Gluten-free Diets May Increase Risk of Type 2 Diabetes

There is a gluten-free mania going on these days. A large number of people now make it a point to consume gluten-free diets in the belief that doing so would benefit their health. For people who have celiac disease ad have no choice but to stay off gluten products, this seems like a sensible choice. However, a new study shows that healthy people who shun a gluten diet may be wasting their time and money, as there are no major health benefits from doing so.

Gluten is a protein commonly found in rye, wheat and barley. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate gluten in the diet, as it will cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, bloating, and fatigue. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that chiefly affects the small bowel.

During this study, the researchers found that participants who ate more gluten were 13% less likely to develop type 2 diabetes over a 30-year study period compared to people who ate less gluten.

The researchers conducted surveys every 2-4 years in which nearly 200,000 participants were involved. They estimated the gluten intake based on the foods consumed and then followed the participants to determine who went on to develop type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is one of the fastest growing illnesses globally and affects millions of people. When blood glucose levels remain elevated, they can cause severe damage to the eyes, heart, brain, kidneys, and blood vessels.

The researchers focused their study on type 2 diabetes because its prevalence is rapidly increasing and it is fast becoming a cause of premature death.

By the end of the study, more than 16,000 participants had full-blown type 2 diabetes, which was most common in people who shunned gluten. These novel findings suggest that there may be a link between risk of developing type 2 diabetes and gluten ingestion. However, what is not yet understood is why eating more gluten was less likely to be associated with type 2 diabetes. It is possible that participants who ate more gluten also ate more fiber and complex carbohydrates, which previous research suggests may reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

However much more research is needed, as the study did not look at the lifestyle of the participants, which is a key risk factor for type 2 diabetes. It could be that people who ate more gluten were more physically active or that people who ate less gluten were overweight or less physically active. Until these facts are known, the conclusions of this study are only of academic interest.