Apparently, eating “gluten-free” is not just for people with
celiac disease anymore, going gluten-free is seeming to be a “fad” diet. What does it mean to be gluten free and
why it is being used as a diet trend?
Basics. Gluten is a naturally occurring protein
found in things like wheat, barley and rye (yes, beer!). This protein is not digested by the
human race due to the complex amino acids found in the gluten strand that make
it indigestible in the human gastrointestinal tract. Unlike indigestible carbohydrates like fibres and select
starches, gluten does not aid to keeping us healthy, and simple moves through
the GI tract. However, this is
anything but true with regards to people who suffer from celiac disease. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease
that is classified by an autoimmune response to gluten. This causes the body to act like gluten
is a terrible intruder and send out antibodies and the like to try and fight it
off. There is a variety of reasons
one can develop celiac disease that are unimportant to this discussion.
What makes this so bad you ask? Unfortunately, one of the ways the response to gluten in the
GI tract is by removing many of the cells lining the intestine which house
important digestive enzymes. This
causes upset and very painful digestion.
It can also lead to flatulence and diarrhea due to the lack of
absorption. The only current way
to manage celiac disease is by maintaining a strict gluten-free diet throughout
life. This is critical to help
build up the intestine to allow for digestion and absorption to properly
occur.
People have been starting to go gluten free even when they
do not suffer from celiac disease.
Going completely gluten free
is tough work, as many products on the market are not gluten free, namely
our bread! There are also hidden
source of gluten too which can be found in spices, ketchup, and even ice
cream! For someone who requires
gluten-free to maintain health, these hidden sources would be critical in
maintaining normality, but for someone doing it for other potential benefits,
these sources would not be identified perhaps and therefore they really don’t
live a true gluten-free life.
Why do people think
that a gluten-free diet can benefit them?
Well, as I said, gluten is not digested by anyone, but it is
in celiac patients that the body develops the auto immune response, no response
development means no reaction, which is the case for the majority of us, myself
included. Many “clean eating” or
“holistic” diet plans encourage healthy digestion, stating it is digestion that
is the key to living healthy and having the body and feelings to keep us living
great and feeling great. Removing
gluten could only further benefit our bodies, is suggested, because we don’t
digest it anyways, and taking it completely from the diet could mean one less
roadblock on the road to healthy guts.
Why it could work..
Not eating gluten generally
means that you are watching what you eat carefully, and unless you are
buying gluten free versions of gulten containing products, perhaps you just cut
them out of your diet completely.
This would mean less carbohydrates, which can help to achieve weight
goals in many cases. Maybe simply
changing the focus of why one is no longer consuming breads (changing from
“Carbs are bad” to “gluten is bad, bread has gluten”) one could achieve and
maintain focus during weight loss challenges. The other way it works is that if you stop consuming bread
(for our discussion bread is the primary source of gluten in our diets) then you
must be replacing the bread consumption with something else, hopefully,
vegetables and fruits! This
substitution will result in massive changes including weight loss, healthy gut
as well as an overall healthier being, and can certainly not be totally attributed
to the reduction in gluten intake.
Potential problems..
Currently our breads are fortified with folate, a B vitamin
that is essential to have in adequate amounts for women of childbearing
age. Breads that are gluten free
are not generally fortified with folate, this reduction in folate can cause
serious neural tube damage in babies because the neural tube is developed so
early on, expecting mothers hardly know they are expecting before the neural
tube has already started to develop.
Being “gluten-free” for reasons other then requirement can
seriously discount how serious and life altering celiac disease is. It is unlikely that those who are
eating gluten-free for ‘fun’ are avoiding all gluten free things, and the odd
time they will have the hamburger bun from the fast food joint not caring about
the gluten bun or burger. This can
be offensive to those who have little choice but to cut gluten out.
Is this right for
you?
Some people
have gluten intolerances and removing gluten is not required but helps
massively to reduce discomfort. If
you think that removing gluten will assist in digestion absolutely go for it,
but make yourself aware of the things that may be missing from your diet. Healthy balanced lives are what we
should strive for in order to feel good.
Let your body do the talking, if your body needs gluten then it
does. If you have no issues with
gluten and love bread, continue to enjoy your gluten containing products!
I do not think that gluten free should be used as a mean to
lose weight, especially because they way in which weight loss is achieved on a
gluten free diet is through cutting of unhealthy gluten containing products and
making more foods from scratch, allowing for more understanding of what goes
into foods.
Let me know what you think! Are you a celiac sufferer? Do you go gluten free by
choice?
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