All Aspects of Gluten-Free Diet and Its Use in Children

Gluten-free diet is a nutrition model in which gluten-containing products such as wheat, oat, barley, or rye and foods made from these products are not consumed. While it is used as an essential treatment in diseases such as celiac disease, non-celiac gluten/wheat sensitivity, and wheat allergy, it is also used as a nutritional therapy in some inflammatory bowel diseases, type 1 diabetes, neurological disorders, autism, dermatitis, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular diseases. Considering that gluten has adverse effects on health, the gluten-free nutrition model is applied at a rate of up to 30% in healthy people. While there is a decrease in the intake of fiber, iron, vitamin B1, and folic acid in the gluten-free nutrition model, the fat and calorie content of the products may increase. As a result of the consumption of gluten-free products, changes may occur in the colon, which may negatively affect the activity of bifidobacteria and cause problems in the immune response. Based on previous studies, this review evaluated the effects of using the gluten-free nutrition model in children by considering current sources.