What is the 3x-free diet?
The 3x-free diet involves excluding all products containing gluten, casein (cow’s milk protein) and sugar. This means that the following are forbidden:
- wheat, rye, barley, uncertified oats and all products containing them,
- milk, yoghurt, buttermilk and all dairy products,
- cheese,
- sugar, honey and other sweeteners based on simple carbohydrates, and sometimes high-sugar fruit,
- sweets, all products and drinks containing sugar.
The 3x-free diet can be used with varying degrees of restriction. Some see it as a way of life, others – as a temporary “detox”.
Whom is the 3x-free diet intended for?
The main purpose of the 3x-free diet is to support therapy for people with autism spectrum disorders. However, this is not a method officially recognised by experts. The potential effect of the 3x-free diet is based on the fact that a significant proportion (up to 47%) of people on the autism spectrum (ASD) may have intestinal and gastrointestinal problems. However, their link to ASD is unclear, and studies do not officially confirm the existence of a relationship between gastrointestinal problems and the severity of symptoms associated with the autism spectrum. The 3x-free diet is therefore not officially recommended for the treatment of autism disorders and is considered by the medical community as an alternative diet. It is not recommended without specific indications, such as casein allergy or celiac disease.
The 3x-free diet is also used as an alternative to an elemental or hypoallergenic diet. The fact is that dairy products and grains (strictly forbidden in the 3x-free diet) are common allergens and can also cause intolerances. When various non-specific symptoms are present, but the underlying cause is unknown, some people choose to follow the 3x-free diet.
If the trigger for allergy and/or intolerance symptoms was cow’s milk and/or wheat, the 3x-free diet will obviously help avoid symptoms. However, its use on your own (without consulting the attending physician or dietitian) is not recommended due to problems with subsequent diagnosis and exposure to deficiencies.
Does the 3x-free diet “seal the gut”?
The gluten-, dairy- and sugar-free diet has also gained popularity for its purported “gut-sealing” effect. In fact, the topic of “leaky gut syndrome” is increasingly being addressed in scientific papers. However, scientists argue that the potential “unsealing of the intestinal barrier” is most influenced on the nutrition side by the so-called Western diet, rich in fat and simple sugars, and a deficiency in dietary fibre. The 3x-free diet has no proven efficacy in improving the tightness of the intestinal barrier, and its only positive element in this context is the elimination of sugar.
The 3x-free diet as a way to treat other ailments
The 3x-free diet is also promoted as a way to feel better and treat a variety of health problems – from acne to intestinal problems to joint pain. Some people conduct a time-limited detox without sugar, gluten and dairy in order to feel better or to deal with a variety of health problems.
The following properties are most often attributed to the 3x-free diet:
- anti-inflammatory effects,
- helping to get rid of acne,
- “gut sealing”,
- “antifungal effects”,
- “body detox”.
Excluding sugar from the diet will actually be healthy for most people. It can help you lose weight, but it will also have an anti-inflammatory effect, which can improve your complexion, reduce joint pain, and generally make you feel better, for example. Most people will benefit from following a sugar-free diet.
Exclusion of gluten from the diet without health indications to remove gluten from the menu is not recommended. There is no evidence that a gluten-free diet is healthier than a well-balanced varied diet that also includes gluten proteins. The fact is that if your menu has so far often featured refined sources of carbohydrates, such as white bread, white pasta or white flour products, rejecting these can result in an improved diet and better well-being. However, this does not mean that the gluten-free diet alone has had a positive effect, much less the 3x-free diet.
Excluding milk from the diet can be done with health benefits or with neutral health effects. The 3x-free diet usually excludes casein and/or lactose, which means that dairy must be given up. Dairy products can be part of a healthy diet, but they are not necessary in it. To ensure that the exclusion of dairy does not cause health complications, however, it is necessary to replace it with calcium-rich products, such as calcium-fortified plant-based drinks and seeds and grains.
It is worth noting that there is no scientific evidence of efficacy of the 3x-free diet in healthy individuals. Dietitians and doctors do not recommend healthy people to use it.
What are the downsides of the 3x-free diet?
The 3x-free diet is a very restrictive diet. Excluding any nutrient carries the risk of potential nutritional deficiencies. The exclusion of three very common ingredients significantly limits the range of allowed products and the possibilities for composing meals. Of course, it is possible to balance the 3x-free diet so that it contains all the necessary micro- and macronutrients, but it is difficult, and intuitive eating in this case may not enable you to meet your nutritional needs.
In a diet without milk and gluten, there is a risk of deficiencies of the following elements:
- calcium,
- iron,
- B vitamins,
- magnesium,
- fibre.
Balancing the 3x-free diet is possible, but may require consultation with a dietitian and their supervision of the menu.
The 3x-free diet and diagnostic difficulties
For years, doctors have warned against following a gluten-free diet without first testing and confirming health problems. The 3x-free diet is an even more restrictive variant of the gluten-free diet, so it is even less advisable without prior diagnosis.
Food exclusions and any elimination diet used on its own can create difficulties in diagnosing the root cause of the problem. For example, some tests that diagnose celiac disease in people with the disease can give a false negative result (indicating that there is no disease) when gluten is excluded from the diet beforehand.
Confirmation of existing allergies should also be done with the cooperation of the attending physician. The disappearance of symptoms after switching to a dairy-free or wheat-free diet does not mean confirmation of an allergy or even intolerance to the product.
The 3x-free diet, therefore, makes it difficult to diagnose disorders and diseases, which can lead to a situation where you feel better on the diet, but without exact confirmation of why the improvement occurred.
Example: A person unaware of their celiac disease goes on the 3x-free diet. They feel better after it (because they have excluded gluten, which is toxic for people with celiac disease), so they decide it is worth doing a deeper diagnosis and seeing a doctor. The doctor recommends switching to a no-elimination diet to carry out the diagnosis according to the protocol. A few days after returning to the classical diet, the bothersome symptoms return. The person in question rejects the idea of diagnosing themselves and decides that they will simply follow a gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free diet, because these harm them. In fact, it is only gluten that is toxic to the person, and eliminating milk is unnecessary, hinders functioning and exposes the person to additional deficiencies.
Who should really go on the 3x-free diet?
The 3x-free diet is recommended only for people with specific reasons to exclude gluten and dairy from the menu. Exclusion (or rather, limiting) of added sugar is recommended for everyone. If a person suffered from both celiac disease and a casein allergy, it would indeed be necessary to exclude gluten and dairy from the menu at the same time. Confirmed by specialists, celiac disease and allergy to milk and/or wheat proteins is therefore the only case in which the 3x-free diet is actually justified.
What are the alternatives to the 3x-free diet?
Want to take advantage of the benefits cited by proponents of the 3x-free diet, but don’t want to implement such a restrictive dietary model? Here are some general tips that may work:
Instead of excluding gluten, limit your intake of wheat, especially refined wheat products. Just swapping wheat bread for wholemeal rye one will lower the glycaemic load of meals and have an anti-inflammatory effect. Use a variety of healthy groats, such as buckwheat groats, as well as other healthy substitutes for wheat.
Swap milk for calcium-fortified plant-based drinks. The so-called “plant-based milk” can perfectly replace animal milk in the diet without losing valuable macronutrients. Be sure to choose plant-based beverages fortified with calcium, and if you want macronutrient distribution most similar to the composition of the original milk, go for soy milk.
Limit your intake of fatty dairy products. Cheese, full-fat milk and fatty dairy products are sources of saturated fatty acids, which should be limited for health. If you are considering limiting dairy, start with these very products, and choose fermented dairy for your diet, which contains many healthy probiotics.
Exclude sugar for health. In the 3x-free diet, the sugar-free rule makes the most sense. Most Poles would definitely benefit from limiting, or preferably completely excluding, added sugars from their diets. According to the guidelines and recommendations of official nutrition societies, added sugar can account for a maximum of 10% of daily calorie intake.
How to compose the 3x-free diet?
Diets that exclude dairy, gluten and sugar at the same time can make it difficult to compose menus. Here are two tips to help you compose the 3x-free diet:
Use unprocessed, naturally dairy-free and gluten-free products such as vegetables, fruit, eggs, meat, fish. The less processed the product, the less chance that additional sugar, flour or milk has been added to it.
Learn about the crossed green ear sign (indicating gluten-free products) and the V-label (indicating vegan products). They will make it easier for you to search for gluten-free and dairy-free products on market shelves.
A sample 3x-free meal plan
Below you will find a sample daily menu for a gluten-free, sugar-free and dairy-free diet. The proportions of ingredients should be adjusted according to individual requirements and needs.
Breakfast: shakshouka with grain bread
- eggs fried on tomatoes sautéed with onions and spices,
- gluten-free grain bread,
- black cumin seed sprinkles,
- green parsley.
Brunch: chia pudding with pomegranate and mango
- chia seeds in pudding form on soy beverage,
- a handful of pomegranate seeds,
- a handful of cashew nuts,
- half a mango.
Lunch: baked salmon with buckwheat groats and carrot salad
- a serving of baked salmon with herbs,
- cooked gluten-free buckwheat groats,
- grated carrots topped with olive oil,
- sprinkles of chives and sesame seeds.
Afternoon tea: rice waffles with peanut butter and banana
- gluten-free rice waffles,
- gluten-free peanut butter,
- banana slices.
Dinner: salad with beetroot and grilled tofu
- a cooked serving of quinoa,
- 2 cooked beets,
- arugula,
- grilled smoked tofu,
- pumpkin seeds,
- fresh cucumber.
References:
- Lord C., Elsabbagh M., Baird, G., Veenstra-Vanderweele J., (2018) Autism spectrum disorder, The Lancet, 392(10146), 508–520. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(18)31129-2.
- Kreutz J. M., Adriaanse M. P. M., van der Ploeg E. M. C., Vreugdenhil A. C. E., Narrative Review: Nutrient Deficiencies in Adults and Children with Treated and Untreated Celiac Disease, Nutrients. 2020 Feb 15;12(2):500. doi: 10.3390/nu12020500. PMID: 32075276; PMCID: PMC7071237.
- Aleman R. S., Moncada M., Aryana K. J. Leaky Gut and the Ingredients That Help Treat It: A Review, Molecules. 2023 Jan 7;28(2):619. doi: 10.3390/molecules28020619. PMID: 36677677; PMCID: PMC9862683.