Is a Gluten-Free Diet (GFD) the answer to a healthier lifestyle?

“Gluten-Free” is a big hype at the moment. Gluten is a naturally occurring protein which has been part of the human diet for thousands of years. My experience has been that the general public assumes “gluten free” = “healthy”.

I see many people make the argument that “I feel better if I avoid gluten” and so, for them, the logical course of action is just to avoid gluten. However, this reasoning is like a person with a broken leg saying “It is better when I don’t use my leg” and then deciding that the best course of action is just to stop walking. That is ridiculous; the best course of action would be to heal the leg. Similarly, with “gluten intolerance/sensitivity”, the question should be asked: “WHY do I feel worse after I eat gluten?”.

For some – for example those with Celiac disease – gluten does a lot of damage in the body. However, for the rest of us, we should investigate further. Perhaps there is an increased intestinal permeability, or perhaps the immune system has become dysregulated.

A recent meta analysis published in the “Annals of Oncology” medical journal [1] shows that whole grains are useful for prevention of colorectal cancer. There are other such research papers which highlight the natural benefits of gluten [2] [3].

Unfortunately modern medicine is so focused on symptom suppression, that absolutely no thought is given to the underlying cause of disease. My recommendation is, if you thing you have a sensitivity or intolerance to gluten, go and find a proficient naturopath and investigate properly the underlying cause.

References:
1. Foods and beverages and colorectal cancer risk: a systematic review and meta-analysis of cohort studies, an update of the evidence of the WCRF-AICR Continuous Update Project | Annals of Oncology | Oxford Academic

2. Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study.

3. Low gluten diets linked to higher risk of type 2 diabetes