Gluten and Your Gut’s Good Health
Ashley Svaty, Nutrition, Food Safety and Health Agent
What is gluten?
Gluten is the protein in wheat, rye, barley, and some related grains that provides the elastic, chewy properties in breads and other baked products. The word gluten comes from Latin gluten, meaning “glue”. It is the glue-like characteristic that allows bread dough to stretch, but not break as it rises. Bakers select flours for the amount of gluten they contain. For example, high protein durum flour works well for pasta while low protein flour is used for cakes and pastries. Though gluten’s elastic properties are essential in baking and cooking, some people must avoid gluten to prevent gastrointestinal tract symptoms and even intestinal damage.
Who should follow a gluten-free diet?
Gluten has long been considered part of a sound diet for healthy people. However, for some people, good health depends on the elimination of gluten and wheat foods from the diet. People with celiac disease and others who are intolerant of gluten must adopt a gluten-free diet to control symptoms.
Celiac disease affects about 1 percent of the North American population. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder-the only where the trigger (in this case, gluten) is known. Celiac damages the villi of the small intestine where nutrients are absorbed. This may result in decreased absorption of nutrients from food, which can lead to dietary deficiencies. The symptoms vary greatly from one personal to another, increasing the difficulty of an accurate diagnosis.
Dermatitis herpetiformis is a type of celiac disease that not only results outwardly in a painful skin rash when gluten is eaten, but also damages the small intestine of most people with this condition. Diagnosis is made through a skin biopsy and blood tests.
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) differs from celiac disease because it is NOT an allergy or autoimmune disease. People with NCGS may have GI symptoms similar to people with celiac disease but there are no tests at this time to determine NCGS, but a diagnosis is made by the physician once celiac disease and other conditions are rules out.
How can I know if I would benefit from a gluten-free diet?
Overall, people diagnosed with the above gluten-related disorders should follow a gluten-free diet. The recent popularity of gluten-free diets is due in part to the increased diagnosis of the above conditions and also because of the dramatic health benefits noted by some who eliminate gluten from their diet in a personal effort to relieve symptoms. It is important to note that there are no published scientific reports supporting the idea of weight loss as a result of a gluten-free diet in people without celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. It’s not considered dangerous to eat gluten-free, but it can be overly restrictive and unnecessarily costly. Dieters may needlessly limit important nutrients such as iron, folic acid, and other B vitamins by excluding wheat foods and others that contain gluten if they choose to follow a gluten-free diet for other reasons than symptom relief.
If your health-care provider advises you or a family member to follow a gluten-free diet, there are many reputable resources available to help you. Here are just some that are available:
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: www.eatright.org
• Celiac Now: www.celiacnow.org
• Celiac Disease Foundation: www.celiac.org
• Celiac Disease, 2nd Edition: A Guide to living with gluten intolerance (2014) by Sylvia Llewelyn
Bower, RN; Mary Kay Sharrett, SM, RD, LD, CNSD; and Steve Plogsted, PharmD
Many people have heard about gluten free diets but they may be misinformed about who should really follow a gluten free diet. May is Celiac Awareness Month, a perfect time to discuss what celiac disease is along with some myths that go along with gluten intolerance. Here are some quick facts about gluten, for more information please watch the video found here: https://youtu.be/XU99JrqpRhE
What is gluten?
Gluten is the protein in wheat, rye, barley, and some related grains that provides the elastic, chewy properties in breads and other baked products. The word gluten comes from Latin gluten, meaning “glue”. It is the glue-like characteristic that allows bread dough to stretch, but not break as it rises. Bakers select flours for the amount of gluten they contain. For example, high protein durum flour works well for pasta while low protein flour is used for cakes and pastries. Though gluten’s elastic properties are essential in baking and cooking, some people must avoid gluten to prevent gastrointestinal tract symptoms and even intestinal damage.
Who should follow a gluten-free diet?
Gluten has long been considered part of a sound diet for healthy people. However, for some people, good health depends on the elimination of gluten and wheat foods from the diet. People with celiac disease and others who are intolerant of gluten must adopt a gluten-free diet to control symptoms.
Celiac disease affects about 1 percent of the North American population. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder-the only where the trigger (in this case, gluten) is known. Celiac damages the villi of the small intestine where nutrients are absorbed. This may result in decreased absorption of nutrients from food, which can lead to dietary deficiencies. The symptoms vary greatly from one personal to another, increasing the difficulty of an accurate diagnosis.
Dermatitis herpetiformis is a type of celiac disease that not only results outwardly in a painful skin rash when gluten is eaten, but also damages the small intestine of most people with this condition. Diagnosis is made through a skin biopsy and blood tests.
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) differs from celiac disease because it is NOT an allergy or autoimmune disease. People with NCGS may have GI symptoms similar to people with celiac disease but there are no tests at this time to determine NCGS, but a diagnosis is made by the physician once celiac disease and other conditions are rules out.
How can I know if I would benefit from a gluten-free diet?
Overall, people diagnosed with the above gluten-related disorders should follow a gluten-free diet. The recent popularity of gluten-free diets is due in part to the increased diagnosis of the above conditions and also because of the dramatic health benefits noted by some who eliminate gluten from their diet in a personal effort to relieve symptoms. It is important to note that there are no published scientific reports supporting the idea of weight loss as a result of a gluten-free diet in people without celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. It’s not considered dangerous to eat gluten-free, but it can be overly restrictive and unnecessarily costly. Dieters may needlessly limit important nutrients such as iron, folic acid, and other B vitamins by excluding wheat foods and others that contain gluten if they choose to follow a gluten-free diet for other reasons than symptom relief.
If your health-care provider advises you or a family member to follow a gluten-free diet, there are many reputable resources available to help you. Here are just some that are available:
• Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics: www.eatright.org
• Celiac Now: www.celiacnow.org
• Celiac Disease Foundation: www.celiac.org
• Celiac Disease, 2nd Edition: A Guide to living with gluten intolerance (2014) by Sylvia Llewelyn
Bower, RN; Mary Kay Sharrett, SM, RD, LD, CNSD; and Steve Plogsted, PharmD
