People who are gluten intolerant or have celiac disease could reap the benefits of a low-gluten diet. Even people without these diseases still follow a low-gluten diet hoping that it would benefit their health as well.
However, recent studies indicate that there are but a few unfavorable effects from a gluten-free diet to our overall well-being, by increasing the risks of diabetes.
Gluten is a compound of storage proteins, mainly found in rye, wheat, barley, bakeries and other foods that consist of these cereals.
Notably, celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that affects millions of people across the globe. The immune system of an individual that has celiac disease, furiously responds to gluten by attacking the small intestine.
Although the benefits of a gluten-free diet are still vague, more people are adopting it every day. On the other hand, some nutritionists recommend that we don’t exclude gluten from our diets.
As a matter of fact, they propose that we maintain a healthy balance in a diet. That involves not only fruits and vegetables but whole grain wheat and foods that contain gluten as well.
One new study implies that a low-gluten diet may increase the risks of type 2 diabetes. Thus, having detrimental effects on our health.
The Link Between Type 2 Diabetes and Gluten Utilization
While gluten-free foods tend to be more expensive, they offer little or no nutrition value at all due to the lack of dietary fiber and other micronutrients.
Dr. Geng Zong, Ph. D, explains the aim of the study was to discover if gluten utilization will affect healthy people with no medical reasons to stay away from it whatsoever.
In the light of the results from 3 long-term studies lasting approximately 30 years and analyzing the gluten consumption of around 200.000 people. The average daily consumption of gluten is as following:
- 1st study – 5.8grams per day
- 2nd study – 6.8grams per day
- 3rd study – 7.1grams per day
The participants were obliged to answer food frequency questionnaires regularly, every 2-4 years.
Gluten Consumption Reduces the Risks of Diabetes by 13%
Throughout the studies that lasted for 30 years, around 16.000 participants were diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
Namely, individuals who consumed less than 4 grams of gluten per day had significantly poorer contents of cereal fiber (a fighter against type 2 disease).
Whereas, people whose daily intake of gluten was 12 grams (or more), had 13% fewer chances of developing type 2 diabetes. Limitations of the research involve its observational nature, which means that scientists aren’t able to establish causality.
On top of that, scientists did not take into consideration the data from participants who eradicated the gluten from their diets entirely.
Dr. Zong states how healthy people should reconsider restraining the gluten intake in order to avert chronic diseases such as diabetes.
However, further research is required to determine the validity of the discoveries.
Do you or anyone you know experience any of the conditions above? Nevertheless, share this post anyhow, to raise the global awareness of the nation and potentially save a life!
Source Medical News Today
