"Leaky gut" is everywhere on social media, and gluten is often named as the culprit. The real story is more interesting – and more nuanced. Here is what researchers actually know about gluten and the gut barrier, who it matters most for, and why we chose to make every one of our pastas 100% gluten-free.
Your gut barrier in one minute
The inside of your intestine is lined with a single layer of cells, held together by structures called tight junctions. This lining has a tricky job: it must let nutrients and water through, while keeping bacteria, toxins and undigested food particles out. When the junctions loosen, the barrier becomes more permeable – this is what scientists call increased intestinal permeability, and what the internet calls "leaky gut".
It is important to say clearly: "leaky gut syndrome" is not a recognised medical diagnosis. Increased intestinal permeability is real and measurable, and it is seen in several conditions, but researchers are still working out whether it is a cause, a consequence or simply a companion of those conditions.
Where gluten comes in: the zonulin story
Gluten is a group of proteins found in wheat, barley and rye. One of its components, gliadin, is unusually resistant to digestion. In the early 2000s, Professor Alessio Fasano and his team showed that gliadin can trigger the release of zonulin, a protein that loosens the tight junctions between gut cells.
- In people with coeliac disease – an autoimmune condition affecting around 1 in 100 people – this effect is strong and lasting, and it is part of how the disease damages the gut.
- In people with non-coeliac gluten sensitivity, studies on intestinal tissue have also shown increased permeability when exposed to gliadin.
- In laboratory studies, gliadin caused a temporary increase in permeability even in tissue from people without coeliac disease – but in healthy people this appears to be short-lived, and there is no good evidence that gluten harms the gut of healthy people in everyday diets.
So the honest summary: for people with coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity, avoiding gluten is essential or genuinely helpful. For everyone else, going gluten-free is a matter of choice and variety, not a medical necessity.
Why "free from cross-contamination" matters
For people with coeliac disease, even small traces of gluten can cause harm. That is why the EU only allows foods to be labelled "gluten-free" if they contain no more than 20 mg of gluten per kilogram. Many gluten-free products are made on shared lines with wheat, which makes this hard to guarantee.
We took a different route: our pastas are made from our own flours in our dedicated gluten-free plant, where wheat, barley and rye never enter. No gluten, no eggs, no corn and no soy – just millet, sorghum, buckwheat, quinoa and legumes.
What actually supports a happy gut
Whether or not you need to avoid gluten, the habits with the best evidence for gut health are refreshingly simple:
- Eat plenty of fibre – fibre feeds the beneficial bacteria in your gut, which produce short-chain fatty acids that nourish the cells of the gut lining. Our pastas contain psyllium husk, and our legume pastas are naturally rich in fibre.
- Eat a variety of plants – different plants feed different bacteria. Mixing grains, legumes, vegetables, nuts and seeds is one of the easiest ways to diversify your diet.
- Include fermented foods – yoghurt, kefir, sauerkraut or kimchi can add friendly microbes.
- Go easy on ultra-processed foods and alcohol, and look after your sleep and stress – all of them affect the gut.
A bowl of gluten-free pasta with vegetables, chickpeas, seeds and a drizzle of olive oil ticks several of these boxes at once.
When to talk to a doctor
If you regularly have bloating, pain, diarrhoea, fatigue or other symptoms after eating, please don't self-diagnose. Get tested for coeliac disease before you cut out gluten – the tests only work reliably while gluten is still in your diet.
Gluten-free, without compromise
Our pastas cook in just 2–4 minutes and keep their texture, so going gluten-free never has to mean going without. Discover the full gluten-free pasta range.
This article is for general information only and is not medical advice. It does not replace diagnosis or treatment by a doctor or a registered dietitian.
Sources
- Fasano A. Zonulin and its regulation of intestinal barrier function: the biological door to inflammation, autoimmunity, and cancer. Physiol Rev. 2011;91(1):151–175.
- Drago S, El Asmar R, Di Pierro M, et al. Gliadin, zonulin and gut permeability: effects on celiac and non-celiac intestinal mucosa and intestinal cell lines. Scand J Gastroenterol. 2006;41(4):408–419.
- Hollon J, Puppa EL, Greenwald B, et al. Effect of gliadin on permeability of intestinal biopsy explants from celiac disease patients and patients with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Nutrients. 2015;7(3):1565–1576.
- Camilleri M. Leaky gut: mechanisms, measurement and clinical implications in humans. Gut. 2019;68(8):1516–1526.
- Singh P, Arora A, Strand TA, et al. Global prevalence of celiac disease: systematic review and meta-analysis. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2018;16(6):823–836.
- Makki K, Deehan EC, Walter J, Bäckhed F. The impact of dietary fiber on gut microbiota in host health and disease. Cell Host Microbe. 2018;23(6):705–715.
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on the requirements for the provision of information to consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food.
