baguettesReuters/Charles Platiau

Awareness of the negative health effects of gluten has increased in the past few years.

One 2013 survey shows that a third of Americans are actively trying to eliminate gluten from their diets.

But gluten-free is more than just the latest fad… there are multiple studies showing that gluten can cause harmful effects.

Here are 6 shocking reasons to avoid gluten.



When flour is mixed with water, gluten forms a sticky cross-linked network of proteins, giving elastic properties to dough and allowing bread to rise when baked (1). Actually, the name gluten is derived from these glue-like properties.



The immune reaction can cause degeneration of the intestinal wall, which leads to nutrient deficiencies, various digestive issues, anemia, fatigue, failure to thrive as well as an increased risk of many serious diseases. Celiac disease is believed to afflict about 1% of people, but it may be more common (over 2%) in the elderly (234). There are also studies showing that the rate of celiac disease is increasing rapidly in the population (56).

Keep in mind that a large percentage of celiacs don't even have abdominal symptoms, making diagnosis on clinical grounds very difficult.

The symptoms might manifest themselves in different ways, like fatigue, anemia… or something much worse, like a doubled risk of death in several studies (78).

According to one study, over 80% of people with celiac disease don't even know that they have it (9).





In non-celiac gluten sensitivity, there is no attack on the body's own tissues. However, many of the symptoms are similar to those in celiac disease, including bloating, stomach pain, fatigue, diarrhea, as well as pain in the bones and joints. Unfortunately… because there is no clear way of diagnosing gluten sensitivity, reliable numbers on how common it is are impossible to find.

There are two sources showing that up to 6-8% people may have gluten sensitivity, based on anti-gliadin antibodies found in the blood (1011). However, one gastroenterologist found that 11% of people had antibodies against gluten in their blood and 29% of people had antibodies against it in stool samples (12).

About 40% of people carry the HLA-DQ2 and HLA-DQ8 genes, which make people susceptible to gluten sensitivity (13). Given that there is no clear definition of gluten sensitivity, or a good way to diagnose it, the only true way of knowing is by eliminating gluten temporarily from your diet, then reintroducing it to see if you have symptoms.





There are also studies showing that gluten can cause inflammation in the intestine and a degenerated intestinal lining (1516). Gluten may also have negative effects on the barrier function of the intestine, allowing unwanted substances to "leak" through into the bloodstream (171819,20).

However, according to one study, this "leakiness" of the gut only happens in celiac patients (21). Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) involves various digestive issues with an unknown cause, afflicting about 14% of people in the U.S. According to the studies above, some cases of IBS may be either caused or exacerbated by gluten (222324).

Although this needs to be studied a lot more, it seems very clear that many more people than just celiac patients react negatively to gluten (252627).



Even though gluten primarily works its "magic" in the gut, it can also have severe effects on the brain. Many cases of neurological illness may be caused and/or exacerbated by gluten consumption. This is called gluten-sensitive idiopathic neuropathy.

In a study of patients with neurological illness of an unknown cause, 30 of 53 patients (57%) had antibodies against gluten in the blood (28). The main neurological disorder believed to be at least partly caused by gluten iscerebellar ataxia, a serious disease of the brain that involves an inability to coordinate balance, movements, problems talking, etc.

It is now known that many cases of ataxia are directly linked to gluten consumption. This is called gluten ataxia and involves irreversible damage to the cerebellum, a part of the brain that is important in motor control (29). Many studies show strong statistical associations between gluten consumption, gluten sensitivity and cerebellar ataxia (3031). There is also a controlled trial showing that ataxia patients improve significantly on a gluten-free diet (32).


  • Schizophrenia: A subset of schizophrenia patients sees massive improvements by removing gluten (333435).
  • Autism: Several studies suggest that people with autism see improvements in symptoms on a gluten-free diet (3637).
  • Epilepsy: There are several reports of patients with epilepsy improving significantly when removing gluten (383940).

If you have any neurological problems and your doctor doesn't have a clue what is causing them… then it makes sense to try removing gluten from your diet.


5. Wheat Gluten May be Addictive


Even though this is far from being proven, there are some studies suggesting that gluten may have addictive properties. When gluten is broken down in a test tube, the peptides that are formed can activate opioid receptors (41).


Gluten exorphins have been found in the blood of celiac patients (42). There is also some evidence from animal studies that these opioid-like peptides derived from gluten can make it into the brain (434445).



6. Gluten is Associated With Autoimmune Diseases


Celiac disease is one type of autoimmune disease and celiac patients are at a drastically increased risk of getting other autoimmune diseases as well (48). Many studies have found strong statistical associations between gluten, celiac disease and various other autoimmune diseases, including Hashimotos Thyroiditis, Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple sclerosis and various others (495051).


Bottom Line: Studies show strong statistical association between gluten, celiac disease and various autoimmune diseases.

Eliminate Gluten For 30 Days… Seriously

Of course, it is far from being definitively proven that gluten causes harm in a large percentage of people and that most people would do best by avoiding it. This area is in desperate need of some more research. However, the evidence that we DO have is pretty damning.

Until more research is done, I think the cautionary principle should apply… why eat something that is highly likely to cause harm and lead to disease, when you could eat something else instead that definitely won’t harm you?

Also keep in mind that wheat (the unhealthiest grain, by far) can be problematic for many reasons, some of which have nothing to do with the gluten. At the end of the day, the only way to know if you should avoid gluten or not, is to remove it from your diet, then reintroduce it and see if you get symptoms.

If you completely eliminate gluten for 30 days (no cheating), then eat a meal with gluten and experience adverse effects, then you probably have gluten sensitivity and should make a serious effort to avoid it.

If you have any mysterious health issues, then you owe it to yourself to try a gluten-free diet for 30 days. You have nothing to lose and it may end up saving your life.