Gluten-free bread is less tasty and doesn’t have as many nutrients as normal

In my supermarket, the bread section spans an entire aisle. And among those brown waves of breads, bagels and tubes are some gluten-free options, which can cost about twice as much as their wheat-based counterparts. Are they a more nutritious choice?

As is often the case with nutrition questions, the answer will depend on your individual circumstance, said Jerlyn Jones, a spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and a registered dietitian in Atlanta.

But for most people, choosing a gluten-free bread over a wheat-based one is not an inherently more nutritious option, she added. In addition, gluten-free breads may not be popular because they are generally more expensive and have a shorter shelf life, the spokeswoman said.

Gluten is a protein found in the grains of wheat, barley and rye. In traditional bread made from wheat flour, gluten forms a network of proteins that makes the dough cohesive and elastic, giving the bread a soft and pleasant texture.

But gluten or other components of wheat can cause health problems in some people.

For the roughly 1% of the world’s population who have celiac disease, a serious autoimmune condition triggered by eating gluten, the protein causes intestinal damage that can impair nutrient absorption and lead to symptoms such as diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, anemia and a rash. with blisters and itching. The only effective way to control celiac disease is to strictly and lifelong avoid gluten.

For others with milder wheat-related sensitivities, eating the grain doesn’t cause the intestinal damage found in celiac disease, but it can trigger gastrointestinal discomfort and symptoms like fatigue and headache, which usually go away when wheat is avoided. It’s unclear how many people have this condition, called non-celiac gluten sensitivity, but it may be more common than celiac disease.

A third, much less common, wheat-related condition is an allergy that can cause reactions such as diarrhea, vomiting, facial swelling, or difficulty breathing minutes to hours after eating wheat.

If you have celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, or a wheat allergy, opting for gluten-free bread is clearly the best choice. But in a 2017 survey of 1,000 people in the U.S. and Canada who purchased gluten-free groceries — conducted by food and beverage ingredient supplier Ingredion — 46% said they purchased these products for reasons other than a medical condition.

Among his main motivations: wanting to reduce inflammation or consuming fewer artificial ingredients, believing that gluten-free products were healthier or more natural, and thinking that these products would help with weight loss.

However, none of these theses are true, said Anne R. Lee, a registered dietitian and assistant professor of nutritional medicine at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center. “Typically, gluten-free products have more fat, more sugar, more salt and less fiber, B vitamins and iron,” she said.

Making gluten-free bread is a technological challenge, and manufacturers tend to rely on ingredients like refined rice, potato or tapioca flours, which contain far less protein and fiber than wheat flours, Lee said.

Most refined wheat flours used in the US are enriched with iron and the B vitamins folic acid, niacin, riboflavin, and thiamine, while flours used in gluten-free products generally do not contain these added nutrients.

Gluten-free bread makers also often add sugar, fat and salt to their products to make them tastier, Lee said. And partly because gluten-free breads tend to contain more water, fat, and refined starch than wheat-based breads, they spoil and age faster.

For these reasons, gluten-free bread is not always the best choice. “If you think you have an intolerance to gluten, before you take it out of your diet, see a gastroenterologist and really get tested properly,” said Dr. Lee. An added benefit: Celiac disease is more difficult to diagnose in people who have already eliminated gluten.

Quality of life must also be considered. Restricting your diet can make you more anxious in social situations or make you more reluctant to try homemade foods for family meals, Jones said. Food “is not just fuel for our bodies, it also gives us pleasure. You don’t want to miss out on pleasure, especially these days,” she added, referring to those who avoid gluten for no medical reason.

For her patients who need to eliminate gluten, Dr. Lee advises focusing less on gluten-free packaged products and more on whole foods like gluten-free fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains, and seeds like amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa, teff, and corn.

“If you go on a gluten-free diet using naturally gluten-free foods like all these wonderful grains, your diet can be incredibly healthy,” she said.

But if you’re craving a sandwich, you’re going to need bread. The good news is that gluten-free products have gotten better—”they’re better than they were five years ago,” said Dr. Lee. Many manufacturers have started including more gluten-free whole grains in their products, which can increase fiber, protein, and some vitamins and minerals.

Just as wheat-based breads can vary widely in nutritional quality, from highly processed white breads to whole-grain breads, the same goes for gluten-free options, Lee said.

To identify the best gluten-free breads, Lee recommends comparing their nutrition labels with those of whole-grain breads. Check for similar levels of fiber and protein and minimal added sugar, and look for a whole-grain bread among the first ingredients, which are listed in descending order of weight, so the first ingredient is always present in the highest amount.

“If the first ingredients are water and tapioca starch, put the bread back on the shelf,” Lee said.

Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves