Murstig 1!

Food Fact or Fallacy?

Gluten-free (GF) diets were originally created to address the needs of celiac disease.

Awareness of the intolerance and sensitivity to gluten that some people were experiencing helped

to develop the GF diet and within a few decades early food products were developed by

companies marketing to GF specific consumers. This diet started out as a treatment of a medical

condition and expanded into a pop culture phenomenon with unsubstantiated claims for other

uses of this diet. Is it is a misconception to believe that a GF diet is a healthy alternative to a diet

that includes gluten and that it can be used as a means to lose weight.

Natural News is a nutrition education website which touts to publish articles that

empower consumers about holistic, environmental and spiritual health. On this site was the

discovery of the article How going gluten-free can benefit your health by Shona Boles (Boles,

2011). This author asserts that going GF is beneficial for your health with little medical

reasoning to back up her assertion. She states that eliminating gluten can be used for weight loss,

increase your energy levels and is beneficial to a persons life. She also claims that this diet is

low in carbohydrates, fat and sugar. In searching for qualifications about the author, there appear

to be none listed on the website. In addition, her article provides no credibility towards scientific

knowledge of the GF diet not to mention a lack of citations and references, and only cites other

blogs and non-scientific articles thus reducing the quality of her article. Whats interesting

however, is the fact that her article is published on the Natural News website which claims to

advocate for science-based natural health advocacy but is heavily promoting the sale of

supplements and is bias towards alternative medicine. It also appears as though her writing is for
 Murstig 2!

anything that would be palatable to those seeking natural diets and has resulted in creating a low

quality non-critical article.

So what is wrong with her claims? The first problem is the title How gluten-free can

benefit your health, where the author explains that eliminating gluten from the diet can have

beneficial effects. Consumption of GF foods does not replace a diet rich in important nutrients

found in gluten-containing grains such as wheat, rye, and barley. In fact, according to a study by

The British Journal of Medicine, Are gluten-free foods healthier than non-gluten-free foods? An

evaluation of supermarket products in Australia, debunks her statement by explaining that there

is a lack of evaluation in regards to replacing these grains with the insufficient nutritional value

of some popular GF foods (Wu, 2015). This quantitative study of 3,231 GF and gluten-

containing subjects (products) from Australian supermarkets was designed to measure the

nutritional contents of a range of discretionary foods from multiple categories. The study

measured low levels of protein, vitamin, minerals and fiber and high amounts of sugar, fat and

salt in the GF products versus the gluten-containing products that were tested. The concern with

these ingredients lies in the fact that adding higher levels of fat and sugar increase the caloric

count of the products thus causing higher energy intake and weight gain. Another concern with

these products labeled as GF is that the consumer is being misled into thinking the products are

healthier which results in increased consumption. Its articles like Boles that makes consumer

THINK they are healthier when in actuality they are just reducing their overall consumption of

whole grains. This study concluded that the GF diet should only be recommended for people

with clear diagnosis of celiac, gluten-intolerant or allergies to gluten-containing products. The

limitations of this study included a lack of testing on various vitamins and a reduced count of
 Murstig 3!

dietary fiber due to a lack of content on food packages in Australia. Although, this well

researched study by multiple medical organizations completely contradicts the main points in the

Boles article. It indicates that much of the foods in the GF diet were typically high in saturated

fat and/or added sugar which is just the opposite of the statement that a GF diet increases energy

levels. The Australian study found no evidence for Boles claims of increased energy and

improved health.

This Natural News article attributes a myriad of ailments to gluten consumption and

gives the impression that a GF diet is the cure. This is contrary to the quantitative study, Are

patients with Coeliac disease seeking alternative treatments to a gluten-free diet? performed at

the Royal Hallamshire Hospital in Shefeld, UK, in which 787 patients were recruited and

surveyed using questionnaires at their specialist follow-up appointments (Aziz, 2011). These

questionnaires asked patients about their satisfaction level with using a GF diet, their use of

complimentary or alternative medicine (CAM) to replace a GF diet, and their interest in usage of

novel therapies. Of the 310 patients with celiac disease, it was found that over forty percent were

dissatisfied with the GF diet and would be interested in considering novel therapies. The novel

therapies included vaccines, GMO wheat, and peptidase or anti-zonulin supplements that could

allow gluten back into their diet, even just for one day. The limitations of this study includes

higher numbers of female patients with a prevalence towards CAM usage, but they admit they

would not use CAM as a replacement for the GF diet. This study is important however because it

accurately represents the significant number of celiac patients overall unhappy with the GF diet.

An epidemiological study from the Departments of Internal Medicine in Sweden,

Evidence of poor vitamin status in coeliac patients on a gluten-free diet for 10 years explains
 Murstig 4!

that there is much uncertainty as to the value of a GF diet over the life of a celiac patient (Hallert,

2002). Measurements were made via blood tests, food journals and surveys, in which they found

that the GF diet had low energy and was not nutritionally balanced by showing signs of poor

folate, vitamin B-6 and B-12 intakes in over 50% of the patients tested. Its a fact that celiac

patients often have poor nutrient absorption due to the damage to their gut caused by celiac

disease itself. Theres a very good chance that their poor gut health has a lot to do with their poor

nutritional status. However, the lack of nutrients in the GF diet also contributes to the poor

nutritional status as well. Although this study seems limited with only 30 male and female

afflicted subjects, statistically only about one in one hundred people are diagnosed with celiac

disease (Klein, 2014). This study also indicated a possible increase for cardiovascular disease,

hypercholesterolaemia and hypertension which brings up the safety of a long-term GF diet. The

significance of this study is that it cautions rather than recommends a GF diet for Celiac, gluten-

intolerant or even the general population.

In contrast with the Natural News article, Huffington Post, a popular online news site

published the article, 9 Things You Should Know Before Going Gluten-Free (Klein, 2014).

Huffington Post author, Sarah Klein, creates a very thorough and articulate article about the

concerns with going GF in which she explains that some people do the GF diet because they

need to, some because they want to and the rest of us shouldnt follow it. Some of her talking

points include the importance of getting a diagnosis for celiac disease, the necessity for using a

dietician, and most importantthat it is not a weight loss diet. This statement contradicts the

assertions that Shona Botes states in her article that eliminating gluten can be used for weight

loss. Huffington Post allows many contributors to write for their online newspaper and they do
 Murstig 5!

not compensate their writers. This payment for information can create an additional incentive for

journalists to lie or embellish the truth. Sarah Klein writes articles pertaining to health, fitness

and various other subjects and has been published in many mainstream news media. The

Huffington Post article she wrote provides functioning internal links for references leading to the

Mayo Clinic, other news media and scientific studies throughout the article further documenting

statements made within the article. The author appears unbiased and is clearly consolidating

information for the reader without drawing unsubstantiated conclusions. Maybe Shona Botes

should contact Sarah Klein for insight on how to write a proper scientific news article.

The two popular media articles discussed above differ greatly in their conclusion, but the

science falls on the side of the Huffington Post article.The studies cited above have shown that it

is difficult to maintain the GF diet and they seem to indicate that the diet is not beneficial unless

you have been diagnosed with celiac disease, wheat allergy, or another issue making avoidance

of gluten a medical necessity. It should be a supervised medically-oriented diet to be used under

specific need since it is lacking in many key nutrients that a healthy diet must have and can lead

to a malnourished condition. The scientific evidence above clearly points out that research has

shown it is a fallacy to believe that a GF diet is a healthy alternative to a diet that includes gluten

and that it can be used as a means to lose weight.

 Murstig 6!

References

Aziz, I et al. (2011, March 11). Are patients with Coeliac disease seeking alternative treatments

to a gluten-free diet? Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, 20(1), 27-31.

Retrieved from doi: 10.1136/gut.2009.209080f

Botes, S. (2011, March 11). How going gluten-free can benefit your health. Natural News.

Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/031660_gluten-free_diet_health.html#

Hallert, C. et al. (2002, July 2). Evidence of poor vitamin status in coeliac patients on a gluten-

free diet for 10 years. Aliment Pharmacol Ther, 16(7), 13331339. Retrieved from

doi: 10.1046/j.1365-2036.2002.01283.x

Klein, S. (2014, February 7). 9 Things You Should Know Before Going Gluten-Free. The

Huffington Post. Retrieved from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/02/04/know-before-going-gluten-free_n_4719554.html

Wu, J., et al. (2015, August 14). Are gluten-free foods healthier than non-gluten-free foods? An

evaluation of supermarket products in Australia. British Journal of Nutrition, 114(3),

448-454. doi:10.1017/S0007114515002056
 Murstig 7!

Appendix 2

Database: Google.com search engine

Search terms:

gluten-free healthy

can gluten-free can benefit your health

history of celiac disease

Database: PubMed via OSU online library, full text only

Search terms:

gluten-free diet

gluten-free healthy
 Murstig 8!

Scientific studies

1-Are patients with Coeliac disease seeking alternative treatments to a gluten-free diet?
Quantitative study
787 male and female patients, various ages, recruited and surveyed
Used satisfaction questionnaires for mathematical results
Statistically significant
Limitations were high number of female patients that may be interested in complimentary or
alternative methods

2-Evidence of poor vitamin status in coeliac patients on a gluten-free diet for 10 years
Epidemiological study
30 subjects both male and female representing 64% of a celiac cohort
Treatment of a GF diet, of which 6 had folate supplementation
Measuring blood samples, energy and vitamin intake (B-6/B-12)
Clinically and statistically significant
Limitations were that dietary habits may have changed over the 10 year span, although there
were no major changes

3-Are gluten-free foods healthier than non-gluten-free foods? An evaluation of supermarket

products in Australia

Quantitative study
3231 subjects/products across 10 categories
Treatment-received a Health Star Rating HSR
Measurements-nutrient content including energy, salt, saturated fat, protein, and sugars
Results reported, yes, see Table 1 & 2 w/statistical analysis (Summary data for energy and
nutrients were presented per 100 g of each food)
Clinically significant, yes, to this article describing the protein, fat, sugar and carbohydrate
level in foods for a GF diet

Limitations stated-product labeling and policy initiatives as a public health priority

 Murstig 9!

In the studies above, a GF diet Which is against the assertion that the GF diet is a healthy
alternative.
The there are the GF diet has a place, for those who need to manage their gluten levels
and Its a balance, its about reducing the gluten without sometimes the cure is worse than the
cause.

The only good suggestion that this author expresses in her article is the benefit for overall health
by consuming more fresh, whole foods.

In 2009, the study Between Celiac Disease and Irritable Bowel Syndrome: The No Mans
Land of Gluten Sensitivity identifies that the GF diet is not just for symptomatic celiacs but
also an option for those whom test negative to celiac but suffer similar IBS gluten-sensitive
symptoms.
Although the article does not cite this study, it is reasonable for the author to construe that a GF
diet is from the article thus perpetuating the claim that it is a healthy alternative. However, the
study also states that a prescribed GF diet should be for a trial period with careful follow-up.
Little history about a paragraph

Introduce Joane and takes it to a new level asserting her point why she thinks its healthy indicate
her resources
Slam it, GF nutrient poor and manufacturers introducing sugars and fats contradicting that its
healthy to lose weight site, site, site. Bad for Celiac, how could it be good for a healthy person?
Huffington post article to refute and to show what she should have been doing
Conclusion, while Joanne has one good element of this but the missing critical nutrients and
added fat, sugar, low protein would actually not have the desired effects. may have Lost weight
but you are not actually healthy and cause people to eat more. Trading one problem for another.
Big leap to take autoimmune disorder to a weight loss solution.

In researching food myths, I came upon one that discussed how going gluten-free (GF) can
benefit your health and is an effective way to lose excess weight. I thought for sure that there
couldnt possibly be anymore websites that state this anymore, especially with the in-flux of
research that has come out explaining that the GF diet really was more for certain conditions
such as Celiacs disease, and how it is certainly not a method to lose weight. After further
research however, I was able to debunk this food myth and sort through the huge myriad of
websites online for any other false claims such as this one. Debunking this article proved to be
very easy and the energy involved to refute this claim ending up being very comprehensive.
 Murstig 1! 0

In 2000, culinary institutes started to teach new chefs gluten-free courses and by 2003
restaurants started to introduce menus that offered the GF menu. In 2004, the FDA passed a food
allergen label to declare when a product contains a food allergen and then by 2008, News media
bigs such as Oprah brought GF to the public eye; cookbooks, magazines and large food
companies were also on the bandwagon. In 2009, the National Center for Biotechnology
Information published a study explaining that the GF diet could be for more than just celiac
disease patients. It could include others that were diagnosed as having similar GI symptoms. By
2011, GF products demand and sales skyrocketed and products were flying off the shelves with
sales reaching approximately $10 billion in 2013. Due to its growing awareness, it seemed
everyone wanted to be a part of the GF diet without clinical diagnosis of some gastrointestinal
issue due to gluten sensitivity. So it isnt out of the ballpark for an article such as How going
gluten-free can benefit your health to surface. In fact, this specific article was published in the
Natural News Network, an online science-based health advocacy organization that is supposed to
empower consumers with factual information. After further investigation however, the writer for
the article, Shona Botes, does not seem to work for the Natural News Network anymore.
Multiple studies explain that being newly diagnosed with Celiac disease usually comes with
vitamin and mineral deficiencies and high risk of undernutrition. One study taken by the VU
University Centre in Amsterdam explains that classic Celiac disease patients show
gastrointestinal symptoms with signs of malabsorption, involuntary weight loss and vitamin and
mineral deficiencies. Treatment is a strict adherence to a GF diet.

It is here that we understand the value of prescribing a GF diet which presents the added benefit
for weight increase for these patients.