Allison called Wednesday and asked if I
had read this about gluten-free foods. I told her that I had and
would have a blog about it in the coming week. She said she had
several other articles and would be asking Brenda to have a program
if we were having a meeting this or next weekend. She said she is
aware of the flu among the members and that three were in the
hospital. I said that only two were still in the hospital and that
now I may be coming down with it.
To my blog – a new study suggests
that a gluten-free diet may pose serious health risks, after finding
that the eating pattern may raise the risk of exposure to arsenic and
mercury.
Study co-author Maria Argos, assistant
professor of epidemiology at the University of Illinois at Chicago
(UIC), and colleagues recently reported their findings in the journal
Epidemiology.
A gluten-free diet excludes foods that
contain gluten - a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, as well
as the byproducts of these grains.
For people with celiac disease - an
autoimmune condition whereby gluten intake leads to intestinal damage
- a gluten-free diet is the only treatment for the condition.
However, according to a 2012 survey,
around 28-30 percent of us restrict our gluten intake or avoid
consuming the protein completely, even in the absence of gluten
sensitivities.
Rice flour is a common substitute for
gluten in many gluten-free products. Argos and colleagues point out
that rice can bioaccumulate arsenic, mercury, and other potentially
harmful toxic metals from water, soil, or fertilizers. Exposure to
these metals has been associated with increased risk of
cardiovascular disease, cancer, and other diseases.
"Despite such a dramatic shift
in the diet of many Americans, little is known about how gluten-free
diets might affect exposure to toxic metals found in certain foods,"
note the authors.
With the aim of investigating the link
between gluten-free diets and toxic metal exposure, Argos and team
analyzed the data of 7,471 individuals who were a part of the
National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 2009 and
2014.
The researchers identified 73
participants aged between 6 and 80 who reported following a
gluten-free diet. Blood and urine samples were taken from all
participants and assessed for levels of arsenic and mercury.
The researchers found that levels of
each toxic metal were much higher among subjects who followed a
gluten-free diet than those who did not eat gluten-free products;
mercury levels were 70 percent higher in the blood of gluten-free
subjects, while arsenic levels in urine were almost twice as high.
According to Argos, these findings
suggest that there may be "unintended consequences of eating a
gluten-free diet," though further studies are needed to confirm
whether this is the case.
The researchers add that:
- "With the increasing popularity of gluten-free diets, these findings may have important health implications since the health effects of low-level arsenic and mercury exposure from food sources are uncertain but may increase the risk for cancer and other chronic diseases.
- Although we can only speculate, rice may be contributing to the observed higher concentrations of metal biomarkers among those on a gluten-free diet as the primary substitute grain in gluten-free products."
Argos points out that there are
regulations in Europe that limit arsenic levels in food products, and
he suggests that the United States might benefit from similar
regulations.
"We regulate levels of arsenic
in water, but if rice flour consumption increases the risk for
exposure to arsenic, it would make sense to regulate the metal in
foods as well," he adds.
