Gluten-free foods: fewer nutrients and more additives

Down with pasta, bread or cookies! The gluten-free diet, which bans from the diet all dishes that continue this protein complex, is attracting more and more French people.

Almost 1% of the population is intolerant of it, but many have also chosen to turn away from it, because they believe that gluten is bad for your health, and that it promotes weight gain. They would thus be five million to have tried this regime.

A survey carried out by 60 Million Consumers highlights that “gluten-free” foods, which are popping up on store shelves to respond to this new trend, are not without health risks.

Additives in the “gluten-free”

The consumer magazine scrutinized the composition of several products, with or without gluten. Gluten-free dieters often choose them because they think they are healthier and more natural, but this analysis just points out the opposite.

One of the properties of gluten is to make it easier to knead the dough when making cakes, bread or pasta. In its absence, manufacturers are therefore obliged to add emulsifiers and thickeners, in order to improve the texture of the product.

A quick glance at the list of ingredients used to make certain foods is revealing. For example, in the case of a package of pasta, those with gluten are usually composed of only two ingredients (wheat semolina and water) while in the case of gluten-free pasta, five ingredients are required.

The same goes for a certain brand of shortcrust pastry, which contains six ingredients with gluten, compared to 15, in the gluten free version. Among the additional ingredients, there are many additives, the effect of which on health can be harmful.

Less protein

Another problem: the nutritional quality of gluten-free foods. The survey is based on the results of work published in the British Journal of Nutrition last July. In this context, more than 3,200 products, with and without gluten, were examined.

The researchers had then shown that gluten-free foods were lower in protein, less than 52% in the case of pasta and even 32% for bread. This is particularly problematic for vegetarians, who therefore lose an important source of protein.

And, beyond the potential health risks, 60 Million Consumers especially reminds that the price of these gluten-free products is often prohibitive. Recent studies, conducted at the University of Vienna, show that these products are systematically 2 to 2.5 times more expensive than foods of the same type, containing gluten.