Former Miss World Rosanna Davison has issued a statement responding to the controversy surrounding her remarks on gluten and its role in several medical conditions.
Following an interview in the Irish Independent over the weekend, 31-year-old Davison faced a backlash on social media over comments in which she said cutting gluten from his diet had helped her husband relieve "rheumatoid arthritis in his knuckles and knees", and that gluten plays a role in other conditions such as autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia.
In an interview to promote her new healthy eating book, ‘Eat Yourself Beautiful’ Davison spoke about how she had suffered from skin irritation and come to the conclusion it was a result of gluten in her diet.
“For someone else, a gluten intolerance could manifest itself in their joints or muscles, but for me everything shows in my skin first,” she said.
The remarks were derided on social media, with some labeling them dangerous, with no scientific basis.
Several groups have publicly criticised the comments. Arthritis Ireland said in a tweet that people “should manage their disease with the advice of GP/Consultant & not entirely on diet.”
Addressing this statement in particular, Davison said: “My qualification in Nutritional Therapy from the College of Naturopathic Medicine enables me to advise on a client’s diet and nutritional needs, but always in conjunction with their GP if they’re on medication, have a disease or need to get tests done.”
In a statement released this evening Davison said she was “by no means stating that gluten causes arthritis or any other disease, or that they can be cured by removing it from the diet."
The comments that caused most of the controversy however were on a wider range of issues, with the article stating: “[Rosanna] cites research that shows gluten to be the bad guy responsible for a huge range of medical conditions from autism spectrum disorders to schizophrenia to arthritis”.
The comments attracted sharp criticism, including from host of Channel 4 series Embarrassing Bodies, Dr Christian Jessen, who called the comments in the article: "Monumentally misinformed and idiotically irresponsible."
Monumentally misinformed and idiotically irresponsible. I just hope people are a little wiser than she: https://t.co/gNnGtXFCYA
— Dr Christian Jessen (@DoctorChristian) August 25, 2015
This is dangerous nonsense from Rosanna Davison with real world implications for people's health and wallets. http://t.co/ONPM6OBX2H
— Philip Boucher-Hayes (@boucherhayes) August 25, 2015
http://t.co/ZXgbFglFO3 People with a diagnosis of #RA should manage their disease with the advice of GP/Consult. & not rely entirely on diet
— Arthritis Ireland (@Arthritisie) August 24, 2015
http://t.co/ZXgbFglFO3 There is no evidence to suggest that the serious auto-immune disease of #RA can be managed through a gluten free diet
— Arthritis Ireland (@Arthritisie) August 24, 2015
