Gluten – What is it and Why or Why Not?
Gluten Free: What is it?
A gluten-free diet is a diet that excludes foods containing gluten. Gluten is a protein found in wheat (including kamut and spelt), barley, rye, malts and triticale. It is used as a food additive in the form of a flavoring, stabilizing or thickening agent, often as “dextrin”. A gluten-free diet is the only medically accepted treatment if someone has difficulty digesting gluten, is ”gluten intolerant”, “gluten sensitive” or for celiac disease.
So why should we talk about this? Because there are a growing number of people who are doing the “gluten free diet” and do not need to. Depending upon which source you look at, the estimated number of people with a gluten intolerance is between 1-6% of the population. For the rest of us, our bodies need certain vitamins, minerals, fats, proteins, for the recommended daily intake (RDI). Some, and I stress “some” people, are causing more problems in there bodies because they are following a gluten free diet unnecessarily. If you are diagnosed with gluten free or celiac disease then you need to follow the diet. But if you are doing it just to cut out some of the processed sugars and additives, that is great, but do it in moderation.
It is important for those who avoid gluten in their diet to find more nutrient-dense food sources to prevent deficiencies, add to your diet, gluten-free oats, high fiber brown rice bread, rice, potatoes, soybeans, maize, millet, buckwheat, amaranth and quinoa.
I am putting this blog up for “food for thought”? Are you following a gluten free diet and why? Are you, or is someone you know, gluten intolerant and if so, are you finding it easy to find gluten free items when you are “dining about”? I would love to hear your thoughts and opinions.
Deb
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January 24th, 2012 at 10:59 am
Deb, I hate to keep commenting but so many interesting topics
– I can eat anything but apples. But its terrible whenever I drink any type of processed juice – apple is always a filler (cheap) – so at hotels, etc I’ll slug down fresh juice, then suffer for it later. Being gluten intolerant is like this only 100 fold as almost everything has some kind of wheat or gluten derivitive in it. I have a good friend who is truly intolerant. He is stuck with mostly soup or salad, all the time, especially in restaurants. It’s terrible, and really hard to find places that have gluten free – unless the owner is touched by someone gluten free (typically). I have another good friend who is wheat sensitive – meaning its unpleasant, like me with too much spice – in particular Habaneros. If i eat too much, i hurt, but it doesnt effect my life. Its a choice. If they are tasty enough I eat away, then suffer slighly but make that choice. Same with vegetarians – its a choice, I dont think it is restaurants responsibility to make a big deal unless they want to cater to a certain clientele. But for Gluten, its debilitating, and its a serious health issue that can’t be taken lightly. We were in a chain restaurant once in an airport, and it was either Applebees or TGIFs and we asked if the soup had wheat in it. The server said, oh, let me check, went back to the ‘kitchen’ and asked. She came back out and said “I’m sorry, the chef isnt sure, it comes in a bag and we just reheat it” – Wow. Enough said. So I think any time you eat anywhere, you should place some trust in the establishment to know and care about what they are feeding you.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:40 pm
Rich: “I think any time you eat anywhere, you should place some trust in the establishment to know and care about what they are feeding you.” Absolutely and well said! When you are eating at a restaurant, you are putting complete trust in the people that work there and the food that they are serving you. There are places that I won’t eat at because I have little faith in either the owner or someone working there that in some way makes me doubt the quality of food or drink that they would serve. But anyway, to get back on topic, I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to have to be so careful not to eat food that has been tainted by glutens. It must be refreshing that within the last couple of years it’s easier to find places that serve “gluten free” items. Just as, in the last few years, it’s easier for vegetarians to find meals in restaurants for them. It’s nice to see such a variety of items on a menu.
January 24th, 2012 at 2:59 pm
Hi,
Have you considered wheat free diets? After recently reading “Wheat Belly” by Dr. William Davis, I have taken roughly 2 1/2 months to practically eliminate wheat from my diet. I do specific wheat alergies that I know of, but I think I am feeling better with fewer blood sugar spikes that I used to see with all the wheat products (mostly whole wheat I might add) that I used to eat (especially at breakfast). Rather than concentrating on Celiac desease, Dr. Davis goes into the makeup of modern wheat that has been modified to increase crop production that is not particularily good for human consumption. I urge you and others to look into this and to consider it when making up your menues.
January 24th, 2012 at 4:58 pm
Peyton,
Thanks for the info. I will definitley read ” Wheat Belly” . It is so important to know what we are putting into our bodies. Hope all that reads the blog considers checking out this read.
January 25th, 2012 at 9:58 am
This is interesting, I have switched over to eating almost all whole grain, multi fiber, super heavy and wholesome wheat products, and promptly put on 10 pounds. Im eating healthier, but these whole grain products must be uber rich with calories and nutrition. I too should read Wheat Belly.
February 11th, 2012 at 5:08 am
I started the Paleo diet 5 months ago. My health benefits have been amazing, we need to spread the word!