Are gluten-free products actually good for our health or is it just a myth? And are they worth their much higher costs?
“I was diagnosed with coeliac disease when I was eight,” says Giulia Tuccari, now 22. “I was still in my Primary School when my daily diet changed drastically and I had to start eating gluten-free products.” Giulia Tuccari is a medical student based in Rome and has been eating gluten-free for the past 14 years of her life.
When Giulia was a child she had no manifest symptoms but she was first diagnosed to have a serious intolerance to gluten thanks to the annual allergy test she used to take. Back then the availability of gluten-free products was considerably limited.
“It was quite hard at the beginning to find a replacement to my favourite foods, like pizza and bread,” she says. “But as I grew older the range of gluten-free products started to become wider and wider, especially in the past few years.”
Gluten-free products don’t represent a minority niche any longer. According to a study carried out by Mintel in 2015, innovation has come a long way in the last 10 years. Indeed, in 2005 only 2% of the new food products launched on the market were labelled as gluten-free, whereas in 2014 this proportion increased to 10%.
When Giulia was a child she had no manifest symptoms but she was first diagnosed to have a serious intolerance to gluten thanks to the annual allergy test she used to take. Back then the availability of gluten-free products was considerably limited.
“It was quite hard at the beginning to find a replacement to my favourite foods, like pizza and bread,” she says. “But as I grew older the range of gluten-free products started to become wider and wider, especially in the past few years.”
Gluten-free products don’t represent a minority niche any longer. According to a study carried out by Mintel in 2015, innovation has come a long way in the last 10 years. Indeed, in 2005 only 2% of the new food products launched on the market were labelled as gluten-free, whereas in 2014 this proportion increased to 10%.
More major players are joining the market and producers like Nestlé, Heinz or Barilla have now all launched a gluten-free line of products. If a few years ago, gluten-free foods were virtually unheard of except in specialty health food stores, nowadays it has become more and more difficult not to see gluten-free products featured in regular stores.
But is this a case of manufacturers catering for consumers’ needs, or a blatant attempt to rip customers off as they follow famous celebrities and their eating fads? Coeliac Disease is a serious complaint, with sufferers reporting abdominal bloating and pain, vomiting and chronic diarrhoea, so are genuine sufferers the victims of a food fashion?
According to the same research, the market is growing fast not only because allergies and intolerances are on the rise and more interest is being focused on Coeliac Disease, but also because more people have started to self-diagnose themselves and have been attracted in joining the gluten-free trend by famous celebrities, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus, that have decided to endorse such a diet.
As a result, 13% of the UK population is currently following a gluten-free diet, the highest percentage in Europe, followed by Italy and Poland with 9%, while 65% of US consumers have decided to follow a free from gluten diet because they think it is healthier.
But is this a case of manufacturers catering for consumers’ needs, or a blatant attempt to rip customers off as they follow famous celebrities and their eating fads? Coeliac Disease is a serious complaint, with sufferers reporting abdominal bloating and pain, vomiting and chronic diarrhoea, so are genuine sufferers the victims of a food fashion?
According to the same research, the market is growing fast not only because allergies and intolerances are on the rise and more interest is being focused on Coeliac Disease, but also because more people have started to self-diagnose themselves and have been attracted in joining the gluten-free trend by famous celebrities, like Gwyneth Paltrow and Miley Cyrus, that have decided to endorse such a diet.
As a result, 13% of the UK population is currently following a gluten-free diet, the highest percentage in Europe, followed by Italy and Poland with 9%, while 65% of US consumers have decided to follow a free from gluten diet because they think it is healthier.
But is this a case of manufacturers catering for consumers' needs, or a blatant attempt to rip customers off as they follow famous celebrities and their eating fads?
Healthy lifestyle is indeed a key market driver, with 7% of the UK consumers admitting to avoid gluten or lactose as part of a generally healthy lifestyle.
Lucia Rabboni, 58, is a judge based in Lecce, Italy. She is not coeliac nor has a particular insensitivity to gluten. However, last year when she decided to do a genetic test for a joint issue she had she found out she had a genetic predisposition to gluten sensitivity.
As such, she decided to go gluten-free, “not because I was scared to develop the sensitivity but as a general healthier lifestyle choice”. However, what she found out was that most of the gluten-free products she used to buy both at the pharmacy and in supermarkets were not as healthy as she would have expected them to be.
“The first thing I noticed about pre-packaged gluten-free products was that they were much more expensive than the average gluten containing ones. And then that they were full of additives and unhealthy ingredients like palm oil,” she says.
Lucia Rabboni, 58, is a judge based in Lecce, Italy. She is not coeliac nor has a particular insensitivity to gluten. However, last year when she decided to do a genetic test for a joint issue she had she found out she had a genetic predisposition to gluten sensitivity.
As such, she decided to go gluten-free, “not because I was scared to develop the sensitivity but as a general healthier lifestyle choice”. However, what she found out was that most of the gluten-free products she used to buy both at the pharmacy and in supermarkets were not as healthy as she would have expected them to be.
“The first thing I noticed about pre-packaged gluten-free products was that they were much more expensive than the average gluten containing ones. And then that they were full of additives and unhealthy ingredients like palm oil,” she says.
Despite there being a mainstream belief among consumers that gluten-free products are a healthier choice, the truth is that most of these pre-packaged foods are hiding many more additives and sugars than what we think.
“I think the whole commercialisation of the gluten-free products is basically like the new low fat or fat free trend, “ says Becky Graham, a London based registered nutritional therapist. “I feel like a lot of the big companies are jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon. Personally, I think gluten-free products, pre-packaged products, like bread, are not much better for our health,” she adds.
“I think the whole commercialisation of the gluten-free products is basically like the new low fat or fat free trend, “ says Becky Graham, a London based registered nutritional therapist. “I feel like a lot of the big companies are jumping on the gluten-free bandwagon. Personally, I think gluten-free products, pre-packaged products, like bread, are not much better for our health,” she adds.
“If you have a problem with gluten, if you are coeliac for example, then you absolutely need to eliminate gluten from your diet. In that situation it can be very helpful to find products that will replace your favourite food, however a lot of the gluten-free products are absolutely full of very strange additives that I can barely even pronounce. What manufacturers attempt to do is to replace all the gluten with a whole lot of stabilizers, additives, flavouring and sugar to replace the flavour of gluten that has been removed.”
Gluten is indeed what helps the food maintain its shape. As the word itself insinuates, gluten, from the Latin word “gluten-glutinis”, acts like the ‘glue’ that keeps the food together. According to Anna Daniels, dietician and spokesperson of the British Dietetic Association, what is happening with most of the pre-packaged gluten-free products is that “manufacturers tend to add a lot of stabilizers, potentially synthetic, so that the product tastes nice. As such, they are not going to be necessarily healthy for you”.
Gluten is indeed what helps the food maintain its shape. As the word itself insinuates, gluten, from the Latin word “gluten-glutinis”, acts like the ‘glue’ that keeps the food together. According to Anna Daniels, dietician and spokesperson of the British Dietetic Association, what is happening with most of the pre-packaged gluten-free products is that “manufacturers tend to add a lot of stabilizers, potentially synthetic, so that the product tastes nice. As such, they are not going to be necessarily healthy for you”.
Most of these pre-packages foods are hiding many more additives and sugars than what we think
Steve Grant, London based nutritionist and functional medicine practitioner, has an even stronger opinion. According to Grant, “gluten-free products are by no means any more healthy. The majority of free from gluten products are still highly processed foods which offer little in terms of nutrition to support health and in particular those with goals relating to fat loss.
“A lot of people think they don’t get along with gluten but they just don’t get along with highly processed foods. Taking out the gluten might help them for a little bit, but if they are still eating highly processed food they will still continue to have the symptoms they had before,” he adds.
“A lot of people think they don’t get along with gluten but they just don’t get along with highly processed foods. Taking out the gluten might help them for a little bit, but if they are still eating highly processed food they will still continue to have the symptoms they had before,” he adds.
“So the goal is to try to get less highly processed food rather than switching from one form of processed food to another form. What I would suggest if one wants to follow a healthier lifestyle is to move away from highly processed food and move towards whole foods, something that has not been made in a factory essentially.”
What non-coeliac people who decide to follow a gluten-free diet might not know is that in general most of these products tend also to be higher in terms of calories than the average gluten containing ones. According to Francesco Luzza, gastroenterologist and professor at the University of Catanzaro, “a gluten-free diet is not a balanced one as it is poorer in terms of nutrients and it is higher in calories. It should not be followed by anyone who is not coeliac or has a manifest sensitivity to gluten.”
He also highlights how in the last years the gluten-free label has become a true market exploited by big companies. “The food industry has realised how much of a big business this is becoming and it is acting accordingly,” he says.
What non-coeliac people who decide to follow a gluten-free diet might not know is that in general most of these products tend also to be higher in terms of calories than the average gluten containing ones. According to Francesco Luzza, gastroenterologist and professor at the University of Catanzaro, “a gluten-free diet is not a balanced one as it is poorer in terms of nutrients and it is higher in calories. It should not be followed by anyone who is not coeliac or has a manifest sensitivity to gluten.”
He also highlights how in the last years the gluten-free label has become a true market exploited by big companies. “The food industry has realised how much of a big business this is becoming and it is acting accordingly,” he says.
A gluten-free diet is not a balanced one as it is poorer in terms of nutrients and it is higher in calories
Gluten-free products are indeed much more expensive than the normal ones. The Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research has recently published a study according to which gluten-free foods on average cost a whopping 242% more than the regular, gluten containing foods.
The Dalhousie University Medical School, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Paediatrics conducted a study comparing the unit cost of 56 gluten-free foods and ‘comparable gluten-containing foods’ from the same food group. The two categories were purchased at two large grocery chains in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the unit costs were calculated in dollars. What they found is that the average unit cost of the gluten-free product is $1.71 compared to $0.61 of the gluten containing ones.
Alex Gazzola is a UK-based freelance writer and author of several books on coeliac disease and food allergies, like Coeliac Disease: What You Need To Know. Although he is not a coeliac disease sufferer, he developed an interest in the topic when he realised that life for people on restricted diets was very difficult. According to him, there are several reasons why gluten-free products are more expensive. Substitute ingredients, like additives or flours other than the wheat one, like quinoa flour, have higher costs.
The manufacture is also more difficult as the products require more allergy tests, cross contamination controls and more checking, and even if the market is rapidly growing, these products are still produced on a smaller scale.
However, there is one more reason. “I think sometimes the price is a bit over inflated to take advantage of the trend,” says the writer. “There are also a lot of hip ingredients that are being used that can sometimes be overpriced and are not necessarily needed.”
Even if the variety of gluten-free products has increased consistently it does not mean that their price has decreased. In 2014 the leading charity Coeliac UK launched a Freed From campaign and among their points they were advocating more reasonable prices of gluten-free products. According to their website, “gluten-free food should not cost three to four times as much as gluten containing food. Quite simply, we want to see retailers and producers ask for a reasonable price so that everyone can access gluten-free substitutes.”
Gluten-free products are becoming the latest trend and business. If you are coeliac or have a gluten sensitivity you must stick to a gluten-free diet; however, if you don’t fall in any of these categories you might want to think twice next time before putting those gluten-free crackers in your shopping cart.
The Dalhousie University Medical School, Division of Gastroenterology and Nutrition, Department of Paediatrics conducted a study comparing the unit cost of 56 gluten-free foods and ‘comparable gluten-containing foods’ from the same food group. The two categories were purchased at two large grocery chains in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and the unit costs were calculated in dollars. What they found is that the average unit cost of the gluten-free product is $1.71 compared to $0.61 of the gluten containing ones.
Alex Gazzola is a UK-based freelance writer and author of several books on coeliac disease and food allergies, like Coeliac Disease: What You Need To Know. Although he is not a coeliac disease sufferer, he developed an interest in the topic when he realised that life for people on restricted diets was very difficult. According to him, there are several reasons why gluten-free products are more expensive. Substitute ingredients, like additives or flours other than the wheat one, like quinoa flour, have higher costs.
The manufacture is also more difficult as the products require more allergy tests, cross contamination controls and more checking, and even if the market is rapidly growing, these products are still produced on a smaller scale.
However, there is one more reason. “I think sometimes the price is a bit over inflated to take advantage of the trend,” says the writer. “There are also a lot of hip ingredients that are being used that can sometimes be overpriced and are not necessarily needed.”
Even if the variety of gluten-free products has increased consistently it does not mean that their price has decreased. In 2014 the leading charity Coeliac UK launched a Freed From campaign and among their points they were advocating more reasonable prices of gluten-free products. According to their website, “gluten-free food should not cost three to four times as much as gluten containing food. Quite simply, we want to see retailers and producers ask for a reasonable price so that everyone can access gluten-free substitutes.”
Gluten-free products are becoming the latest trend and business. If you are coeliac or have a gluten sensitivity you must stick to a gluten-free diet; however, if you don’t fall in any of these categories you might want to think twice next time before putting those gluten-free crackers in your shopping cart.