Could gluten intolerance be the hidden cause behind weight gain? Discover how inflammation from gluten might be impacting your health and waistline
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Weight gain from gluten intolerance: does it occur? Yes. Excess weight can be tied to many foods and eating patterns. One that many people may not think about is gluten.
Causes of weight gain may be attributed to foods that lead to inflammation in the body.
Any food that may cause inflammation in the body may also lead to weight gain.
When gluten intolerance or gluten food allergies occur, so does inflammation.
Gluten spins a lot of controversies. First, let’s consider what the headlines have really told us so far.
Then, I will describe the many ways gluten may be making you put on the pounds.
What is Gluten?
Gluten is simply a type of protein in grains; it is in wheat, barley, rye, and sometimes oats.
Why Are Headlines Sometimes Wrong About Gluten?
Headlines and research can make some pretty big errors when talking about food and diet.
A recent study about gluten got a lot of press. It stated that gluten-free diets were less healthy than gluten-containing diets. They indicated that gluten-free diets slightly increased the risk of heart disease [1].
What Was Missing in These Headlines?
A lot. The study started over 25 years ago. It collected information about what people eat regularly.
The last diet measurements took place in 2010, before the big surge and trends in gluten-free diets.
Gluten-free diets became popular in 2009–2010. I’m sure people did not have time to develop heart disease-specific gluten-free during this short of a period.
So how is it even responsible to look at this topic effectively [2]?
Perhaps the biggest research error was not enough time passed to assess heart disease risk.
This creates an error by omission; gluten-free products were rare in the marketplace at that time and before that.
New agricultural practices for gluten-containing crops weren’t present when the study took place, such as crop desiccation.
This is the practice of spraying a weed killer on grains days before harvest, often wheat, soy, and corn.
Who ate gluten-free products in the study?
People seeking out gluten-free products in this study most likely had a disease called Celiac disease.
This is an autoimmune disease that increases mortality, has a lot of inflammation, and more. Celiac disease also increases the risk of heart disease dramatically [3].
It seems obvious that they would find what they did, but they didn’t talk about why in the headlines.
The study also didn’t look at complete gluten exclusion as well. They were looking at levels of gluten intake [4].
Simply cutting back on gluten likely won’t help a person with celiac disease or those with gluten food allergies or intolerances.
The damage from inflammation can still occur when eating gluten in small amounts.
A study can only be as good as the design, and in this case, the questions didn’t get answered with the poor design.
Some people do not have Celiac but still have gluten sensitivity. This is known as non-Celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS).
NGCS is real, and up to 30% of the population has it.
Gluten sensitivity creates an abnormal immune response in the body, including an abnormal T cell response [5].
The only way to diagnose gluten sensitivity is through the elimination of gluten at this time.
When someone eliminates sensitivity, it can help with weight loss, sometimes quickly.
Below are 9 ways weight gain from gluten intolerance may occur in some people.
1. Gluten Can Make Your Immune System Out of Balance
Immune responses to gluten can create danger signals in the body, which shunt nutrients in undesirable ways. One result: the body can become hungrier and bigger.
Clinicians all over the country are slowly learning for themselves that people can become better. They can even heal very serious illnesses and perhaps lose weight with a gluten-free diet as part of a balanced diet [6].
Take the work of Dr. Terry Wahls as an example. She had progressive multiple sclerosis. Both in her life and research, she has found great success with a gluten-free diet plus copious amounts of vegetables and other healthy habits.
She says her progressive, debilitating disease was lifted with a gluten-free, healthy diet. Her research is showing similar results.
Another finding in her research: her diet plan is very healthy and well-rounded; she has almost complete recovery [7].
Multiple sclerosis is a disease of imbalanced immunity and diet plays a powerful impact on the course of the disease.
Imbalanced immunity can occur even with subtle gluten intolerance.
2. Gluten Causes Inflammation
Weight gain from gluten intolerance occurs because gluten can cause inflammation. In animal studies, gluten increased inflammatory chemicals in the blood [8]. This led to weight gain, obesity, and diabetes [9].
People who are sensitive to gluten may experience inflammation throughout the body, even in the nervous system and gut. Inflammation can slow down weight loss or causes weight gain [10].
3. Gluten Increases Zonulin
Gluten increases a protein called zonulin in the digestive tract. The higher the zonulin levels, the more likely a person has obesity, bigger waists, and high cholesterol [11].
RELATED: LEARN MORE ABOUT ZONULIN
Gluten is not the only food that changes zonulin in the body, but it is one of many factors [12].
4. Gluten May Cause Leaky Gut
Gluten can increase gut permeability or leaky gut, which drives inflammation in the body [13].
Inflammation due to having a leaky gut can make it difficult to lose weight. This is because inflammation can stall fat loss.
5. Gluten May Starve the body of Nutrients
Inflammation can block nutrient use and metabolism in the body. When the body thinks it is short of nutrients, it will crave more food to get the nutrients it needs [14].
This is why some patients with Celiac disease can gain weight despite being starved for nutrition.
While human studies are early on this topic, animal studies indicate that gluten-free diets may help promote weight loss [7].
6. Gluten-Free Foods Can Be More Nutritious
Healthy gluten-free foods and snacks can be hard to find. A lot of them tend to be highly processed foods [15].
But out of necessity, people often eat more vegetables and whole foods when following a gluten-free diet [16].
On a gluten-free diet, you won’t be grabbing the break room cake or sugar-laden desserts as often.
You also may be less likely to eat these high-calorie, weight-promoting, low-nutrient foods due to the reduced availability of gluten-free options:
- Beer
- Refined crackers
- Enriched Noodles
- Ramen
- Cake
- Cookies
- Donuts
- Bagels
- Fried foods
7. Gluten-Free Diets May Make You More Mindful
When you have to look out for gluten, you are consciously making a decision every time you eat, not just grabbing the nearest food.
This may be a big part of why gluten-free diets promote weight loss for some people [17].
Each bite requires thoughtful consideration.
8. Foods Cravings May Lead to Overconsumption
So many people struggle with the idea of giving up gluten because it is in their favorite snack at night and they simply can’t live without pasta and bread.
Why does this happen?
When we are sensitive to a certain food, the body can send out endorphins due to the reaction it causes in the body, making us want the foods even more.
Gluten can even make opiate-like chemicals in the brain, making us want a lot [18]!
9. Compounds In Wheat May Cause Bloating
Wheat contains compounds called lectins. Lectins are substances found in wheat that act as a natural defense against microorganisms, pests, and insects [19].
Lectins are considered a low-level toxin that clumps together and can be problematic for some individuals.
So even if you are not sensitive to gluten, you may be sensitive to the lectins in the gluten-containing grains like wheat [20].
This can cause pain, bloating, and add to the width of your waistline [21].
Important Considerations
Not all gluten-free diets are the same and not all gluten-full diets are the same.
Most people are on one side of the fence or other in terms of their beliefs surrounding the hotly debated topic.
A gluten-free diet is also quite drastically different than people who limit or eat “a little bit of gluten.” Full elimination may be needed to reduce inflammation.
Gluten-free diets can be as full of junk food as a diet that contains gluten if you aren’t careful.
It is highly recommended to give a gluten-free diet a try for at least 3 weeks to find out if it is going to help you feel better.
Gluten sensitivity testing is another way to find out if you have issues with consuming gluten.
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