Source: Optimum Wellness Magazine
A diagnosis of Celiac Disease or Gluten Intolerance doesn't mean giving up your favorite foods and treats. Living without gluten is easier than you think.
It used to be an unfamiliar affliction, but now, some estimates say that up to 3 million Americans, about 1 in 100 people, are affected by Celiac Disease. Even more people deal with Gluten Intolerance, a broad term that includes a wide range of symptoms, from digestive upset to weakness and fatigue to a general lack of well-being. Gluten Intolerance, or what is now sometimes called Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, may affect as many as 1 in 7 people.
Wheat, rye, barley, triticale, and spelt contain a protein called glutenin, or gluten. As much as some people have come to fear gluten, it's actually a very appealing compound in terms of food aesthetics. In baked goods, leavening agents such as yeast or baking powder create gas bubbles within the dough or batter. Gluten helps hold those bubbles in, allowing the dough or batter to rise and stay risen when baked, which creates the light, uniform texture that we love in breads, cakes, cookies, and muffins.
Unfortunately, this exceptionally sturdy protein can also be very difficult to digest. For some people, this difficulty leads to a variety of problems. Extreme sensitivity to gluten manifests in Celiac Disease, a type of autoimmune disorder in which the immune system responds to gluten by damaging the small intestine. Immediate, acute symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, cramping, and bloating: more subtle or chronic symptoms include weight loss, irritability (especially in children), depression, and skin problems, such as dermatitis and eczema. In people with Gluten Intolerance rather than true Celiac Disease, symptoms are often less immediate and harder to diagnose.
"You may feel symptoms three hours after eating gluten, or it might take five days, " says Jules E.D. Shepard, author of Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating. "And because gluten intolerance may manifest as headaches, sinus pain, joint aches, irritability, fatigue, and other broad symptoms, it may be years before some people are diagnosed."
Why is gluten so problematic? It may simply be that we humans aren't naturally suited to eating wheat. "When wheat was first cultivated, perhaps 10,000 years ago, it was new to the evolutionary food chain for humans, in other words, we didn't naturally evolve as wheat eaters." says Marc David, author of The Slow Down Diet. "Eating wheat is a mass nutritional experiment, and the results seem to be that it's fine for some and not for others, quite expected in the scheme of things."
Left untreated, Celiac Disease and Gluten Intolerance can lead to serious, long-term problems. "Both are associated with nutrient loss and related deficiency diseases, such as osteoporosis," says Walter Gaman, MD, coauthor of Executive Medicine; Optimizing Your Chances for a Longer Life. 'People with Gluten Intolerance or Celiac Disease also appear to be predisposed to developing lymphoma, which is a cancer of the lymph nodes, a risk that goes down with a diet avoiding gluten."
A simple blood test can identify anti-bodies that are produced by the body in response to gluten. "The catch is you can test negative for Celiac, but still have Gluten Intolerance," says Shepard. "At that point, the best test is to go off gluten and see if you feel better. For most people, it will take several weeks before you notice a difference."
What's In, What's Out
In:
Plenty of food, such as fruits, vegetables, eggs, dairy products, nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, potatoes, corn, rice, and meats, are naturally gluten-free. Other gluten-free foods and grains include the following:
Amaranth, Arrowroot, Buckwheat, Cassava, Millet, Quinoa, Rice, Sorghum, Soy, and Tapioca.
Out:
Common sources of gluten that should be avoided include the following:
Out: Barley, Bulgur, Oats (oats are gluten-free, but most are processed in non-gluten-free facilities), Rye, Seitan, Triticate (a cross between wheat and rye), Veggie burgers (unless specified as gluten-free), Wheat in all its forms (including wheat starch, wheat bran, wheat germ, cracked wheat, hydrolyzed wheat protein, graham flour, durum, semolina, spelt, couscous, kamut, einkorn, emmer, matzo, farina, gliadin, and farro).
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