Gluten-free food ‘does not have a nutritional advantage’
GLUTEN-FREE FOODS contain more fat, salt and sugar than their gluten-containing equivalents and are generally more than twice as expensive, a study has found.
Researchers at the University of Hertfordshire said it was clear that gluten-free (GF) products offer no nutritional advantage to regular foods and are not a healthier alternative, which may surprise many consumers.
They also found that glutenfree foods were 159 per cent more expensive than their regular counterparts. After comparing more than 1,700 food products from Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Ocado, they found that, with the exception of crackers, gluten-free foods contained more fat, salt and sugar and also had lower fibre and protein content than their equivalents.
A GF diet is the only treatment option for those who suffer from coeliac disease but many more people in the UK and around the world avoid gluten foods as doing so is perceived to contribute towards a healthy lifestyle, leading to a huge increase in sales of GF foods in recent years.
But despite this interest, there have been limited studies in the nutritional composition of gluten-free foods compared with their gluten-containing equivalents, the study authors said.
Researchers found the median total fat contents for GF brown and white bread were more than double those of regular products, while the median cost of GF brown and white bread and white and wholegrain flour was over four times the price of their equivalents.
The study, in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, also found GF products had significantly lower protein content than their regular equivalents across nine out of ten food categories. They warned the fact that glutenfree foods were found to be more expensive could lead to those with coeliac disease to stop buying them, compromising their health.
Coeliac disease is caused by an adverse reaction to gluten and affects about one in every 100 people in the UK. The Government is assessing whether to restrict the availability of gluten-free foods on prescription.