Pros and cons of a gluten-free diet.
Update on Gluten
What about gluten? For the vast majority of people, wheat protein, just like quinoa protein, or any other grain, has been considered good for us; health-promoting. But only for about 99% of people.
The rare 1% or so have celiac disease, and they have to stick to a gluten-free diet. But what about people who don’t have celiac, but may be otherwise gluten-sensitive? Last year, the possibility was raised that some cases of irritable bowel syndrome, for example, may improve on a gluten-free diet. So, if you do suffer from symptoms like chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain, your doctor may want you to give a gluten-free diet a try.
But, if we don’t have those symptoms, gluten is good for us. In fact, there was a study last year suggesting a gluten-free diet was bad for our good bacteria, so we shouldn’t go gluten-free unless there’s a good medical reason.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Verdu EF, Armstrong D, Murray JA. Between celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome: the "no man's land" of gluten sensitivity. Am J Gastroenterol. 2009 Jun;104(6):1587-94.
- De Palma G, Nadal I, Collado MC, Sanz Y. Effects of a gluten-free diet on gut microbiota and immune function in healthy adult human subjects. Br J Nutr. 2009 Oct;102(8):1154-60. Epub 2009 May 18.
Image thanks to Benediktv via Flickr
What about gluten? For the vast majority of people, wheat protein, just like quinoa protein, or any other grain, has been considered good for us; health-promoting. But only for about 99% of people.
The rare 1% or so have celiac disease, and they have to stick to a gluten-free diet. But what about people who don’t have celiac, but may be otherwise gluten-sensitive? Last year, the possibility was raised that some cases of irritable bowel syndrome, for example, may improve on a gluten-free diet. So, if you do suffer from symptoms like chronic diarrhea and abdominal pain, your doctor may want you to give a gluten-free diet a try.
But, if we don’t have those symptoms, gluten is good for us. In fact, there was a study last year suggesting a gluten-free diet was bad for our good bacteria, so we shouldn’t go gluten-free unless there’s a good medical reason.
To see any graphs, charts, graphics, images, and quotes to which Dr. Greger may be referring, watch the above video. This is just an approximation of the audio contributed by veganmontreal.
Please consider volunteering to help out on the site.
- Verdu EF, Armstrong D, Murray JA. Between celiac disease and irritable bowel syndrome: the "no man's land" of gluten sensitivity. Am J Gastroenterol. 2009 Jun;104(6):1587-94.
- De Palma G, Nadal I, Collado MC, Sanz Y. Effects of a gluten-free diet on gut microbiota and immune function in healthy adult human subjects. Br J Nutr. 2009 Oct;102(8):1154-60. Epub 2009 May 18.
Image thanks to Benediktv via Flickr
Republishing "Update on Gluten"
You may republish this material online or in print under our Creative Commons licence. You must attribute the article to NutritionFacts.org with a link back to our website in your republication.
If any changes are made to the original text or video, you must indicate, reasonably, what has changed about the article or video.
You may not use our material for commercial purposes.
You may not apply legal terms or technological measures that restrict others from doing anything permitted here.
If you have any questions, please Contact Us
Update on Gluten
LicenseCreative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Content URLDoctor's Note
Check out my recent series on gluten:
Gluten-Free Diets: Separating the Wheat from the Chat
Is Gluten Sensitivity Real?
How to Diagnose Gluten Intolerance
And check out my other videos on gluten, and plant protein.
If you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my videos for free by clicking here. Read our important information about translations here.