Elsevier

The Journal of Pediatrics

Volume 175, August 2016, Pages 206-210
The Journal of Pediatrics

Commentary
The Gluten-Free Diet: Recognizing Fact, Fiction, and Fad

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2016.04.014Get rights and content

Section snippets

The Gluten-Free Trend in the US and Worldwide

An estimated 0.5% of individuals living in the US adhere strictly to a GFD,4 although a far greater proportion of the population gravitates towards gluten-free foods to more variable degrees. A 2015 Nielsen survey of 30 000 adults in 60 countries worldwide (reported margin of error ± 0.6%) found that 21% of individuals surveyed rated gluten-free as a “very important” attribute when making food purchasing decisions.5 The widest appeal was seen in Latin America (32%) and the Middle East/Africa

Fact or Fiction?

Available data regarding the GFD warrant clarification and emphasis, given considerable and systematic circulation of misinformation regarding the diet's potential for harm as well as good. This segment will provide an evidence-based approach to address several of the most common inaccuracies regarding the GFD.

Fiction: The GFD is a healthy lifestyle choice with no disadvantages.

Fact: For individuals who do not have CD, wheat allergy, or NCGS, the latter which has been described in adults but

Discussion

It is undeniable that many people perceive benefit from a GFD, often without a clear scientific explanation. Nevertheless, with the guidance of an experienced registered dietitian and provided that CD is excluded, for a minority of individuals the GFD may lead to better health and improved quality of life (Table).

There is no evidence that processed gluten-free foods are healthier than their gluten-containing counterparts, nor have there been proven health or nutritional benefits of a GFD,

First page preview

First page preview
Click to open first page preview

References (58)

  • The Hartman Group I. “The Hartman Group's Health & Wellness 2015 and Organic & Natural 2014 reports.”...
  • R.S. Choung et al.

    Trends and racial/ethnic disparities in gluten-sensitive problems in the United States: findings from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988 to 2012

    Am J Gastroenterol

    (2015)
  • The Nielsen Company. We Are What We Eat: Healthy Eating Trends Around the World....
  • Riffkin R. One in Five Americans Include Gluten-Free Foods in Diet. Gallup, Inc....
  • D.V. DiGiacomo et al.

    Prevalence of gluten-free diet adherence among individuals without celiac disease in the USA: results from the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010

    Scand J Gastroenterol

    (2013)
  • Half of Americans Think Gluten-Free Diets are a Fad While 25% Eat Gluten-Free Foods. Mintel Group, Ltd....
  • T. Kulai et al.

    Assessment of nutritional adequacy of packaged gluten-free food products

    Can J Diet Pract Res

    (2014)
  • G. Zuccotti et al.

    Intakes of nutrients in Italian children with celiac disease and the role of commercially available gluten-free products

    J Hum Nutr Diet

    (2013)
  • J. Miranda et al.

    Nutritional differences between a gluten-free diet and a diet containing equivalent products with gluten

    Plant Foods Hum Nutr

    (2014)
  • T.A. Kabbani et al.

    Body mass index and the risk of obesity in coeliac disease treated with the gluten-free diet

    Aliment Pharmacol Ther

    (2012)
  • N.R. Reilly et al.

    Celiac disease in normal-weight and overweight children: clinical features and growth outcomes following a gluten-free diet

    J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

    (2011)
  • R. Tortora et al.

    Metabolic syndrome in patients with coeliac disease on a gluten-free diet

    Aliment Pharmacol Ther

    (2015)
  • D. Wild et al.

    Evidence of high sugar intake, and low fibre and mineral intake, in the gluten-free diet

    Aliment Pharmacol Ther

    (2010)
  • S.J. Shepherd et al.

    Nutritional inadequacies of the gluten-free diet in both recently-diagnosed and long-term patients with coeliac disease

    J Hum Nutr Diet

    (2013)
  • L. Elli et al.

    Increased Mercury Levels in Patients with Celiac Disease following a Gluten-Free Regimen

    Gastroenterol Res Pract

    (2015)
  • A. Raab et al.

    Cooking rice in a high water to rice ratio reduces inorganic arsenic content

    J Environ Monit

    (2009)
  • M. Burden et al.

    Cost and availability of gluten-free food in the UK: in store and online

    Postgrad Med J

    (2015)
  • A.R. Lee et al.

    Economic burden of a gluten-free diet

    J Hum Nutr Diet

    (2007)
  • N.E. Jordan et al.

    Development and validation of a celiac disease quality of life instrument for North American children

    J Pediatr Gastroenterol Nutr

    (2013)
  • Cited by (92)

    • Around the same table: Uniting stakeholders of food-related communication

      2022, Appetite
      Citation Excerpt :

      CRITIQUE: Social media food influencers have been criticized because their messages are often contradictory and non-evidence based (Boyle et al., 2008; Byrne, Kearney, & MacEvilly, 2017; Nagler, 2014; Ramachandran et al., 2018; Regan et al., 2014). They communicate about fashion diets and hypes promoting fad diets such as carb-free, low-fat, gluten-free, ketogenic, or vegan diets (Byrne et al., 2017; Reilly, 2016). They seldomly can be classified as experts in food, nutrition and/or health, even though they profile themselves as experts (Iheme, 2019).

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    The author declares no conflicts of interest.

    View full text