Gluten

Studies in people

• Open question

  Gut symptoms and mood²

  A gluten-free diet helps gut symptoms in celiac disease, but scientists do not yet know whether gluten affects mood or thinking.

• Open question

  Autism symptoms in children⁴

  Scientists do not yet know whether eating gluten makes autism symptoms worse in children.

• Concern

  Gut symptoms without celiac disease⁷

  In people without celiac disease, gluten can cause bloating, foggy mind, headache and tiredness.

• Open question

  Migraine without celiac disease⁸

  Scientists do not yet know whether a gluten-free diet helps migraines in people without celiac disease.

• Open question

  Diet quality in children⁹

  In children with celiac disease, eating gluten-free oats did not change overall diet quality, though it lowered the glycemic index.

• Concern

  Gut symptoms from wheat¹¹

  In people without celiac disease or wheat allergy, gluten may cause gut symptoms, but how common this is remains unknown.

• Concern

  Gut symptoms without celiac disease¹²

  In people without celiac disease, gluten may cause gut symptoms that improve on a gluten-free diet.

• Open question

  Wheat sensitivity myths¹⁴

  Most people who blame gluten for their symptoms are not actually sensitive to gluten.

• No harm found

  ALS risk¹⁶

  People with ALS were no more likely than others to have gluten antibodies or celiac disease.

• Open question

  Gut reaction after infection¹⁸

  In one child, gluten intolerance after salmonella enteritis seemed to go away.

• Benefit

  Fertility and pregnancy¹⁹

  Gluten-free diets may help fertility only in women with celiac disease, not others.

Study type not stated

• Open question

  When to stop eating wheat²⁰

  The study says gluten should only be cut from your diet after proper testing confirms you need to.

Allergies and intolerances

These are about people with an allergy, an intolerance or coeliac disease. The signal is about the ingredient itself, and these are about the person eating it, so the signal does not count them.

• Gut reaction to wheat³

  In people with coeliac disease, gluten triggers gut symptoms, and mouth bacteria may break it down.

• Telling celiac apart⁶

  Some people get gut symptoms from gluten without having celiac disease, but scientists cannot yet tell these apart by symptoms alone.

• Gut lining changes¹⁵

  Gut biopsies from people with gluten sensitivity showed shorter villi and more immune cells than normal.

How it’s made and used

• Diet quality concerns⁵

  People on a gluten-free diet may get less fiber, vitamins and minerals, and more saturated fat.

• Diet and symptom control¹⁰

  In people with coeliac disease, gluten-free products often have low protein and high fat and salt.

• Packaged food comparison¹³

  Gluten-free products in the US often had less protein and more sugar and calories than regular ones.

• Getting diagnosed¹⁷

  People with gluten-related disorders described long searches for a diagnosis and treatment.

• Gut immune response²¹

  In lab studies, gluten digests turned human monocytes into an M2-like type, with no difference between healthy and celiac subjects.

The signal at the top counts the findings in people and in animal and lab studies. A concern in studies of people outranks animal and lab studies, and “No concerns” needs at least one finding in people. When most findings in people point one way, the page leans that way (“Mostly”), and every finding is still shown. Findings whose study type is not stated are shown but not counted. This page is a reference, not medical advice. It describes what regulators and published research say. Talk to a doctor or dietitian about your own diet.