Top Myths Overheard About Celiac Disease
Those who suffer from celiac disease are skinny
In contrary to the common belief, the vast majority of those suffering from celiac disease are overweight; this is especially true for the US and the European countries. In one such study, it was demonstrated that almost 40% of patients coming to a gastroenterologist with celiac disease were overweight; for comparison just 5% were underweight. It has been also noticed that classical signs of celiac disease like diarrhea and malnutrition are mostly present in underweight patients. Further after the diagnosis and switching to gluten free diet, many of the overweight patients continue to gain weight(6).
Gluten free diet is good for losing weight
There is no connection between the gluten free diet and losing weight. To lose weight one must decrease the calorie intake and increase the energy expenditure (usually by physical exercise). Gluten free diet can have a similar number of calories as that of usual diet. In fact, some of the gluten free food items may have more calories, due to added sugars and fats to compensate for the gluten and provide the needed texture to the gluten free food.
