Going gluten-free? There may be a downside to skipping heart-healthy grains
Gluten-free may be all the rage, but it may bring unnecessary risks if you don't have celiac disease.
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Looking to trim your waistline or boost your health by adopting a gluten-free diet? You may want to think twice before you give up the grain. A study in the April issue of The BMJ suggests that a gluten-free diet — in people who don't have a medical reason to be on one — might unnecessarily raise your risk of heart disease if it means forgoing heart-healthy whole grains.
"If a woman is thinking about starting a gluten-free diet to lose weight or prevent heart disease, it might not be the best option," says Dr. Andrew Chan, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and one of the study's authors.
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