What is gluten? How is it related to PCOS? And is it truly easier to lose weight if we cut it out?
So often women with PCOS are told to follow a gluten-free diet to manage their symptoms. Sounds simple enough, right? Turns out it’s not that simple (nothing ever is)!
So, if you’re trying to figure out whether or not there is any evidence behind this claim and if it’s truly worth the effort, then read on!
What is gluten?
Gluten is a protein naturally found in many different types of wheats, rye and barley. Its most commonly found in foods such as:
- Breads
- Pastas
- Cereals
- Baked goods
But also in lesser know foods such as:
- Sauces
- Marinades
When we consume foods with gluten our bodies can not fully digest or break it down. We end up with undigested gluten entering into our small intestines.
For most of us, we can handle the undigested gluten just fine. However, there are a subset of people who experience a severe autoimmune response due to the presence of gluten in their gut.
Why is everyone going gluten-free?
In recent years there has been a boom in research looking at gluten related disorders, like celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. For some, removing gluten from your diet is a necessity, but for others it has become a lifestyle.
This is in large part due to claims by fad health coaches that going gluten free leads to weight loss. This claim is especially pedaled to the PCOS community.
Who may benefit from a gluten-free diet?
There’s a lot of debate in the nutrition community whether gluten is inflammatory or not. There is a correlation between a high gluten diet and increased inflammation. But it’s not as simple as that.
We need to take into account that a lot of the gluten we ingest is not naturally found in the foods we eat, rather it is added to a lot of processed foods for texture. So the question remains, is gluten itself inflammatory, or the addition of it to processed foods?
Ultimately those with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity will notice a benefit from cutting out gluten. This is because gluten causes a severe autoimmune response in these individuals.
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that can lead to severe health outcomes and intestinal damage if left untreated. It’s pretty rare to come across, with only 1% of the population being diagnosed with it. People with celiac disease must remove all gluten from their diet.
Gluten sensitivity is more common in the general public and includes symptoms such as:
- Feeling fatigued all the time
- Brain fog
- Joint pain
- Diarrhea
- Bloating
Gluten, PCOS and weight loss, is there a connection?
As I mentioned earlier, some people believe that gluten itself is inflammatory, and for that reason you’ll find health coaches pushing this idea that women with PCOS should cut out all gluten.
They say this because low-grade chronic inflammation is one of the root causes or drivers of PCOS symptoms. The problem here is that gluten is only inflammatory to those who have a gluten sensitivity.
Does that mean there’s no benefit to it at all? Not exactly…
There is a correlation in the general population between going gluten-free and losing weight. This is mainly due to the fact that you have to cut out most processed foods (which are usually high in calories and low in nutrition) when you cut out gluten.
If you’re familiar with PCOS, you will know that weight-loss does help relieve many PCOS symptoms.
Another reason women with PCOS notice a relief of symptoms when going gluten-free, is that a lot of products that contain added gluten are high in sugar and refined carbs. Both of which cause havoc on blood-sugar and worsen PCOS symptoms.
However, in recent years, you’ll notice that there has been a boom in selling “gluten-free” snacks and processed foods. As a result, we are starting to see a decline in the association between weight-loss and a gluten-free diet.
Final thoughts
Gluten is a protein naturally found in a variety of different grains. People with Celiac disease have a severe autoimmune response to gluten, while those with gluten sensitivity experience a number of symptoms (i’ve included a symptom checklist above).
Women with PCOS are often told that gluten will worsen PCOS symptoms by worsening inflammation, but there is simply no evidence to back this up.
Some women with PCOS will notice an improvement in symptoms and even experience weight loss when they try a gluten-free diet. This is not because of the removal of gluten, but because so many of the foods they cut out are high in sugar and refined carbs.
To learn more about how you can reverse PCOS symptoms through diet and lifestyle book a free discovery call with the OnlinePCOSNutritionist today!