High Gluten Intake Isn't Associated with Excess Risk for Coronary Heart Disease

In people with celiac disease, the gluten found in barley, rye, and wheat triggers an inflammatory response. Some studies have suggested that celiac disease might be associated with excess risk for coronary heart disease (CHD), but whether gluten intake itself is associated with CHD is unknown. Researchers evaluated associations between long-term gluten intake and risk for CHD (fatal or nonfatal myocardial infarction) among 65,000 women in the Nurses' Health Study and 45,000 men in the Health Professionals Follow-up Study without CHD or celiac disease at baseline.

Gluten intake was estimated from food questionnaires that were completed every 4 years between 1986 and 2010. During 26 years of follow-up, participants in the lowest quintile of g…