Particularly fashionable since sportsmen like tennis player Novak Djokovic praised its merits, the gluten-free diet has become the daily life of many people, and not only those who suffer from intolerance.
A few months ago, British doctors had already sounded the alarm by pointing out that following this diet to the letter risked cause nutritional deficiencies.
This time, American researchers have shown, in a study published in the journal Epidemiologythat the gluten-free diet presented a higher exposure to heavy metals than a conventional diet.
Twice as high levels of heavy metals in urine
Main reason: in a gluten-free diet, wheat is frequently replaced by rice. However, this cereal is the one with the greatest capacity to absorb heavy metals such as arsenic or mercury, present in fertilizers and water.
For this study, researchers from the University of Illinois (USA) analyzed the urine of 73 participants aged 6 to 80 who had been on a gluten-free diet for at least 5 years. Their urine heavy metal levels were twice as high as those of people not on the diet. The mercury level was even 70% higher.
However, the researchers recognize that it is now necessary to assess what the effects of such exposure to heavy metals may be on health.
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