Are you sure a Gluten- Free diet is right for you?

In the past few years the Gluten-Free diet has become very popular.  Part of the popularity is fueled by the idea that while a person may not have celiac disease then may have gluten sensitivity.  As result, these self –diagnosed individuals begin avoiding foods with gluten.  But there is a cost to this decision  – foods with gluten often contain fiber, vitamins and minerals that are necessary in the daily diet. Gluten-free foods often contain refined grains that are often low in nutrients.

Recent research has shown that the digestive problems may not be caused by gluten but by fructan, which is present in many of the same foods as gluten. It is part of a group of carbohydrates that are considered fermentable poorly-absorbed short-chain carbohydrates (oligo-di-monosaccharides and polyols).  These carbohydrates have commonly become known as FODMAPs. Foods that contain FODMAPs include products with high fructose corn syrup, dairy, and sweeteners like sorbitol.

People that go on a diet that is low in FODMAPs often find their digestive problems improving.  And they can ate gluten, get all the benefits and still feel fine.  But if they eat the foods with FODMAPs, all their symptoms came back.

So will a low FODMAP diet help you?  One way to find out is test for fructose malabsorption using the hydrogen breath test.  People that test positive are likely to do well by following a low-FODMAP diet.