The other portion to the problem is they don't do studies on relatively healthy people to determine if something makes them healthier. They wouldn't even know where to start. They need a symptom to even begin with. Doing something to cultivate health is different than doing it to alleviate a physiological adaptive state. The evidence against gluten for relatively healthy people is biochemical and physiological rather than full on clinical trials http://robbwolf.com/2011/01/12/hey-robb-this-person-said-gluten-free-diets-are-bogus/

In the past year (since being diagnosed with celiac disease) I've been searching for why cutting wheat/gluten-grains may not be healthy. Nutritionists' and dietitians' articles don't usually mention specifics, and most seem to just rail against gluten-free diets as a "fad", rather than addressing what may actually be unhealthy about them.

So in my searching, I've found two reasons why not eating wheat could potentially make someone less healthy. One is that it contains prebiotics that help bacteria in our guts thrive. This is easy to find in other foods, though. If you don't have a bacterial overgrowth problem, and you go gluten free, you could get these prebiotics from onions, mushrooms, apples, and/or oranges (or some other source of prebiotics: these are just the most common). The second is that wheat is one of the main sources of betaine, which we need for one of two pathways to convert homocysteine back to methionine in the methylation cycle. The other main sources are spinach and quinoa (though it may not be digestible from quinoa). So if you cut out wheat, it's probably a good idea to get some spinach in your diet.

So those are the only benefits I could find for eating wheat, and they're easy to get around.

As for the benefits of NOT eating gluten/wheat: I suspect that the 30-some-odd percent of people with the celiac genes (HLA DQ2.5, DQ2.2) have some sort of immune response to gluten when they eat it, though for most people it's subclinical. Some of the research suggests that gluten causes a zonulin response in everyone, but most people have something that closes the tight junctions before it causes diarrhea. So that suggests that gluten isn't good for anyone. I haven't come across any definitive research, though.

"published literature on the health benefits of gluten-free diets for people without celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or autoimmune disorders."

The key is in that quote right there. Of course there's not going to be any benefits to going gluten-free for someone who has no sensitivity to gluten. The point is that there are a whole lot more people who are sensitive to gluten than realized or that test positive for celiac.

The absence of a study proves nothing. One could make this claim about anything unstudied. However, we should take care in drawing conclusions about or critiquing research based on a press release about research without actually reading the research, which the linked article seems not to provide. Does he address those cultures that have had an historically, naturally gluten-free diet, versus substituting new gluten-free analogs for conventional wheat-based ones?

Also, the linked article suggests he claims the gluten-free product industry is based an a false premise, whereas I view its basis as a well-established valid premise: that industry will provide what consumers demand. Upon what valid premise does the food industry base production of donuts and soda?

I have a study that refutes it. Me. Struggled to break 200 lbs while eating SAD halthy And running 50 miles a week. 165 after cutting out wheat. I was already low sugar, the baddest change was gluten and PUFA oils.

Why do you need studies? Grains are neolithic, not part of our evolutionary diet, and therefore potential candidates for being agents of disease.

Paleo = eating the food that you evolved eating. Simples.

So I know my judgement is skewed because I am celiac (& obviously gluten free!).

However, I know very FEW people without joint pain, acne, ADHD, skin issues, diarrhea, an autoimmune disease, diabetes, pre-diabetes, obesity, or another ailment.

There was an interesting quote about how most people don't know how good their body is designed to feel.

I can handle eating the other grains (like rice). However, when I eat them, I feel the sugar crash later in the day. Even if grains do not cause any autoimmune or other ailment directly from gluten, the negative effects on blood sugar are enough to deter me from eating them.

One holistic vet described her theory to me. She said that you should eat a diet rich in nutrients (meat, vegetables, healthy fats) and low sugar as a basis. Then, add in (Nutrient rich!) fruit and other unprocessed carbohydrate sources (potatoes, etc) to maintain your weight.

It makes sense to me, even if I weren't celiac.

Honestly, I do think Dr. Davis who wrote "Wheat Belly" gave some damn good information on this topic!

Whether or not there is scientific evidence, there is a ton of anecdotal evidence. I know that eating more than a few bites of a gluten-heavy food, I have a lot of symptoms. With no/low gluten, the symptoms are gone. That's enough evidence for me.

I haven't done any literature review, but keep in mind that studies have to be funded by someone.

Who would stand to gain if the hypothesis that there are benefits to going gluten free even if you are not celiac and don't have diagnosed gluten sensitivities? Only us, who time after time prove to ourselves that going gluten-free makes a huge difference in our lives. The trouble is, WE don't have a lot of money to fund studies.

Organizations like the American Diabetes Association and the American Heart Association do, but they get their funding from big pharma and big agra businesses who have a vested interest in NOT proving that there are benefits in going gluten free. The companies themselves are certainly NOT going to fund such studies.

And so, the lack of studies. All the anecdotal evidence in the world doesn't add up to a supposedly evidence-based, peer-reviewed study, at least as far as the big interests are concerned. And so, he may be technically correct in that no studies show that there is a benefit to going gluten-free, but we can see that there's a huge piece missing out of that puzzle.

As for the benefits of eating gluten containing products, it's certainly beneficial to Monsanto, Con Agra, drug manufacturers, etc.

" no "published literature on the health benefits of gluten-free diets for people without celiac disease, gluten sensitivity or autoimmune disorders.""

This is just an illogical argument. A lack of evidence, in the absence of proper unbiased hypothesis testing, means absolutely nothing. Hed have to actually mention studies that showed there was no effect, in order for the claim to be in any way persuasive.

Worse, he talks about "for weight loss". I have never heard anyone claim avoiding gluten is good for weight loss. People avoid it for leaky gut, immune issues, inflammation, digestive issues etc, but not weight loss.

I have no idea where they are, but I have seen someone post research linking non-celiac intake of gluten to negative effects. Hopefully whoever it was can pipe, I cant be bothered scouring google scholar.

"Gaesser disclosed that he is the scientific advisory board chairman of the Grain Foods Foundation. As a longtime critic of anti-carbohydrate dieting, he was asked by the foundation to review the scientific literature associated with gluten-free dieting."

Open confession of total bias confounding any of his conclusions. No study this man does, on any of the mentioned topics, or any of the words coming out of his mouth likewise, should go without examination, replication, double blinding, personal critique, peer review, etc.

I once read a study that said there was no evidence to support any benefit to working out.

Of course the "benefit" they were measuring was a persons ability to pat their head and rub their belly at the same time. I have to agree with the study that I didn't see any benefit to working out either. No matter how strong I got I still struggled with patting my head and rubbing my belly at the same time.

The devil is in the details, but it still will never trump N=1.

This article states that going gluten free won't help to lose weight. It is the first time I hear that somebody excludes gluten for weight loss purposes.

I exclude gluten to avoid abdominal cramping, bloating and diarrhea. as this article puts it. Plus to avoid autoimmune conditions - topic that this article omits.