Pros and Cons of the Gluten-Free Diet

The Gluten-free diet is needed to treat celiac disease and gluten sensitivity, it can be pretty healthy. But you should know the Pros and Cons of Gluten-Free Diet

A gluten-free diet is medically necessary for people with gluten sensitivities to celiac disease and non-celiac disease. In fact, it can change their lives because it can relieve symptoms that can be serious and improve their health. If you choose complete, unprocessed foods carefully, eating gluten-free foods is also very nutritious.

If you don’t frequently choose natural foods, a gluten-free diet isn’t always healthier. Without proper planning, a strict gluten-free diet may be deficient in certain vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber.

The gluten-free diet includes plenty of fresh fruits, vegetables, whole gluten, lean meats, poultry, and fish. You can also eat a gluten-free diet, which is mainly an unhealthy snack that contains sugar, fat, and simple carbohydrates.

The only thing these two dietary patterns have in common is that they are both gluten-free cereals wheat, barley, and rye. Therefore, when following a gluten-free diet, it is important to pay close attention to your nutritional needs and consult with a registered dietitian.

Pros of the Gluten-Free Diet

• Diet is key to treating celiac disease and gluten sensitivity
• Natural foods can be selected
• It is safe to follow a proper nutrition plan
• Diets can be adjusted to accommodate other needs, such as dairy-free
• Lactose intolerance can be improved in some people

Cons of the Gluten-Free Diet

• The diet is low in fiber
• Malnutrition may occur
• Food options in restaurants are limited
• Many packaged gluten-free foods are unhealthy

Pros

If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, following a gluten-free diet is not only safe and healthy, but also medically necessary.

Treats Celiac Disease and Gluten Sensitivity

The gluten-free diet was originally developed to treat celiac disease. When you have celiac disease, gluten triggers your immune system to attack and destroy the lining of the small intestine, causing discomfort and other symptoms.

Eventually, these attacks cause permanent damage to small pieces of the small intestine that allow your body to absorb nutrients from the food you eat. People with untreated or undiagnosed celiac disease often lack nutrients if gluten is not removed from their diet, which may increase the risk of certain cancers and osteoporosis.

Symptoms of celiac disease include digestion (diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, and/or bloating), hormones (low thyroid levels and infertility), and generalized (fatigue and brain fog), although a small percentage of people have no symptoms. Once you start a gluten-free diet, these symptoms will lessen.

Gluten-free diets have also been used to treat non-celiac gluten sensitivities, a disease that has only been recognized by medical science since the 1980s. People diagnosed with non-celiac disease gluten sensitivity do not have celiac disease (their doctors rule out celiac disease when diagnosing gluten sensitivity).

Still, they have similar symptoms when they eat gluten-containing foods. So when they followed a gluten-free diet, they found that their symptoms— which often included digestive problems, headaches, and fatigue— were relieved.

Generally Nutritious

Once you know how to ignore gluten from your diet, you can turn your attention to the gluten-free foods you can eat and how to manage your overall diet and nutrition. A gluten-free diet can be very healthy, assuming you pay attention to dietary balance and diversity.

There are many unprocessed, natural gluten-free foods. These are great staples that can be put in your kitchen for meals and snacks.

• Dairy products, such as milk, yogurt, most cheeses, cottage cheese
• Eggs
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Fresh meats, poultry, and fish
• Gluten-free grains such as rice, corn, quinoa, teff, sorghum, tapioca, buckwheat, and millet
• Juices
• Nuts and seeds

If you stick to a stiedin-free diet, you’ll eat a balanced, healthy diet that also happens to be gluten-free. Cooking at home may not be for everyone, but that’s okay. There are still ways to eat a gluten-free diet, which doesn’t include self-catering.

Most of us rely on a combination of food cooked from scratch and convenience foods. The good news is that there are also convenient gluten-free foods such as frozen foods, canned and frozen foods, breads, tortillas, biscuits, and cereals that are all made from all-gluten-free grains.

You need to read the label to make sure you’re buying a gluten-free product, but the label has become clearer and most brands are easy to contact if you have questions.

Offers Food Preference Flexibility

Are you vegetarian or vegan? Do you follow the DASH or Mediterranean diet style? You should have no problem following a gluten-free diet while also respecting the preferences of these foods – a gluten-free diet allows for a lot of flexibility.

For example, many vegetarians follow a gluten-free diet. This is not a problem as all fresh fruits and vegetables are gluten free. Most nuts and legumes are also gluten-free, so when you’re both gluten-free and vegetarian, there shouldn’t be any problem meeting your protein needs.

Adapts to Dietary Restrictions

Just as a gluten-free diet is flexible enough to allow you to respect food preferences at the same time, it can also be adjusted if you have additional health-related dietary restrictions (except that you need a gluten-free diet).

A common dietary restriction is dairy products. This is because many people diagnosed with celiac disease also suffer from lactose intolerance because their small intestine is damaged so that they cannot digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Therefore, they need to follow a gluten-free diet and also do not contain dairy products such as milk.

Symptoms of lactose intolerance are similar to those of celiac and non-celiac gluten sensitivities: they include diarrhea, gas, and bloating. Therefore, to determine if you really have lactose intolerance, you need to closely monitor your body’s response to food. You may have been accidentally exposed to gluten instead of dairy products.

To eat gluten-free and dairy-free foods, you first need to replace milk with a gluten-free, dairy-free alternative. You have plenty of options – manufacturers produce gluten-free soy milk and almond milk (and other nut milk), as well as dairy-free cheese and yogurt. Read the ingredient list of processed foods and avoid milk ingredients.

If you don’t eat dairy, make sure you’re getting enough calcium in other ways, such as using fortified dairy-free alternatives and/or taking gluten-free vitamin supplements.

May Improve Lactose Intolerance

There’s good news for people with celiac disease and lactose intolerance: As the damage to the small intestine heals, you may be able to re-consume milk-based dairy products.

That’s not something everyone can do, and change is gradual — don’t try to drink a big glass of milk or eat a big bowl of ice cream.

Instead, try eating small amounts of milk-containing foods and see how your body reacts to them. If you develop symptoms, temporarily stop consuming dairy products before trying again.

Generally Safe

A gluten-free diet is generally safe if you pay attention to dietary balance and diversity, including fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. However, there are also some risks associated with eating a gluten-free diet: People who follow a gluten-free diet are found to be deficient in certain nutrients.

It’s not always a safe idea not to eat a whole class of foods unless it’s necessary for your health — in this case, traditional wheat bread, pasta, and other grain products. If you don’t eat another type of food, such as dairy, these risks are magnified.

Cons

Doctors and nutrition experts do not recommend that people follow a gluten-free diet in order to lose weight or improve their health. This diet does have drawbacks for those who have to follow it, as it is medically necessary.

Low in Fiber

Nutrition experts recommend 25 grams of fiber per day for women and about 38 grams per day for men. That’s quite a lot of fiber, and most of us don’t consume that much a day – whether or not we follow a gluten-free diet.

The gluten-free diet presents additional challenges, as many fiber-rich foods in the Western diet, such as whole-grain bread and barley, contain gluten. The good news is that many natural gluten-free foods are also rich in fiber: gluten-free grains, nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, legumes, and lentils.

If you bake your own bread, you might consider grinding flour with whole gluten-free cereals, many of which are high in fiber. You can also take gluten-free fiber supplements.

Nutritional Deficiencies

In addition to fiber, other nutrients in a gluten-free diet are also low. This is because wheat-based foods such as grains and bread are rich in the necessary vitamins and nutrients, while gluten-free foods are usually not.

Specifically, people who eat gluten-free foods are lower in several B vitamins, including thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, and folic acid. They also need to pay attention to their intake of vitamin D, iron, and calcium.

You can compensate for these potential nutritional deficiencies by choosing gluten-free bread and cereals, or if you also have lactose intolerance, you can opt for dairy alternatives that are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Many brands (but not all) contain extra vitamins and minerals, so read the label before buying. You may also consider taking a vitamin supplement once a day to make up for your lack of vitamin intake – be sure to opt for gluten-free options.

Inconvenience

While there are now more gluten-free products, restaurant menu labels, and more general awareness and knowledge than in the past, removing gluten from your diet can be inconvenient and requires additional planning. Social situations, eating out, home-cooked meals, temporary outings, running and snacking are all challenges.

But the more you practice in these situations, the more tools you’ll develop. Sharing your gluten-free needs with friends and family can help, as can joining support groups and working with registered dietitians.

Health Halo of Gluten-Free Packaged Foods

Gluten-free diets are popular, and many packaged foods on supermarket shelves carry the “gluten-free” label or certification. However, you can’t assume that these foods are a healthy choice just because they’re gluten-free. In many cases, they are not.

Gluten-free packaged foods typically contain less fiber and more sugar than gluten-containing counterparts. Label reading is important because the packaging of gluten-free foods may carry a healthy aura: because it is gluten-free, it automatically looks like a nutrient-rich option, but it may not be.

The bottom line is: just because the food on the label is “gluten-free” doesn’t mean it’s healthy. When shopping for snacks, stick to a better gluten-free food, such as fresh fruit or nuts.