The more I get into health and wellness, taking care of my body, reading labels, and following healthy gurus, the more and more I hear about a gluten-free lifestyle. For me is not a must, but it is something I have taken into consideration and decided to take my gluten consumption as minimal as possible, but not removed completely.
But if you are new to the health and wellness journey, you might be wondering what the heck-and-bob is gluten, why so many people eliminate them from their diets, and what actually this does to our bodies. So today I am explaining to you a little about gluten and what it does.
What Is Gluten?
Gluten is a family of proteins found in grains like wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. Gluten is made up of two proteins, glutenin, and gliadin. Gliadin is the one responsible for most of the negative health effects.
When flour is mixed with water, the gluten proteins form a sticky network that has a glue-like consistency (the name glu-ten is Latin derived from this glue-like property of wet dough) this makes the dough elastic. Gluten is also responsible for the chewiness of the food made from wheat such as pasta and gives bread the ability to rise when baked. According to the Whole Grains Council, all wheat contains gluten, including wheat, barley, rye, triticale, spelt, Kamut, faro, durum bulgur, and semolina.
For some people, this can cause problems such as celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, wheat allergy, skin problems, depression, abnormal inhumane functions, and some other diseases. For a gluten-free diet, you can try amaranth, buckwheat, corn, millet, oats, quinoa, and rice.
So now that we know more about gluten is time to know what are the two conditions that people may have because of gluten.
Wheat Allergy or Gluten Intolerance
A wheat allergy is a non-common condition that occurs when the body wrongfully identifies a component of wheat as harmful and sets off a response that results in a physical reaction. Symptoms of a wheat allergy can be as mild as itching or a severe condition named anaphylaxis which makes them have trouble breathing, it also races their heart, make a runny nose, and can have tongue swelling. Gluten intolerance can further lead to celiac disease. Around 1 of every 100 people are gluten intolerant.
Celiac Disease
Celiac disease, also spelled as coeliac disease, is the most severe form of gluten intolerance. It is an inherited autoimmune disease disorder in which eating foods with gluten makes the body treat it as a foreign invader leading to inflammation and damage of the lining of the small intestine and guts as a result of the attack on the gluten.
This damages the gut wall and may cause nutrient deficiencies, anemia, severe digestive issues such as belly pain, bloating, gas and diarrhea, it also causes weight loss, skin rash, bone problems, iron deficiency, small stature, infertility, fatigue, and depression. However, some people with celiac disease do not have digestive symptoms, but may have other symptoms like tiredness or anemia; untreated celiac diseases can increase the risk of developing certain types of cancer.
Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity
There are many people who do not test positive for celiac disease or have a wheat allergy but still react negatively to gluten. These people have non-celiac gluten sensitivity. It is unsure how many people have this condition, but it has been estimated to be much more than people who have a wheat allergy and celiac disease.
They experience the same symptoms of gluten sensitivity such as diarrhea, stomach pain, tiredness, brain fog, fatigue, joint pain, skin rash, bloating, and depression. There is no clear definition of non-celiac gluten sensitivity, but the diagnosis is made when a patient reacts negatively to gluten, but the diagnosis shows the absence of celiac disease and allergies.