“Gluten-free foods are healthier.”
Gluten-free foods are not healthier for most people; they matter for people who cannot eat gluten, such as those with celiac disease.
If you can eat gluten without problems, you do not need to avoid it for your health, and gluten-free versions of packaged foods are not a healthier choice. If gluten seems to cause symptoms, get tested first rather than diagnosing yourself.
Choose foods by their nutrition and how well you tolerate them, not by a gluten-free label. If you think you might have celiac disease, keep eating gluten until you have been tested.
Safety note: If you have a wheat allergy, a gluten-free label is not enough on its own: under FDA rules, a gluten-free food can contain wheat starch that has been processed to remove gluten.
Talk to a healthcare professional if: you have persistent digestive symptoms, unexplained anemia, or suspected celiac disease or food allergy, ideally before you cut out gluten.
A study of more than 3,200 supermarket foods found gluten-free products were no healthier overall and had less protein, and US health agency guidance says gluten-free foods are not healthier for people without celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. The finding is consistent and directly tests the claim, so confidence is strong.
Gluten-free foods are not healthier for most people; they matter for people who cannot eat gluten, such as those with celiac disease. Gluten is a group of proteins in wheat, barley and rye, and in a study of more than 3,200 supermarket foods, gluten-free products were no healthier overall and had less protein, including about half the protein in gluten-free pasta.
US health agency guidance says that people who avoid gluten without needing to may miss out on vitamins, fiber and minerals, and that a gluten-free diet is not a weight-loss diet. In the supermarket study, most processed meats carried a gluten-free label, and gluten-free snack and treat foods were not healthier than regular versions. Foods that are naturally gluten-free, such as fruit, beans and potatoes, can be very nutritious, so the whole food matters more than the label.
Doctors use blood tests and a small intestine biopsy to diagnose celiac disease. They do not recommend starting a gluten-free diet before testing, because cutting out gluten can affect the test results.
Who benefits from gluten-free foods?
Gluten-free foods allow people with celiac disease, wheat allergy or certain gluten-related conditions to eat safely and manage symptoms.
- Wu JH, Neal B, Trevena H, Crino M, Stuart-Smith W, Faulkner-Hogg K, Yu Louie JC, Dunford E. Are gluten-free foods healthier than non-gluten-free foods? An evaluation of supermarket products in Australia. British Journal of Nutrition. 2015;114(3):448-454. DOI: 10.1017/S0007114515002056. PMID: 26119206
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Some Myths about Nutrition & Physical Activity. Last reviewed April 2017
- National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Diagnosis of Celiac Disease. Last reviewed October 2020
- US Food and Drug Administration. Questions and Answers on the Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule. Content current as of 06/30/2022