TY - JOUR KW - Humans KW - Cross-Sectional Studies KW - Health Promotion KW - Australia KW - Bread/analysis KW - Celiac Disease/diet therapy KW - Cereals/chemistry KW - Diet, Gluten-Free KW - Food KW - Food Labeling KW - Foods, Specialized KW - Glutens/analysis KW - Nutritive Value AU - Wu J. AU - Trevena H. AU - Crino M. AU - Dunford E. AU - Stuart-Smith W. AU - Faulkner-Hogg K. AU - Louie J. AU - Neal Bruce AB -

Despite tremendous growth in the consumption of gluten-free (GF) foods, there is a lack of evaluation of their nutritional profile and how they compare with non-GF foods. The present study evaluated the nutritional quality of GF and non-GF foods in core food groups, and a wide range of discretionary products in Australian supermarkets. Nutritional information on the Nutrition Information Panel was systematically obtained from all packaged foods at four large supermarkets in Sydney, Australia in 2013. Food products were classified as GF if a GF declaration appeared anywhere on the product packaging, or non-GF if they contained gluten, wheat, rye, triticale, barley, oats or spelt. The primary outcome was the 'Health Star Rating' (HSR: lowest score 0.5; optimal score 5), a nutrient profiling scheme endorsed by the Australian Government. Differences in the content of individual nutrients were explored in secondary analyses. A total of 3213 food products across ten food categories were included. On average, GF plain dry pasta scored nearly 0.5 stars less (P< 0.001) compared with non-GF products; however, there were no significant differences in the mean HSR for breads or ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (P>/= 0.42 for both). Relative to non-GF foods, GF products had consistently lower average protein content across all the three core food groups, in particular for pasta and breads (52 and 32% less, P< 0.001 for both). A substantial proportion of foods in discretionary categories carried GF labels (e.g., 87% of processed meats), and the average HSR of GF discretionary foods were not systematically superior to those of non-GF products. The consumption of GF products is unlikely to confer health benefits, unless there is clear evidence of gluten intolerance.

AD - The George Institute for Global Health, Sydney Medical School, University of Sydney,Level 10, King George V Building, 83-117 Missenden Road, Camperdown,Sydney,NSW2050,Australia.
Discipline of Nutrition and Metabolism, School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney,New South Wales,Australia.
Allergy Unit, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown and Food4me Private Practice,New South Wales,Australia. AN - 26119206 BT - British Journal of Nutrition DP - NLM ET - 2015/06/30 LA - eng LB - FP
AUS
FY16 M1 - 3 N1 - Wu, Jason H Y
Neal, Bruce
Trevena, Helen
Crino, Michelle
Stuart-Smith, Wendy
Faulkner-Hogg, Kim
Yu Louie, Jimmy Chun
Dunford, Elizabeth
APP100311/PHS HHS/United States
APP1041020/PHS HHS/United States
APP1052555/PHS HHS/United States
DP100100295/DP/NCCDPHP CDC HHS/United States
Comparative Study
Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
England
Br J Nutr. 2015 Aug 14;114(3):448-54. doi: 10.1017/S0007114515002056. Epub 2015 Jun 29. N2 -

Despite tremendous growth in the consumption of gluten-free (GF) foods, there is a lack of evaluation of their nutritional profile and how they compare with non-GF foods. The present study evaluated the nutritional quality of GF and non-GF foods in core food groups, and a wide range of discretionary products in Australian supermarkets. Nutritional information on the Nutrition Information Panel was systematically obtained from all packaged foods at four large supermarkets in Sydney, Australia in 2013. Food products were classified as GF if a GF declaration appeared anywhere on the product packaging, or non-GF if they contained gluten, wheat, rye, triticale, barley, oats or spelt. The primary outcome was the 'Health Star Rating' (HSR: lowest score 0.5; optimal score 5), a nutrient profiling scheme endorsed by the Australian Government. Differences in the content of individual nutrients were explored in secondary analyses. A total of 3213 food products across ten food categories were included. On average, GF plain dry pasta scored nearly 0.5 stars less (P< 0.001) compared with non-GF products; however, there were no significant differences in the mean HSR for breads or ready-to-eat breakfast cereals (P>/= 0.42 for both). Relative to non-GF foods, GF products had consistently lower average protein content across all the three core food groups, in particular for pasta and breads (52 and 32% less, P< 0.001 for both). A substantial proportion of foods in discretionary categories carried GF labels (e.g., 87% of processed meats), and the average HSR of GF discretionary foods were not systematically superior to those of non-GF products. The consumption of GF products is unlikely to confer health benefits, unless there is clear evidence of gluten intolerance.

PY - 2015 SN - 1475-2662 (Electronic)
0007-1145 (Linking) SP - 448 EP - 54 T2 - British Journal of Nutrition TI - Are gluten-free foods healthier than non-gluten-free foods? An evaluation of supermarket products in Australia VL - 114 Y2 - FY16 ER -