Gluten-free – a dangerous trend

According to a study, 41% of 1,500 US athletes surveyed willingly avoid foods containing gluten. The number of diagnosed cases of celiac disease in the USA is just as high as in Germany, for example, at 1%. Between 5-10% of the US population have an intolerance or sensitivity to gluten. This divergence demonstrates some worrying developments that many sporting people are uncritically counting on.
 

RunAustria head coach Johannes Langer explains:

“Gluten-free nutrition has developed from a gluten intolerance, the so-called celiac disease, into a trend. However, the omission of gluten is rather unfavorable for healthy people: Because with the gluten, many also reduce their whole grain consumption. As a result, B vitamins, which protect our heart, are often missing. Dietary fibers from whole grains are also important components for the intestinal flora, regulate intestinal activity and allow the blood sugar level to rise more slowly. Anyone who avoids grain without a medically indicated reason is also depriving the body of important polyamines, such as wheat germ oil. This circumstance is not recommended, especially for physically demanding runners.”

Unqualified self-diagnoses - in the study cited, more than half of the subjects who rely on a gluten-free diet - have been proven to lead to wrong conclusions. While a gluten-free diet is a health imperative for diagnosed celiac disease patients to prevent this autoimmune disease's harmful attacks on the gastrointestinal tract, there is no scientific evidence that a gluten-free diet offers any benefits over a balanced diet. Quite the opposite, because important nutrients are easily left behind. Sufficient carbohydrate nutrition is essential for a healthy, active life and for effective implementation of performance, especially for sporty people. Grains are an established food that people have relied on in their diet for thousands of years.

For many, the switch to a gluten-free diet seems like a move towards healthy eating. But that depends primarily on the comparative diet. In principle, the more balanced the diet, the greater the diversity in the intestinal flora. The more fresh, regional and preferably organically grown food, fruit and vegetables on the diet plan, the more health-promoting a diet is. It is worrying that the trend towards gluten-free nutrition in sports was largely sparked off by idols and role models. Some prominent sports stars and well-known top models swear by gluten-free diets and boast that they feel significantly better and can more easily maintain their weight. The question of whether the diagnosed autoimmune disease celiac disease is responsible for better well-being is rarely asked by the uncritical public. Those about the usefulness of imitation without medical recommendation as well.

Pleasure on the running route and with food:
In a long-standing, close partnership with BioAustria Salzburg the running festivals in the city of Mozart send a strong signal for the quality nutrition of runners. As part of the Salzburg Running Weekend, only high-quality organic delicacies are offered to participants, spectators and employees, the Salzburg Marathon has always been officially certified organic over the past nine years.