Gluten is a chewy protein found in wheat, rye, and barley.
It's the glue that sticks bread together and helps it to rise.
And one out of a hundred Americans suffer from anemia, diarrhea, abdominal cramps, gas and bloating, muscle cramps, or a skin rash by eating foods containing gluten.
The disease is called Celiac Sprue, and is one of the most under-diagnosed illnesses. It has been estimated that only 3% of the people suffering from it actually know about it. Even a small amount of gluten can be detrimental to them. Confusing the issue is the fact that some people are allergic to wheat, but can tolerate gluten.
Celiac is a genetic disorder, not an allergy. It's an auto immune disorder causing damage to the small intestine, destroying the villi, which leads to malnutrition.
Gluten is not just in wheat, either. It's also in spelt, durum wheat, semolina, kamut, and triticale. Here's the kicker - Beer, brewed with barley, contains gluten. Anything malted has gluten, and even caramel coloring contains it.
Gluten is found in many other foods that aren't obviously wheat-based, like:
- textured vegetable protein (TVP, found in many veggie burgers or meat substitutes)
- modified food starch
- MSG
- soy sauce
- emulsifiers
- some prescription and OTC drugs
- vitamins
Take this test to see if you need to get a diagnosis: Do I have Celiac?
Learning to read labels carefully is an important first step for those diagnosed with Celiac disease, as is learning to eat a gluten-free diet. The good news is that many foods don't contain gluten (all fruits and veggies are gluten-free).
Resources for gluten-free information and celiac disease:
- Gluten on Wikipedia
- Gluten-free Diet on Wikipedia
- Mrs. Gluten-Free blog
- Gluten-Free Girl blog
- Silly-Yak gluten/celiac links page
- Celiac Disease Foundation
- National Foundation for Celiac Awareness
Image: Meanest Indian on Flickr under Creative Commons License
6 Responses
1
Carla
October 31st, 2008 at 2:37 am
Eliminating gluten from my diet was on of the best things I did for my health. I immediately lost weight, my skin cleared up (acne and psoriasis), no GI pain and have more energy. Thank you for spreading the word!
2
Kelly Pro
October 31st, 2008 at 4:34 am
Omg, on that Gluten test i have more then few positive answers. I will try get myself informed about this, and visit doctor which i really don't prefer. Thanks for share.
3
Patty
October 31st, 2008 at 4:59 am
Hi. I have tried to cut as much gluten out of my diet as possible. However, I love bread and am not a big fan of rice bread. I have found spelt bread and flour to be a great option. When baking I usually use half spelt four and half almond meal...tastes great. There are lots of different non-gluten flours to try. I also love sushi - tamari is basically yeast free soy sauce so worth a try.
Patty
4
Air Jordans
October 31st, 2008 at 1:26 pm
Thanks for this great desciprtion of gluten. Youc an tack on Candida on to the list of things Americans suffer from eating too much gluten.
5
wilson
November 1st, 2008 at 7:34 am
Stefanie, believe it or not, Casey, a friend of mine, it's one of the lucky person that being diagnosed as the Celiac Sprue patients, where he need to be very carefully with his dietry...
6
Docjr
June 22nd, 2009 at 3:02 pm
Gluten has long reaching affects beyond the colon. It not only affects the colon but can affect the brain, bone density, emotional health and more. It is a serious disease. So much so that those with the disease that are exposed to gluten once a month have a 6 fold mortality rate. It is important to take seriously.