Health News: Gluten-Free Diet a Lie, Harmful to Children?

A group of experts is concerned that healthy children who are fed with gluten-free food could be at risk because of the lack of those nutrients found in gluten-rich food.

By Jude Abastar, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Gluten is a substance made up of two proteins commonly found in grains. It is a staple part of what we eat every single day -- bread, pasta, barley, and many others. One of the reasons why it has become an integral component of the human diet is the richness in important nutrients the body needs. But then again, a small number of people cannot eat it because of either allergies to wheat or celiac disease.

For the past decade or so, gluten-free food enjoyed a substantial level of popularity, but a group of experts is concerned that healthy children who are fed with gluten-free food could be at risk because of the lack of those nutrients found in gluten-rich food.

In a commentary recently published in the Journal of Pediatrics, the researchers claimed that apart from missing out on the essential nutrients, the lack of gluten in the diet of young kids can result to excessive consumption of sugar and fat and exposure to high toxin levels like arsenic.

The author of the commentary, Dr. Norelle Reilly, said that although gluten-free processed foods are ideal for those who are allergic to gluten, it never should be considered good food for children because it lacks many of the vitamins, minerals, and nutrients a growing body needs. "They can be deficient in fiber, B-vitamins, magnesium, calcium, iron, folate, and vitamin D," the assistant professor of pediatrics and director of the Pediatric Celiac Disease are Columbia University Medical Center said, via Today.

If children are given a gluten-free diet, it has to be compensated with a balanced diet. Parents also must find time to seek a nutritionist's help in case they decide to feed their kids gluten-free food.

Per a CBS report, 1 percent of Americans today have celiac disease and that number is expected to increase sooner than later. But then again, the same report said that the increase in that number does not explain or in any way linked to the rapid rise of the gluten-free food manufacturing industry. Because of the misconception, a lot of perfectly healthy people today feel like they no longer have to eat gluten because it may cause them harm. But for children, it is the other way around when it comes to gluten-free food.