In a survey of 1,000 people in the United States and Canada who purchased gluten-free groceries — conducted by the food and beverage ingredient supplier Ingredion — 46 percent said they bought those products for reasons other than a medical condition. Among their top motivations: wanting to reduce inflammation or consume fewer artificial ingredients, believing that gluten-free products were healthier or more natural, and thinking that such products would help with weight loss.
However, none of these beliefs are true, said Anne R. Lee, a registered dietitian and an assistant professor of nutritional medicine at the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center. “Typically, the gluten-free products are higher in fat, higher in sugar, higher in salt and lower in fiber and your B vitamins and iron,” she said.