Summary:
An article that summarizes what gluten is, and why someone might consider avoiding it. Focuses on the importance of being tested for Celiac Disease before giving up gluten outright.

Details or Sample:
There’s a new trend in town. It’s on the tips of everyone’s tongues. It’s on the news. It’s in the grocery stores. Even Oprah has admitted to going gluten free, for a trial period. But what is gluten, is it new, is it hip, and is it good or bad? Fun, fake, or just a passing fad?

The facts of the matter are that gluten is old news. Gluten is the protein found most widely in wheat. It’s also in rye and barley, and sometimes found in oats processed in the same machinery as gluten grains. Gluten free food gained notice when awareness of the autoimmune condition Celiac Disease began to rise. Celiac Disease is a condition where ingesting gluten triggers an autoimmune reaction in one’s body that damages the intestinal lining. It occurs in about one out of every 133 people in the United States. The most common symptoms are bloating, diarrhea, and malabsorption. Complications include failure to thrive (in children), osteoporosis, and intestinal cancers. Celiac Disease can be diagnosed at any age, and can develop in a previously healthy individual. It is easily managed through a (not so easy) gluten free diet, and patients can lead healthy, happy, relatively normal lives.

Gluten made big news over the past year when contaminated dog food took the lives of hundreds of pets across the nation. It is important to note that it was not gluten itself that caused the fatalities. It was the contamination of isolated gluten with melamine that caused the incident. Whole wheat groats have quite a bit of gluten in them. But, they aren’t going to be full of a toxic byproduct. Unless you have Celiac Disease and consider gluten itself to be toxic, that is.

Because all grains are heavy, and take longer to digest, the gluten free diet has been recommended by various natural health practitioners for health related cleanses. We all know that the easiest paste mixture for children’s Papier Mache projects involves flour and water. The theory put forth by some natural practitioners is that flour, specifically the gluten in the flour, makes an excellent paste and potentially clogs up the intestines. Ayurvedics describe carbohydrates and proteins as “heavy” nourishment, something to be avoided during cleansing. Gluten is both a carbohydrate and a protein, and therefore ranks high on the “forbidden” list during a short term cleanse.

Many people also experience “intolerances” to certain foods, including wheat or gluten. Intolerances fall into a gray area somewhere near food allergies. They are difficult to diagnose, because they do not show up on classic allergy tests. Symptoms vary from intestinal upset to reported mood swings or skin break outs that are otherwise unexplained. The only way to diagnose a food intolerance is to eliminate the suspect food group until symptoms improve, and then challenge it back into the diet to see if there is a reproducible reaction. At that point, individuals can decide to what extent they want to eliminate the offending food from their diet.

Wheat is one of the top 8 allergens. True allergies differ from intolerances in their potential to cause life threatening reactions. The symptoms of a true allergy can cause symptoms such as bloating and indigestion, physical rashes, shortness of breath and/or swelling of the lips or eyes and even a drop in blood pressure. Intensity of symptoms can vary from mild to severe and generally require medical evaluation. While life threatening reactions are rare, each exposure increases the risk for susceptible individuals. Since food that is made in the USA and labeled Gluten Free will not contain any wheat, some people with a true allergy to wheat seek out gluten free labels. (Please note that foods labeled as “wheat free” may still contain gluten from rye or barley, so if it is gluten that you or a loved one need to avoid, you still need to read the label closely.) If you suspect a wheat allergy in yourself or your child, a medical evaluation is in order. Severe reactions may require the use of injectable epinephrine, also known as an “epi pen”. A doctor or allergist can advise you on how best to protect yourself or a loved one.

With the current trend in labeling gluten free food, and the media hype, many people are eager to experiment with a gluten free diet. Most are seeking a solution to annoying digestive discomforts or low energy stores. Some are simply seeking better health. While elimination is an ideal way to get to the bottom of most food reactions, it may not be the best way to diagnose an intolerance to gluten.

The trouble with gluten is that if it is triggering Celiac Disease, the individual with Celiac Disease should be monitored for other associated conditions (such as osteoporosis), and should have their blood antibody levels monitored on a regular basis. Their blood relatives are also statistically at risk for developing Celiac Disease, and should be tested regularly. Unfortunately, once an individual eliminates gluten from their diet and the damage begins to heal, diagnosis becomes extremely difficult.

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Written by: Violets
Available File Types:Text
Words: 1470