Gluten: What Is It, Why The Hype, And Is It Bad For You?!
In the last few years, along with the healthy eating craze, there has been a huge hype around gluten and gluten-free meals.
But what exactly is gluten? Is it really that bad for you? Is it healthier if you'd avoid it, and could you be allergic to it?
What is Gluten?
Gluten is a protein composite. It's found in many grains, especially in white, rye and barley.
The word gluten actually means "glue" in latin - and that's because gluten has many sticky, glue-like properties.
Gluten is what gives bread or dough it's spongey, chewy texture.
But because of these stabilizing properties, today gluten is not only used in bread, but also many other foods like Ketchup, sauces, gravy or even candy, for example.
Gluten Intolerance (Celiac Disease)
There is actually no food allergy connected to gluten!
There's only an autoimmune reaction called celiac disease, which is an inherited intolerance to gluten.
A food allergy means that the body attacks certain compounds of food as if it was an invader.
But in an autoimmune disorder like celiac disease, the body actually attacks its own tissue thinking that that's the invader.
In the case of gluten this specific tissue are the villi - these are hair-like particles on the walls of the small intestine which normally absorb nutrients from food.
Only 1% of the population actually suffers from celiac disease.
Gluten Sensitivity
Much more common is gluten sensitivity.
This describes people having a hard time digesting gluten, although they do not suffer from celiac disease.
It's suggested that a little under 10% of the population experience gluten sensitivity.
Symptoms can be diarrhea, bloating, constipation, fatigue, or even rashes on the skin.
Why does it seem like Gluten Sensitivity is growing?!
In recent years, the offers for gluten-free foods have been increased tremendously - but also, it seems like more and more people are suffering from a gluten sensitivity.
This could have several reasons:
- Our diet is shifting more towards processed, fatty and starchy foods, and includes less fruits and vegetables. So basically, we are consuming more gluten than ever, which our bodies weren't initially made for.
- Gluten nowadays can be found in many different foods where we don't expect it, which means we consume even more of it without realizing.
- Grains nowadays are being processed differently than it used to be - which makes it even harder to digest
Is a gluten-free diet healthy?
If you are not sensitive to gluten, there are no proven health benefits of a gluten-free diet.
Just because something is gluten-free doesn't mean that it has less calories, less sugar, or is less **processed! **
Actually, some gluten-free foods might incorporate more fats and sugars to bind the compounds and recreate the original chewy texture (but of course, this is not always the case).
So in conclusion: Gluten Intolerance is very rare, and Gluten Sensitivity is slowly becoming more common. But if you've never experienced any symptoms after eating gluten, you can continue eating like you currently do - switching to a gluten-free diet won't make you any healthier!
Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
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© Sirwinchester
Love this! Because a lot of people who jump on those "healthy trends" don't know why and what it does exactly. Keep educating (Y)
Exactly!
Nothing more to add to this video..
Good article.
I was actually wondering where this sudden gluten free hype was coming from, so thx for clarifying!
Glad to hear that you enjoyed it and learned something new!
My nutritionist told me not to eat gluten, but the bread she suggested had gluten added in! hahaha I found the contradiction annoying. Like you, and many others on this post, are saying, just because it's recommended or it's a trend it doesn't mean it's healthy!
Haha!
Yes exactly, it just sounds nice and healthy but doesn't make much of a difference for most of us!
I love gluten. Its what makes bread fluffy and the texture. mmm.
So happy I can enjoy it.
Having to avoid it is definitely a challenge, and you're right gluten makes so many foods fluffy and delicious!
I had a gf who an intolerance due to a thyroid condition. So i have been on a gluten free diet. It's not so bad.
Gluten was actually cultivated into the bread. Farmers would prefer bread that was fluffy. And over thousands of years slowly bred out low gluten wheat.
That's why you hear things like Ancient Grains which tend to be low or no gluten.
Cool stuff though.
Very interesting topic, , it's actually funny how many people believe that gluten-free is like the ultimate form of healthy food
Yes, it makes everything sound more healthy but it doesn't actually make much of a difference to someone without gluten sensitivity
Can you please provide more information for this statement:
"Our diet is shifting more towards processed, fatty and starchy foods, and includes less fruits and vegetables. So basically, we are consuming more gluten than ever, which our bodies weren't initially made for."
Do you have information which shows (paraphrasing) that "we need to eat more fruits and vegetables" because "that is what our bodies were made for", and "not made to consume fatty, starchy, foods".
https://blog.bulletproof.com/is-cbs-starting-to-accept-saturated-fat/
i don't understand the huge psychological resistance to this knowledge. even the hacks at the FDA and CDC are now being forced to admit that saturated fat is not bad for you. they have not reached the conclusion yet that it depends on omega3 to omega6 ratio, and contaminants. most of this still seems rather advanced for people who can't be bothered to recognize the critical role of diet in health. try talking to the average person about dwarf wheat, glyphosate, and the increase in mold toxicity. blank stares are all i get.
this article is at least a start, even though it does not discuss organic, sourdough, or older variants of grains. i would not expect an article about gluten to discuss resistant starch, though this would be valuable, peripheral information for people experiencing dietary difficulties.
The denial of saturated fat runs very deep and then there's the whole misunderstanding of cholesterol. This is plain war, agenda 21 style.
http://wellnessmama.com/1265/saturated-fat/
Great post as always, learned again something new.
Thank you, glad to hear that!
Thank you for this post. I had suffered many health issues for years (see above 'gluten sensitivity chart' as the perfect representation of my woes), spent almost $20K on health testings through multiple doctors & healthcare systems - only to be told "we don't know what's wrong with you". Via my own internet browsing I came across a message board where someone described my exact symptoms as being a Gluten sensitivity - and by literally only changing my diet - ALL those issues subsided withing weeks. I've been (mostly) GF since October 2014 and at 37 years old - I've never felt or looked better. There is a lot of disinformation about there where many people consider the GF lifestyle as just a fad, and I understand that as it is in some circles. That said there are still those of us who do legitimately suffer from the allergy and I found your post to be insightful and well presented. Cheers!
Great post! Lots of good information here. I've never felt better being off of gluten. Even though some people see no adverse reaction from ingesting it, it can still trigger an inflammatory response which causes malabsorption in the intestines....which then can lead to disease years down the road. I still miss my New York style pizza though ;)