$7.5bil gluten-free food and drink industry hit by new medical research

The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should NOT be encouraged, a long-term prospective cohort study reports. (Link)

The British Medical Journal reported in May 2017 findings from health research conducted on 100,000 people over a 15+ year period. Professor Benjamin Lebwohl et al.'s study had as its objective "to examine the association of long term intake of gluten with the development of incident coronary heart disease". The research findings concluded in part with this statement:

" .....the avoidance of gluten may result in reduced consumption of beneficial whole grains, which may affect cardiovascular risk. The promotion of gluten-free diets among people without celiac disease should not be encouraged."

Wheat and other whole grain food have been a staple in the human diet for thousands of years. However, gluten, a storage protein in wheat, rye, and barley, triggers inflammation and intestinal damage in people with celiac / coeliac disease (an inherited autoimmune disease). About 1 in 100 people — about 1 percent — have celiac disease. Another 4 percent of people have a doctor-diagnosed wheat allergy, often called "gluten intolerance". Yet, for the past few years, the remaining 95% of folks who do not have GI nor celiac disease have been aggressively bombarded by manufacturers and retailers with offers to buy - usually more expensive - gluten-free food & drink under the guise of it's "better for your health".

Have we looked closely at the gluten-free NPD appearing on store shelves? Let's have a look at a loaf of bread, a daily part of life in many households:

• A popular "white farmhouse" standard loaf of bread sold in the UK today contains the following ingredients - Wheat Flour, Water, Yeast, Vegetable Oil, Salt, Flavouring, Soya Flour, Calcium Carbonate, Calcium Propionate, E471, E481, Ascorbic Acid, E920. It costs £1.25 for a 800g loaf. 
• The GLUTEN-FREE version of the same loaf contains the following ingredients - Water, Tapioca Starch, Potato Starch, Maize Starch, Rapeseed Oil, Yeast, Pea Protein, Egg White Powder, Hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (E464), Sugar, Vegetable Fibre (Psyllium), Calcium Carbonate, Fruit Extract (Carob and Apple), Salt, Glycerine, Rice Flour, Calcium Propionate, Natural Flavouring, Iron. It costs £3 for a 560g loaf. 
• An extra 7 ingredients are in the Gluten-Free loaf plus it has 3 times the fat content of the ordinary loaf, a third less protein and costs 3.5 times more (per 100g)!

The replacement of a natural nutrient-rich ingredient with sugar, industrial glue and stuff found in paint & antifreeze in thousands of food & drink products AND marketing them to the general population is WRONG.

I have long argued that the explosion of gluten-free products on store shelves plus advice repeated by numerous non-scientifically trained social media "celebrities" have led trusting consumers (95% of which are not celiac / gluten intolerant) to make bad food & drink choices especially without the help of an experienced dietitian to guide them on ensuring balanced gluten-free diets (something also repeated in the BMJ report "...there is a concern that this [gluten-free] diet, particularly if done without the guidance of an experienced dietitian, is often deficient in beneficial grains and nutrients.")

But why are nutritionists, dietitians and other scientifically qualified experts working in global FMCG / CPG manufacturers & retailers not being heard by marketing and R&D colleagues?

Does it have anything to do with the reality that the gluten-free food & drink market has exploded to over $7.5 billion in value globally and growing at an estimated CAGR of over 10%?

There is genuine consumer demand for healthier food & drink however the way that the "gluten free" food & drink category has developed to-date is - for the mass market at least - little more than another fidget spinner food craze driven by a focus on "profit over people" to the detriment of longer term health.