gluten-containing, high-processed diet for gluten-free processed foods, the research shows that people actually tend to gain weight on a gluten-free diet. US surveys have found that gluten-free packaged foods tend to be higher in calories, fat, carbohydrate, and sodium; however, an Australian survey did not find any significant difference in calories or fat between gluten and gluten-free items.

Bottom Line: simply swapping out gluten-containing items for gluten-free foods will likely not result in weight loss. However, weight loss could occur if going gluten-free results in an overall reduction of processed foods and an increase in fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins.

Myth 3: Going gluten-free boosts energy and improves athletic performance

These claims are built mostly on personal experience rather than science. As far as boosting energy goes, these claims are likely due to individuals switching from a highly processed diet to one with more whole foods and lower in saturated fats and sugars. Again, there isn’t much research to support this claim either way.

However, there are studies on the effects of a gluten-free diet on athletic performance. In a randomized, double-blind crossover trial, cyclists were given a gluten-free or a gluten-containing diet for 1 week, put back to their usual diet for 10 days, and then did another week on either the gluten-free or gluten-containing diet (whichever they didn’t do the first week). The study didn’t find any significant changes in GI symptoms or athletic performance on timed trials between the gluten-containing and gluten-free diet weeks.

Bottom Line: simply going gluten-free will likely not improve energy levels or athletic performance. However, an overall healthier diet (regardless of gluten) could have these desired effects.

Gluten Doesn’t Need to be Avoided by Everyone

So what’s the take-home message? For individuals without gluten-related disease, current research does not support a substantial benefit of following a gluten-free diet. In fact, a gluten-free diet could actually be detrimental to health as there’s an increased risk for inadequate fiber intake and other nutrient deficiencies (specifically B vitamins). Note: for anyone requiring a gluten-free diet, it’s important to consult a health professional to make sure you’re meeting all your nutrient needs!

At the end of the day, it’s not the gluten that makes a diet healthy or unhealthy, but rather what kinds of carbohydrates and grains you’re eating. A healthy diet is one that incorporates a variety of whole foods (fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins) and is low in highly processed foods.