Why the Gluten-Free Diet Isn't Really as Healthy as It Seems

You might be surprised by what I'm about to tell you.

2025 has certainly been off to a wild start, hasn’t it? On the professional side, I’m thrilled to share that I wrote my first piece for National Geographic! “Is gluten really that bad for you? Here’s what happens when you stop eating it” was published on nationalgeographic.com last week. (Here’s a non-paywalled version of the article if you don’t have a subscription.)

Back in January, one of the National Graphic editors posted on social media that she was looking to commission articles debunking popular health myths—and I knew I had the perfect story in mind.

I’ve really wanted to write a piece about how the gluten-free diet isn’t as healthy as it seems for a while, so I compiled all the research I could find in support of my argument and sent it over to the editor. To my excitement, she accepted my pitch—and then it was time to get to work and interview a few experts.

I have to give a special shoutout to my fantastic sources who helped me bring this piece to life:

• Melinda Dennis, RD, nutrition coordinator at the Celiac Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston (BIDMC)

• Ciaran Kelly, MD, gastroenterologist and medical director of the Center for Nutritional Health at BIDMC

• Janelle Smith, RD, registered dietitian at the UCLA Vatche and Tamar Manoukian Division of Digestive Diseases

• Tricia Thompson, RD, founder of Gluten-Free Watchdog

Below, I’m highlighting some of the key points I reported on (including some bonus material that didn’t make it into my final piece). Make sure to read my National Geographic article for more context on why the gluten-free diet became so popular and additional in-depth information about the health effects of following a gluten-free diet.

Thanks as always for your support of my research-backed writing!

Gluten-free packaged foods are often higher in sugar and fat to make them taste closer to the real thing.

Gluten-free packaged foods aren’t healthier

In the US, gluten-free as a fad diet can be traced back to 2014, when the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) began regulating gluten-free labels on packaged foods. Once this happened, brands started throwing around “gluten-free” on their packaging as if it was a health claim—even though a gluten-free label says nothing about the nutrition benefits of a product. It’s merely letting consumers know the product doesn’t contain an allergen.

It wasn’t until I was diagnosed with celiac disease in 2020 that I realized most gluten-free products on the market were anything but healthy. Study after study shows gluten-free packaged foods are low in fiber and protein and high in sugar, fat, and calories. (As I was working on my National Geographic article, a new study out of Clemson University was published on this very topic. Perfect timing.)

What’s more, the FDA doesn’t require gluten-free products to be fortified with vitamins and nutrients like their wheat-filled counterparts. That’s why many people who follow a gluten-free diet are deficient in key nutrients, like folate, iron, and B12.

Think you’re going to lose weight on the gluten-free diet? Not so fast. Not only is gluten-free not synonymous with low carb (which might help with short-term weight loss), but many people who go gluten-free actually report weight gain because gluten-free packaged foods are higher in calories and fat.

Some people with self-reported gluten intolerance actually have trouble digesting fructans.

Gluten isn’t always to blame for digestive issues

While attending a celiac conference last year, I learned that many people mistakenly assume they’re gluten intolerant when what really bothers their stomachs is fructans. These are FODMAPs (Fermentable Oligosaccharides, Disaccharides, Monosaccharides, and Polyols) that are hard to digest.

Sure enough, I later found a 2019 paper published in Digestive Diseases and Sciences that stated many people who self-diagnose with gluten intolerance actually have an “alternative diagnosis.” The dietitians I interviewed confirmed that fructans in wheat can indeed be hard to digest and might be the real culprit of this group’s stomach pain.

The problem is, if you don’t go to a doctor to figure out what’s causing your digestive woes, you may unnecessarily cut foods out of your diet. And if you read my National Geographic article, you’ll learn that by removing gluten entirely, you’ll be missing out on some health benefits.

There’s no evidence a gluten-free diet improves symptoms of autoimmune conditions other than celiac disease.

A gluten-free diet won’t cure your autoimmune condition

At this time, there’s no scientific evidence that proves going gluten-free eases symptoms of other autoimmune diseases. However, in an article for Harvard Health Publishing, Robert H. Shmerling, MD, addresses the thinking behind why someone with another autoimmune condition might believe a gluten-free diet will help them.

“Since gluten triggers inflammation in people with celiac disease, maybe avoiding it will reduce harmful forms of inflammation in me (though there’s no evidence supporting this for people without celiac disease),” he writes.

I get it: It’s easy to latch onto the idea that the gluten-free diet will be a cure-all for your symptoms when you’re desperate for something to work—especially if you see other people on social media claim it’s helped them.

“Testimonials can be powerful,” agrees Shmerling. “Hearing about someone with bothersome symptoms that finally went away after eliminating gluten is difficult to ignore.” But here’s the thing: Anecdotal evidence isn’t as good as scientific evidence—and you may even be taken advantage of by wellness grifters who want to make money off of you.

“Never underestimate the power of persuasion,” notes Shmerling. “Those selling gluten-free products or books about gluten-free diets can be convincing, even if there's little science to back it up.”

It’s a myth that American wheat contains high levels of glyphosate and that GMO wheat is sold in the US.

Glyphosate and GMOs in wheat are non-issues

Some of what I wasn’t able to include in my National Geographic article due to space: In recent years, there’s been an uptick in misinformation about gluten from anti-science individuals. This is part of the reason why gluten continues to be seen as such a villain. I even received a few emails and comments on my social media perpetuating these myths after my article was published.

For example, you may have heard that high amounts of glyphosate in North American wheat cause celiac disease, gluten intolerance, or any other number of health issues. Food Science Babe has an excellent video where she explains that there’s a “false narrative that all wheat is just sprayed uncontrollably with glyphosate, which couldn’t be further from the truth.”

She goes on to share that glyphosate is only used in 3% of wheat acres in the US—and it’s used so sparingly that the amount you’d consume would be in the parts per billion. This is equivalent to the amount of pesticide residue levels on organic and conventional foods—far below any harmful level, she says in the video. Additionally, “there is no evidence to show there is even a glyphosate sensitivity, especially with those very, very low, almost undetectable levels,” she adds.

You may have also heard there are GMOs in American wheat—but there’s no GMO wheat on the market, even in the US, one of my sources told me during our interview. Even if there was GMO wheat, the FDA states that “GMO foods are carefully studied before they are sold to the public to ensure they are as safe as the foods we currently eat.”

The bottom line on the gluten-free diet

If you have celiac disease, adhering to a strict gluten-free diet is the only treatment available. While most gluten-free packaged foods aren’t very nutritious, the dietitians I interviewed said following a Mediterranean diet full of whole gluten-free grains is a pretty healthy way to go.

If you don’t have celiac disease (or non-celiac gluten sensitivity or a wheat allergy), you probably don’t need to go gluten-free. As you now know, gluten-free packaged foods aren’t healthier than the wheat-filled versions (despite the marketing hype). What’s more, gluten may not even be the ingredient giving you digestive grief—and there’s no evidence going gluten-free helps treat other health conditions.

Are you surprised by any of this information? What other health myths would you like me to debunk in the future? Drop a comment and let me know!