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Celebrity

25th Aug 2015

Rosanna Davison Responds To Online Backlash Over Gluten Claims

Celebrities have weighed in on the situation.

Megan Cassidy

Rosanna Davison has released a statement on her website following a slew of online backlash over her newspaper column.

The former Miss World sparked controversy this week when she penned a piece claiming that gluten is “responsible for a huge range of medical conditions from autism spectrum disorders to schizophrenia to arthritis”.

ASCHAFFENBURG, GERMANY - SEPTEMBER 06: Model Rosanna Davidson poses on the red carbet for the dance gala performance 'Night Of The Stars 2014' on September 6, 2014 in Aschaffenburg, Germany. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes/Getty Images)
Rosanna is a qualified nutritionist.

The model and nutritionist went on to say that her husband ditched gluten in a bid to cure his rheumatoid arthritis.

Online readers were quick to respond to the claims, including Arthritis Ireland who tweeted: “There is no evidence to suggest that the serious auto-immune disease of #RA can be managed through a gluten free diet.”

DUBLIN, IRELAND - FEBRUARY 17: Wesley Quirke (L) and his girlfriend former Miss World Rosanna Davison arrive at The Academy for the Jameson Dublin International Film Festival on February 17, 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Phillip Massey/FilmMagic)
Rosanna’s husband Wesley suffers from arthritis. 

One reader tweeted: “So disappointed in Rosanna Davison trying to cite studies that claim gluten causes autism.”

RTE journalist Philip Boucher-Hayes wrote: “This is dangerous nonsense from Rosanna Davison with real world implications for people’s health and wallets.”

Even Channel 4 Embarrassing Bodies’ Dr. Christian Jessen weighed in on the claims, branding the piece “idiotically irresponsible”.

In the statement posted to her website, the 31-year-old said:

“Firstly, I completely agree with Arthritis Ireland, in that those who have been diagnosed with RA must manage their disease with the advice of their GP and consultant, and not through diet alone.

“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.

“Arthritis in all of its forms is a serious and debilitating disease, and sharing my personal story was the intention, not to create any sense of false hope for sufferers or state that a change in diet is all that is needed to cure a disease.”