No Evidence That Gluten-Free Diet Promotes Weight Loss (with Reply by Dr. Ron Hoggan)

I think that saying any type of diet based on one food source or type causes weight loss or doesn't cause weight loss is a little narrow minded... its like saying a diet with no carbohydrate causes weight loss... it may or it may not dependent on other foods and factors within the diet... why not just look to basic principles that eating unprocessed foods without chemicals, yes without irritants such as gluten, and with plenty of water WILL cause weight loss for the majority of people especially alongside regular activity or exercise... do we need to over-complicate it?

I believe Dr. O'Connell was treated fairly. If you are going to make such bold statements in a public arena, you should be prepared for any responses that might contradict you, ready to back them up with the appropriate data.

Perhaps most of those with true celiac disease indeed gain weight after going gluten-free. But those with gluten-sensitivity, like my husband, myself, and a dear friend of mine, all lost a tremendous amount of weight after going gluten-free, not to mention a disappearance of lifetime gastrointestinal illness, arthritis-like pain and skin conditions. The wheat industry and it's lobbyists can try to persuade the Purveyors of Higher Learning to discredit the notion all they want, but it's becoming undeniable by the overwhelming anecdotal evidence that something is terribly wrong with today's wheat. When everyone in the city is sick and gets well after they stop drinking the water, is anyone going to believe the Town Crier who insists the well is pure?

Kudos to Dr. Hoggan!

As anecdotal evidence, I can offer the following. Our whole family went gluten-free. I am celiac, the others are not. THEY lost weight, and are no longer chubby. And I gained weight! It appears that my years of overeating and being skinny have ended, now that I actually digest food.

I don't think there is a simple answer like "gluten makes you gain weight". I do think it is something like "gluten messes with your appetite and weight". For some it makes you overly skinny, for others, overly fat, for some, neither.

As one who nearly died before being diagnosed with celiac disease, it's frustrating to see articles that would lead anyone to question the validity of going gluten-free, if necessary, and properly done. Patients who are as ill as I was lose weight prior to diagnosis - I am 5'6" and was down to 89lbs. Weight gain was a desired result of the GFD. Unless the context is taken into account all the stats are useless. The diet itself should be controlled in any study since one can eat as poorly on the GFD as on a wheat based diet. Thank you, Dr. Hogan, for coming to the defense of those of us who need all the support we can get.

Thank you, Nathan and Lisa for your replies, as well.

For me, a gluten-intolerant celiac with wheat allergy, I lost weight, sizes in fact. Why? Because I had to think twice about what I was putting in my mouth for starters. When I was hungry and in a rush, I would not eat the snacks on the shelf. No Oreos. No Hostess cupcakes. Sandwiches became bread-less. No pizza. And the majority of restaurants use flour for sauces and whatnot so it was chicken breasts and veggies. So, YES. When you go gluten-free you WILL lose weight unless you replace every item with a gluten-free equivalent. Most tastes bad, IMO, so you will be eating less of it and therefore less carbs. It did not all drop off immediately, and took a couple months for me. And I agree with Lisa, as many symptoms I had disappeared.

I think it highly likely that those that follow a grain free, legume free, dairy free and industrial oil free diet will lose weight. The "baked" goods espoused on this site do color the conversation as does almost any reliance on the opinions of nutritionists.

Here is my educated hypothesis with some anecdotal evidence regarding weight gain/weight loss with celiac or other gluten issues. Normal weight or underweight celiac patients who are diagnosed often gain weight simply from continuing to eat in the huge amounts of food that were never absorbed. They need to adjust their eating now that nutrients are being absorbed, else they will gain weight. Simple enough and well documented.

Many overweight people complain they do not overeat and are exercising but struggle to lose weight – often giving up the fight and easily gaining it back. While doctors have raised the potential link between obesity and celiac disease (or at least that obese people may also have the disease not just thin folks), no one has explained the obesity-celiac process/link well. One month working with my longtime dietician, I lost a few lbs. She trusted me and believed what I was eating and my 20-25 miles a week of mixed-paced walking and other exercise documented on paper. A doctor on another celiac website explained it similarly to Dr. Hoggan – that overweight folks with celiac have bodies that are starving for energy at the cellar level that places them into a low metabolic mode telling their brains, hormones, etc. to eat, eat, eat (feed me!). Dr. Green in his book disappointingly does not handle obesity with celiac disease explanation in this manner and notes obese celiac disease folks have enough of good small intestinal villi with atrophied - flattened that they can absorb nutrients that then make them fat. I prefer to lean towards the former theory or perhaps a combination of both.

I have a personal story that reads like Ms. Celiac – and explains much of my family's issues as well. I refused testing for celiac last year after complaining to my doctor about widespread joint pain when eating anything with added gluten - figuring I would just stay away from it. I was ignorant at the time of all the ramifications of celiac disease. Still, I am a bad patient who went gluten free before being tested after an uptick in symptoms – including GI ones. The result? I have never felt better in my live, and the nutritional and exercise program that lead to just 20 lbs off in 2 years is now more effective, and the weight is coming off (the discovery of a gluten free bakery's goodies put me temporarily off track!). On a program of good healthy protein, gluten free, low fat, and sugar free foods, I am no longer hungry all the time (even forgetting to eat at times until I look at the clock). I eat slower and am full faster. Spirits up, energy up, clearer thinking, no joint pains, bowels normal - thought all my life I was normal in this regard but apparently not, other odd issues improved as well.

I do believe celiac or related gluten issues may indeed as Dr. Green notes be a hidden epidemic and that more obese folks with inflammatory-based diseases need to be tested as they may finally be able to do what they were doing all along to lose weight but the gluten was metabolically prohibiting success.

I lost weight after celiac diagnosis. I felt it was primarily due to feeling so much better and having the energy to engage in physical work again.

I also think that having to be careful about snacking and passing up most of the samples at Costco cuts down on calories.

If everybody asks Costco in their suggestion box to have gluten free bread maybe they would start carrying it.

I believe Dr. O'Connell was treated fairly. If you are going to make such bold statements in a public arena, you should be prepared for any responses that might contradict you, ready to back them up with the appropriate data.

 

Perhaps most of those with true celiac disease indeed gain weight after going gluten-free. But those with gluten-sensitivity, like my husband, myself, and a dear friend of mine, all lost a tremendous amount of weight after going gluten-free, not to mention a disappearance of lifetime gastrointestinal illness, arthritis-like pain and skin conditions. The wheat industry and it's lobbyists can try to persuade the Purveyors of Higher Learning to discredit the notion all they want, but it's becoming undeniable by the overwhelming anecdotal evidence that something is terribly wrong with today's wheat. When everyone in the city is sick and gets well after they stop drinking the water, is anyone going to believe the Town Crier who insists the well is pure?

With the revolution of genetics in the food industry, it was just a matter of time before someone finally said out loud, "What are we doing to the human body by using this radically changed wheat grain in our food?" Well, more people are getting sick! After the initial trigger of double pneumonia, my celiac disease was "turned on" causing a one week weight loss of 11 pounds. Since going “gluten free†in 2004, (which really is impossible to do when so many products may use one of the 3 confirmed glutens wheat, barley & rye, that are coming from countries that neglect to inform and/or print ALL of the ingredients in their products despite regulations to the contrary. I had gained 38 lbs going gluten free. Then I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia (to go along with the Spinal Stenosis that I was diagnosed in 2003), the following year so exercising to lose weight became a mote point. Watching my "diet" is an exercise in futility . I can usually expect to be "sick" at least once a month despite due diligence to my diet. And yes I do lose weight during these attacks but my system takes a tremendous hit. And then I gain it back. I greatly fear that may develop "Lymphoma" as my younger sister did and died in 1990 at age 34. My family now believes she had un-diagnosed celiac disease.

So to those of you trying to lose weight by going on a gluten free diet, good for you. Should you develop celiac disease or sensitivity down the road, at least you had a head start. Good Luck!

I too am losing weight after going gluten free. Because of the positive changes that I have seen in my body (I'm 41 and finally have soft, shiny hair, joint pain is gone, muscle weakness gone, no more bleeding gums, no more pasty complexion, no fogginess, especially after eating, more energy than I have ever had in my life, no more congestion, no more curled up hands and feet, no more cravings, and constantly feeling hungry, the list goes on...) I believe that my constant hunger was due to malnutrition from gluten, and not from my thyroid disorder as I had previously thought. I don't feel hungry all the time anymore! It's been nearly a month since going gluten free and I feel like I have my life back. Honestly, the pain and other symptoms were so bad before I wondered what the point was to living a life like this. Now, I'm losing about 1 pound every three days, and I'm eating great! I'm just not constantly eating the junk I was craving before. So, indirectly by causing malnourishment, gluten certainly does contribute to weight issues.

I was underweight my whole life, eating gluten free is helping me from fading away. My metabolism is way too fast. I can't gain weight on a gluten or gluten free diet. There may be other issues but thank you Dr. Hoggan for reiterating the facts for us. Everyone is different, it does depend on their genetic history, pathologies that they are facing and the current type of food that they are incorporating in their diet that is "gluten free".

The rating is for Dr. Hoggan