Nutritional quality of Gluten-fre diet

“Background & aims: The only available treatment for celiac disease (CD) is lifelong adherence to gluten free (GF)-diet. However, GF-diet may lead to possible nutrient unbalance resulting in improper nutritional quality of diet. The aim of this study is to evaluate the nutritional quality of GF-diet. Methods: MEDLINE(®)/PubMed and Cochrane Library were electronically searched for articles published between 1990/01/01 and 2015/09/01.
Results: GF-diet was found to be poor in alimentary fiber due in particular to the necessary avoidance of several kinds of foods naturally rich in fiber (i.e. grain) and the low content of fiber of GF product that are usually made with starches and/or refined flours. Micronutrients are also found to be poor, in particular Vit. D, Vit. B12 and folate, in addition to some minerals such as iron, zinc, magnesium and calcium. Moreover, an inadequate macronutrient intake was reported related above all to the focus on the avoidance of gluten that often leaving back the importance of nutritional quality of the choice. In particular, it was found a higher content of both saturated and hydrogenated fatty acids and an increase in the glycemic index and glycemic load of the meal.” Gluten free diet and nutrient deficiencies: A review. Giorgia Vici May 2016 Clinical nutrition (Edinburgh, Scotland) 35(6) DOI: 10.1016/j.clnu.2016.05.002

Kywords: gluten-free, saturated fatty acids, hydrogenated fatty acids, glycemic index, glycemic load,