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!
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