What is all the fuss about gluten?
Gluten free products are springing up everywhere in shops and supermarkets all over the world. A lot of people are still confused what all the fuss is about gluten and most people don’t know what it is or why some people totally avoid it. So what is gluten and why is it so much of a problem?
Gluten is a protein that is found in certain grains that are used for making most commercial food products. Gluten is formed from two protein strands glutenin and giladin which are found in these particular cereals. When these two particular proteins are ground and mixed with water they change their shape and structure and they twist together and combine to form what is commonly referred to as gluten. Gluten is found in wheat, barley, rye and (triticale which is a hybrid grain crossed between wheat and rye). Because of their ability to become strong and elastic these grains and their derived flours are used for the making breads and thickening soups they are also used for binding together processed foods such as pressed meats, confectionery, sauces, gravy, ice cream and are found in almost all processed foods. An alarming amount of people in the world are starting to get allergic to these grains and others with celiac disease can actually die from eating these types of foods. Celiac disease is sometimes called Coeliac disease in Australia and celiac disease in the United States and often celiac sprue in other countries, it is pronounced as (“seel-ee-ak’). This is an ailment that affects the small intestine and can cause UN-repairable damage to this organ. This disease can immensely affect the absorption of vital nutrients from food. People who have this particular ailment cannot tolerate gluten at all. When a person with celiac disease consumes foods containing gluten or even use products like lip balm containing small traces of it their immune system reacts and starts damaging and even destroying the villi in their small intestine (villi are small finger like protrusions in the small intestine that allow our body to absorb vital nutrients) so even though these people are eating healthy food they become malnourished as these nutrients are not being absorbed into their blood stream and just pass through the digestive tract and are wasted. Click this link to read more about Celiac disease . |
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