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- A study of more than 370 "regular" and gluten-free products marketed to children reveals that gluten-free packaged foods are not healthier , and
- Gluten-free options for kids have less protein and less fat inside, which are two ways to fuel a growing body.
- Like many other processed foods, gluten free options are filled with sugar.
If you regularly change from macaroni to cheese for the gluten-free rice variety, choose gluten-free ice cream instead of ice cream or gluten. If you think it's a healthy breakfast choice, you can change your habits – especially if you're feeding kids.
A new study published in the journal Pediatrics comparing the amount of sugar, fat, salt, and other key ingredients in packaged foods labeled "gluten-free" – or "GF" – to their counterparts charged with gluten, as well as products that have made no claims, and revealed that packaged GF foods are not nutritionally better. In some ways, they are actually worse.
For the study, the authors visited two major Canadian supermarket chains to investigate 374 children's prepared meals. They checked gluten-free options as well as "regular" choices, comparing foods such as pre-packaged breakfasts and side-by-side dinners. (The study's authors excluded junk food such as sweets, chocolate and french fries.)
Remarkably, they discovered that gluten-free packaged foods had all the usual pitfalls of packaged and packaged foods, without any additional benefit. Gluten-free products contained less protein and fat, but almost as much, if not more, sugar.
Food scientist Joaquim Calvo Lerma, who led another recent study on gluten-free foods and achieved similar results, said "As more and more people are following a gluten-free diet to effectively manage celiac disease it is imperative that foods marketed as substitutes be reformulated to ensure that they really have similar nutritional values, "Lerma said in a statement.
"This is especially important for children because a balanced diet is essential for healthy growth and development."
About 1 in 100 children is born with celiac disease, a genetic disease that can cause bowel damage if babies ingest gluten.
But the problem of nutrient-poor and gluten-free foods affects a much larger segment of the population, because many people who do not have celiac disease think they are doing a favor to their health by Choosing Gluten Free
A recent survey of consumers in the state of Washington found that about one in three shoppers chose gluten-free products because they believed that they constituted a healthier alternative. Another 23% do so to lose weight, while only 17% of people who buy gluten-free options are actually sensitive to gluten, allergic to wheat, or have celiac disease. The authors of the pediatric study say that many of these people are deceived by the gluten-free label, which has become a smart marketing tool for food companies, but not a marker of nutritional content. 
General Mills
" Adopting a gluten-free diet, if you have celiac disease, saves your life," said Peter Green, director of the Center for Disease Control. Columbia University's Celiac Disease, at Business Insider.
But he says the same thing is not right for everyone. "There is very little scientific evidence to support the benefit of a gluten-free diet in everything but celiac disease. "
Green says it's common for people who go gluten-free to miss key doses of iron and This is usually not a problem for the rest of the population because many grains are enriched with these ingredients.
"Most gluten-free products are made from rice, corn or potato starch. Marion Groetch, a nutrition and food allergy specialist at the Mount Sinai Icahn School of Medicine, told Reuters in an e-mail that the new study had been published. She said that these products often contain little essential nutrients, such as fiber, but even more sugar.
Not being gluten free does not mean that your health suffers.
"There are many dense, whole, gluten-free grains such as amaranth, millet, quinoa, buckwheat," said Groetch.
So Whether you do not eat gluten or not, it's better to give up packaged products and serve more whole and unprocessed foods to children and yourself.
Join the conversation about this story »[19659009] Now look: What makes people allergic to gluten – and why Caucasians are most at risk
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