Is gluten-free better for diabetics? Yes. If you notice the labels and other related information on various food items available in grocery stores or online stores, you will often encounter gluten-free labels.

Thousands of diabetic patients are perhaps paranoid about eating food items with gluten.

The question that comes to mind is whether people with diabetes should avoid gluten. Let’s find an answer to this and learn more about the meaning and scope of gluten. So that we can better understand gluten-free diets for people with diabetes.

What exactly is Gluten?

For an average person, it would be enough to know that gluten is a type of protein. Gluten is in certain types of grains.

These grains include rye, wheat, and barley. Gluten is not suitable for people with inflammation and other such problems.

This is because gluten is known to cause inflammation in the small intestine. People with celiac disease should avoid gluten.

People with celiac disease who make gluten a part of their daily diet may suffer from various types of symptoms, and these include:

Diarrhea
Abdominal cramps and pain.
Flatulence and gas
Anemia
Joint and knee pain
Muscle pains
Fatigue
Different types of skin problems and conditions.

Hence, celiac disease patients must be careful about gluten in their daily food habits. The question that comes to mind is whether such patients with diabetes should go in for a sugar-free diet.

While avoiding gluten is recommended, avoiding sugar or glucose may not always be possible. Even diabetic patients need energy and should look for high-carb foods with a low Glycemic Index.

Foods with a low glycemic index can help raise blood sugar levels gradually. It prevents sudden and unhealthy spikes in blood sugar levels.

Foods with a low glycemic index take time to absorb and digest, so their sugar levels tend to be lower.

People with diabetes must avoid refined sugars because they have a high glycemic index.

Understanding NCGS (Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity)

Many people also suffer from a condition known as NCGS, which stands for Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity.

Those who suffer from NCGS may not experience the same symptoms associated with Celiac disease.

As mentioned above, celiac disease causes inflammation of the small intestine. However, people suffering from NCGS report gluten intolerance, which is milder.

Those with NCGS should avoid a category of carbohydrates known as FODMAPs, fermentable carbohydrates.

FODMAPs can cause mental and physical problems, leading to depression and incoherent thinking.

Is Gluten-Free Better For Diabetics? Is There A Connection Between Diabetes and Gluten?

Celiac disease impacts perhaps 1 in 100 people, but 10% of type one diabetes also suffer from celiac disease, as per the reports and studies conducted by ADA or the American Diabetes Association.

Hence, researchers believe there could be a link between type one diabetes and celiac disease. It would help if you looked for some biomarkers in the blood that could expose you more to the risk of celiac disease.

These people may also stand a higher chance of being affected by type one diabetes because both conditions have a few things in common.

Celiac disease and type one diabetes lead to inflammation, causing the body to attack its immune system, cells, organs, tissues, pancreas, and intestines.

However, at the same time, we need to understand that researchers have not been able to identify any link between type two diabetes and celiac disease.

Carbohydrates and Gluten

Many high-carb foods are also rich sources of gluten because most of the high-carb foods are grain-based. It is a known fact that high-carb can increase blood sugar.

Therefore if you are a type 1 diabetic patient, you must be careful about the quality and quantity of high-carb foods you consume. While buying grain-based foods, be doubly cautious about the gluten-related labels often found on such food items.

Grain-based foods that you desire should have a gluten-free label. If you don’t find one, you can safely assume these foods contain some gluten.

Gluten is in beer, baked goods, pasta, and snack items. A person with celiac disease, or NCGS, needs only a tiny amount of gluten to develop intolerance, inflammation, and other related problems.

Therefore, such patients should be careful and avoid foods with even small amounts of gluten.

Gluten-Free Flours For Diabetics

So if you have celiac disease or NCGS and type one diabetes, you must look for the proper diabetes-friendly diet. If you look around and research, you can see dozens of such options. We are happy to list a few gluten-free flour and wheat substitutes for the diabetic diet.

Buckwheat
Brown Rice
Corn
Lentils
Navy Beans
Oats
Sorghum
Teff
Quinoa

Many diabetic patients believe switching to a gluten-free diet means they will be away from carbohydrates. I’m afraid that’s not right because several alternatives may be gluten-free and require easy-to-digest and burn carbohydrates.

In other words, these are carbohydrates with a low glycemic index.

However, many gluten-free products contain added or refined sugars. You must be careful about these foods and read the labels carefully.

Look for gluten-free carbohydrates that also have a high content of fiber. This will prevent rapid absorption of the carbs, leading to a sudden spike in blood sugar.

The Final Word

If you are free from NCGS or celiac disease, you do not have a problem. There is no need to follow a gluten-free diet. However, if you have diabetes and celiac disease, you should avoid gluten.

You will avoid inflammation and other related symptoms common in celiac disease and those with type 1 diabetes.