Is it healthier to go gluten-free?

When trying to improve your health, your first thought might be swapping out some of your regular foods with healthier versions. The packaging of these food may say “clean” or “gluten-free” which can make them seem healthy. But is gluten necessary to avoid for a healthy diet?

For the approximately one in 100 people who are affected by celiac disease, eating gluten causes the body to create an immune response that damages the villi in the small intestine. Even the tiniest amount of gluten can cause damage in someone with celiac disease, so it’s very important to stay away from gluten entirely.

For a small additional portion of the population, non-celiac gluten sensitivity may mean that cutting out gluten is helpful to reduce symptoms, like gas, bloating, diarrhea and fatigue. People with a wheat allergy also need to limit gluten.

But what about everyone else?

If you don’t have any of the above conditions, there’s no evidence showing that cutting out gluten will improve your health or prevent disease. Most Americans can eat gluten regularly with no problems because the body doesn’t see gluten as a threat. Following a gluten-free diet isn’t necessarily healthier if your body can digest gluten. In fact, cutting out all sources of gluten may actually be harmful and sometimes unhealthy.

Ditching gluten can mean missing out on important nutrients, such as fiber, magnesium, iron, B vitamins, and helpful antioxidants and phytochemicals. These valuable nutrients can reduce your risk for chronic health diseases.

What also impacts your health is what you choose to eat in place of gluten-containing foods. In general, it’s important to avoid highly processed foods whether they have gluten or not. For those who especially need to limit carbohydrates, many highly processed gluten-free foods are higher in total carbohydrates, contain refined flours void of fiber, and are often higher in added sugars to provide more flavor. This can impact both weight and blood glucose levels.

Cost can also be a factor that impacts health. Gluten-free processed foods often cost more, which means less money for buying other healthy foods, like fruits and vegetables.

Whether you need to limit gluten due to health reasons or choose to limit gluten, keep quality top of mind when preparing meals and snacks. Include plenty of non-starchy vegetables each day and 2-3 servings of fruit as they are naturally gluten-free.

For starchy foods, choose nutrient-dense foods that contain fiber, such as:

• Gluten-free whole grains, such as brown rice, oats, quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat
• Starchy vegetables, such as potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn and peas
• Winter squashes, like butternut, acorn, and spaghetti squash

These foods all provide necessary fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help reduce your risk for high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, and help to enhance your overall health.

Just remember portion control with any starchy foods (with or without gluten) if you’re trying to manage weight or blood glucose levels.

Heather Klug is a registered dietitian at Aurora Health Care.

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