Gluten-free diet Not recommended for healthy people

Only about one percent of the population suffers from intolerance to gluten, also called celiac disease. In fact, more and more people refrain from gluten in their diet, as they promise a health benefit. This has become a big trend in Germany, but especially in the United States. But how useful is that? Two observational studies from the US have now shown that a gluten-free diet for the healthy can even be questionable. Because with the gluten protein, valuable whole-grain products are usually banned from the diet, which have a positive effect on the heart's health.

Celiac disease is a disease in which gluten gluten already damages the small intestinal mucosa in even the smallest amounts. A gluten-free diet is the only way for those affected to prevent painful inflammation and long-term malnutrition. Gluten-free white is present in various cereals such as wheat, rye and barley. In the long term, celiac disease may favor the development of other diseases.

People who suffer from celiac disease have to eat consistently gluten-free. A particular food symbol indicates that the product is gluten-free. (Image: photocrew / fotolia.com)

For their study, the scientists at the University of Columbia had evaluated data from more than 100,000 men and women who were employed in health care. At baseline, they did not suffer from heart disease or celiac disease. The subjects made regular statements about their eating habits in order to calculate the gluten intake. During the 26-year observation period, 2431 women and 4098 men were diagnosed with coronary heart disease (CHD). CHD is a disease of the coronary arteries responsible for the blood supply to the heart. Deposits make them ever narrower. The increasingly disturbed blood flow can lead to cardiac arrhythmias and a heart attack.
The amount of gluten protein absorbed had no detectable influence on the risk of disease, the scientists report in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

A further analysis suggested that a gluten-free diet may even lead to a lower consumption of heart healthy whole-grain products. However, the authors noted that these are pure observational studies that can not establish causal relationships. Further research will follow to investigate possible effects of gluten consumption on other chronic conditions such as cancer. Heike Kreutz, www.bzfe.de