The gluten-free food diet has been one of the major lifestyle trends that have captured the attention of many people. While many practitioners of the diet are ready to reveal the many health benefits of the diet, others, more critic of this diet, point out how unnecessary it is when you don’t have the Celiac disease.
However, a new study reveals that the gluten-free food diet may be just more than unnecessary, it can also be dangerous. The researchers have found that food lacking in gluten may also contain higher levels of toxic metals, which pose a high risk to your health.
The researchers revealed their findings in a new study published in the journal Epidemiology. It reveals that people who eat more gluten-free food may have an increased risk of exposure to high levels of mercury and arsenic, two toxic metal which can lead to cancer, various cardiovascular diseases as well as neurological conditions.
If you somehow are not familiar with the gluten-free food lifestyle, then you should know that it became popular after the misconception that gluten has negative health effects and should be avoided by all, not just those suffering from the celiac disease. This particular condition makes gluten, proteins found in various cereals like wheat, grain, rye, and barley to cause damage to the lining of the small intestine and prevent nutrients from being absorbed by your body.
Overall, less than one percent of all Americans suffer from the autoimmune disease. Despite this fact, gluten-free food has seen a 67 percent increase in 2015 from previous years, due to the fact that many people proclaim health benefits which were not proven by any scientific studies.
The new study reveals that rice flour used a substitute for wheat, can accumulate toxic metals from the water, soil, and fertilizer. Researchers from the University of Illinois, Chicago, used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. They found 73 from 7,500 participants who had a link between gluten-free food and biomarkers for toxic metals in their blood and urine.
Mercury levels were 70 percent higher in people who practice the gluten-free diet compared to those who had regular diets, while arsenic levels were twice as high as normal.
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