People who do not have coeliac disease should not be encouraged to eat a gluten-free diet because a low intake of “heart healthy” whole grains can increase the risk of poor cardiovascular health, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).

A number of people have adopted a gluten-free diet because of a belief that gluten can have harmful health effects. In fact, it is coeliac disease itself that is linked to an increased risk of coronary heart disease, which is reduced after treatment with
a gluten-free diet. 

The BMJ study suggested that in people who do not have coeliac disease, restricting dietary gluten could result in a low intake of whole grains, which are thought to be beneficial to heart health. 

The researchers concluded that their findings “do not support the promotion of a gluten-restricted diet with a goal of reducing coronary heart disease risk”.