Gluten-free diets could be damaging to the health of people who do not have coeliac disease, raising the risk of obesity, diabetes and malnutrition, an expert has warned.
But writing in the Journal of Pediatrics, Dr Norelle Reilly, of Columbia University Medical Centre, in New York, warned that gluten-free alternatives were often loaded with fat and sugar and lacked nutrients.
“There is no evidence that processed gluten free foods are healthier nor have there been proven health or nutritional benefits of a gluten free diet. There are no data to support the theory of intrinsically toxic properties of gluten in otherwise healthy adults and children....