Gluten and Why does it Matter to me!
What is Gluten?
Gluten is the generic name for certain types of elastic proteins found in common cereal grains – mainly wheat, barley, rye, spelt, kamut, triticale and… Its elasticity is why sandwich bread holds together, why angel-food cakes rise so high, and why bagels in New York are so wonderfully doughy. In fact, gluten comes from the same Latin root as glue. This is why it is very hard to make bread and pasta without gluten; these products need structure, texture and strength. We all know that if you live on fast food and soda that you are shortening your life, but who knew that eating gluten would do the same!
What does it mean to be gluten intolerant?
Many people think it’s a food allergy, but it isn’t. A more accurate way to describe gluten intolerance would be to call it an autoimmune process that creates inflammation throughout the body, with wide-ranging effects across all organs system including your brain, heart, joints digestive tract and more. It’s a physical condition in your gastrointestinal tract (your gut) where you are not able to digest gluten. Basically, undigested gluten hangs out in your intestines and it is treated by your body like a foreign invader. The lining of your small intestines is lined with tiny hair like structures called microvilli. The microvilli are responsible for absorption. But if you have ingested gluten lying around, your gut will become irritated and the microvilli will flatten and eventually become blunted. Without those microvilli, you have considerably less surface area with which to absorb the nutrients from your food. This leads sufferers to experience symptoms of malabsorption, including chronic fatigue, neurological disorders, nutrient deficiencies, anemia, nausea, skin rashes, depression, and many more illnesses.
Is being Gluten Free a fad or are more people suffering?
Current estimates suggest that 50% of people from Northern European descent, suffer a reaction to ingesting gluten, much higher than previous percentages. Hybridization of wheat in the 60’s and 70’s not only helped solve world hunger but was a tipping point for many North Americans as wheat was genetically altered. This new wheat has higher levels of gluten and it has caused negative side effects.
The research is also suggesting that as a result of spending years damaging our gut with sugar, alcohol, antibiotics and environmental toxins, many people have an already stressed and weakened gastrointestinal tract and therefore our guts are not able to process gluten. All of these contribute to imbalances in intestinal flora and microvilli blunting which can lead to gluten-intolerance.
Many people are choosing to be GF for health reasons without even being tested. That’s because they are doing an elimination test (just not eating gluten) and finding that they feel better, have more energy, mental clarity and the icing is that they tend to lose weight. For the elimination test to work you MUST eliminate 100 percent of the gluten from your diet—no exceptions, no hidden gluten, and not a single crumb of bread. Then eat it again and see what happens. This will teach you better than any test about the impact gluten has on your body. Unfortunately, the current results from testing for gluten intolerance and celiac disease can be up to 50% false negative.
If you don’t think you have an issue with Gluten should you still avoid it?
YES: One Cause, Many Diseases
There is a strong connection between grains and hormonal balance. Particularly the relationship with insulin levels after digesting grain products. Insulin spikes on a regular basis can lead to weight gain, diabetes, heart disease, mood swings, concentration problems, and other health imbalances.
A review paper in The New England Journal of Medicine listed 55 “diseases” that can be caused by eating gluten. These include osteoporosis, irritable bowel syndrome, anemia, cancer, fatigue, canker sores, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and almost all autoimmune diseases. Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric and neurological diseases, including anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, dementia, migraines, epilepsy, and neuropathy (nerve damage). It has also been linked to autism. There is also a correlation with grains and digestive disorders. When the microvilli get blunted this can cause leaky gut, bloating, gas, diarrhea and malabsorption. Attempting to digest gluten can also cause a candida overgrowth.
We used to think that gluten problems or celiac disease were confined to children who had diarrhea, weight loss, and failure to thrive. Now we know you can be old, fat, and constipated and still have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity.
So now you see—that piece of bread may not be so wholesome after all! Follow the advice: find out if gluten may be the hidden cause of your health problems. Simply eliminating this insidious substance from your diet may help you achieve lifelong vibrant health and even increased fitness!
Gluten Free Grains:
Amaranth
Arrowroot
Buckwheat
Corn and cornmeal
Flax
Gluten-free flours (rice, soy, corn, potato, bean)
Hominy (corn)
Millet
Quinoa
Rice
Sorghum
Soy
Tapioca
Living Gluten Free:
You don’t have to give up all foods to live Gluten Free. It is recommended that you eat a variety of foods, such as meats, vegetables, fruits, and legumes. All are naturally gluten-free.
You must become more vigilant about your diet, especially when it comes to:
• Eliminating foods that contain gluten.
• Discovering that wheat-free doesn’t mean gluten-free; a product may have some other gluten – containing grain.
• Reading labels of all packaged foods carefully.
• Knowing that gluten containing grains are used as both basic ingredients and additives during processing or preparation of packaged food.
Foods/Additives that may contain Gluten – CHECK LABELS
Abyssinian Hard (Wheat triticum durum)
Alcohol (Spirits – Specific Types)
Amp-Isostearoyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Atta Flour
Barley Grass (can contain seeds)
Barley Hordeum vulgare
Barley Malt
Beer (most contain barley or wheat)
Bleached Flour
Bran
Bread Flour
Brewer’s Yeast
Brown Flour
Bulgur (Bulgar Wheat/Nuts)
Bulgur Wheat
Cereal Binding
Chilton
Club Wheat (Triticum aestivum subspecies compactum)
Common Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Cookie Crumbs
Cookie Dough
Cookie Dough Pieces
Couscous
Criped Rice
Dinkle (Spelt)
Disodium Wheatgermamido Peg-2 Sulfosuccinate
Durum wheat (Triticum durum)
Edible Coatings
Edible Films
Edible Starch
Einkorn (Triticum monococcum)
Emmer (Triticum dicoccon)
Enriched Bleached Flour
Enriched Bleached Wheat Flour
Enriched Flour
Farina
Farina Graham
Farro
Filler
Flour (normally this is wheat)
Fu (dried wheat gluten)
Germ
Graham Flour
Granary Flour
Groats (barley, wheat)
Hard Wheat
Heeng
Hing
Hordeum Vulgare Extract
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein Pg-Propyl Silanetriol
Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch
Hydroxypropyltrimonium Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Kamut (Pasta wheat)
Kecap Manis (Soy Sauce)
Ketjap Manis (Soy Sauce)
Kluski Pasta
Maida (Indian wheat flour)
Malt
Malted Barley Flour
Malted Milk
Malt Extract
Malt Syrup
Malt Flavoring
Malt Vinegar
Macha Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Matza
Matzah
Matzo
Matzo Semolina
Meringue
Meripro 711
Mir
Nishasta
Oriental Wheat (Triticum turanicum)
Orzo Pasta
Pasta
Pearl Barley
Persian Wheat (Triticum carthlicum)
Perungayam
Poulard Wheat (Triticum turgidum)
Polish Wheat (Triticum polonicum)
Rice Malt (if barley or Koji are used)
Roux
Rusk
Rye
Seitan
Semolina
Semolina Triticum
Shot Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Small Spelt
Spirits (Specific Types)
Spelt (Triticum spelta)
Sprouted Wheat or Barley
Stearyldimoniumhydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Strong Flour
Suet in Packets
Tabbouleh
Tabouli
Teriyaki Sauce
Timopheevi Wheat (Triticum timopheevii)
Triticale X triticosecale
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Flour Lipids
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil
Udon (wheat noodles)
Unbleached Flour
Vavilovi Wheat (Triticum aestivum)
Vital Wheat Gluten
Wheat, Abyssinian Hard triticum durum
Wheat amino acids
Wheat Bran Extract
Wheat, Bulgur
Wheat Durum Triticum
Wheat Germ Extract
Wheat Germ Glycerides
Wheat Germ Oil
Wheat Germamidopropyldimonium Hydroxypropyl Hydrolyzed Wheat protein
Wheat Grass (can contain seeds)
Wheat Nuts
Wheat Protein
Wheat Triticum aestivum
Wheat Triticum Monococcum
Wheat (Triticum Vulgare) Bran extract
Whole-Meal Flour
Wild Einkorn (Triticum boeotictim)
Wild Emmer (Triticum dicoccoides)
The following items may or may not contain gluten depending on where and how they are made, and it is sometimes necessary to check with the manufacturer to find out:
Artificial Color4
Baking Powder4
Caramel Color1, 3
Caramel Flavoring1, 3
Clarifying Agents4
Coloring4
Dextrins1,7
Dextrimaltose1,7
Diglycerides4
Dry Roasted Nuts4
Emulsifiers4
enzymes4
Fat Replacer4
Flavoring6
Food Starch1, 4
Food Starch Modified1, 4
Glucose Syrup4
Glycerides4
Gravy Cubes4
Ground Spices4
HPP4
HVP4
Hydrolyzed Plant Protein4
Hydrolyzed Protein4
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein4
Hydrogenated Starch Hydrolysate4
Hydroxypropylated Starch4
Maltose4
Miso4
Mixed Tocopherols4
Modified Food Starch1, 4
Modified Starch1, 4
Mono and Diglycerides1, 4
Monoglycerides1, 4
Natural Flavoring6
Natural Flavors6
Natural Juices4
Non-dairy Creamer4
Pregelatinized Starch4
Protein Hydrolysates4
Seafood Analogs4
Seasonings4
Sirimi4
Smoke Flavoring4
Soba Noodles4
Soy Sauce4
Soy Sauce Solids4
Sphingolipids4
Stabilizers4
Starch1, 4
Stock Cubes4
Suet4
Tocopherols4
Vegetable Broth4
Vegetable Gum4
Vegetable Protein4
Vegetable Starch4
Vitamins4
Wheat Starch5
• 1) If this ingredient is made in North America it is likely to be gluten-free.
• 3) The problem with caramel color is it may or may not contain gluten depending on how it is manufactured. In the USA caramel color must conform with the FDA standard of identity from 21CFR CH.1. This statute says: the color additive caramel is the dark-brown liquid or solid material resulting from the carefully controlled heat treatment of the following food-grade carbohydrates: Dextrose (corn sugar), invert sugar, lactose (milk sugar), malt syrup (usually from barley malt), molasses (from cane), starch hydrolysates and fractions thereof (can include wheat), sucrose (cane or beet). Also, acids, alkalis and salts are listed as additives which may be employed to assist the caramelization process.
• 4) Can utilize a gluten-containing grain or by-product in the manufacturing process, or as an ingredient.
• 5) Most celiac organizations in the USA and Canada do not believe that wheat starch is safe for celiacs. In Europe, however, Codex Alimentarius Quality wheat starch is considered acceptable in the celiac diet by most doctors and celiac organizations. This is a higher quality of wheat starch than is generally available in the USA or Canada.
• 6) According to 21 C.F.R. S 101,22(a)(3): [t]he terms natural flavor or natural flavoring means the essential oil, oleoresin, essence or extractive, protein hydrolysate, distillate, or any product of roasting, heating or enzymolysis, which contains the flavoring constituents derived from a spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products thereof. Whose significant function in food is flavoring rather than nutritional.
• 7) Dextrin is an incompletely hydrolyzed starch. It is prepared by dry heating corn, waxy maize, waxy milo, potato, arrowroot, WHEAT, rice, tapioca, or sago starches, or by dry heating the starches after: (1) Treatment with safe and suitable alkalis, acids, or pH control agents and (2) drying the acid or alkali treated starch. (1) Therefore, unless you know the source, you must avoid dextrin.
Other places gluten can hide:
MSG, prescriptions and over-the-counter drugs, even some vitamins, lipstick, and church wafers.