foodconsumer.org: Gluten-free not great for gut health

Gluten-free not great for gut health
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admin on 05/22/2009 12:23:00
 
Friday May 22, 2009 (foodconsumer.org) -- While the gluten-free fad has
sprouted, with products available from beer to pasta to waffles, the trendy diet
may have hit a bacterial snag.
A study in the British Journal of Nutrition says that eating a gluten-free diet
may have detrimental effects on the stomach’s ability to produce the
“good” bacteria we’ve been hearing about. Gluten is the gooey stuff that
makes bread elastic and gives it a chewy texture.
But gluten can cause some serious health problems. WebMD estimates that one in
every 100 to 200 people in the U.S. suffers from celiac disease, a
gluten-sensitivity that affects the small intestine. Gluten intolerance
manifests with symptoms ranging from bloating to rashes.
Marketers now estimate that 15 to 25 percent of consumers want gluten-free
foods. Oprah Winfrey may have fueled the fire when she went on her gluten-free
diet last year.
The study from the Spanish National Research Council, according to
Nutraingredients.com., showed that good bacteria decreased and bad bacteria
increased in participants on a gluten-free diet.
Spanish researchers examined the gut microflora of ten healthy subjects with an
average age of 30 years. They were assigned to eat a gluten-free diet for one
month. Analysis of the participants’ samples after the one month period showed
an increase in E-coli bacteria and a decrease in the good bacteria, such as
Bifidobacterium.
Researchers also noted that markers of immune health were reduced following the
consumption of the gluten-free diet.
“Therefore, the gluten-free diet led to reductions in beneficial gut bacteria
populations,” said researchers, “and the ability of fecal samples to
stimulate the host’s immunity.”
The study by the British Journal of Nutrition was published online ahead of
print.
(By Sheilah Downey, and edited by Heather Kelley)