Gluten

What Is Gluten?

Gluten is a storage protein, known as a prolamin, found mainly in certain grains such as wheat, barley and rye. The prolamins found in wheat are called glutenin and gliadin, and the one in rye is called secalin.

Gluten provides many functional benefits in the kitchen, such as the soft, easy-to-chew texture typical of grain-based foods.

When gluten is heated, it forms an elastic network that traps gas. It allows bread, pasta and similar grain products to rise or puff up and to hold moisture. Because of these physical properties, gluten is often used as an additive in many processed foods to give a better texture and to retain moisture.

Which Foods Contain Gluten?

Gluten can be found in many kinds of food. Foods that contain gluten:

• Grains: whole wheat, wheat flour, wheat bran, wheat starch, wheat germ, brown flour, barley, rye, bulgur and couscous.
• Processed foods: crackers, bread, breadcrumbs, pasta, pide, lavash, biscuits, pastries, cakes, pies, sponge cakes, breakfast cereals, packaged chips and crisps.
• Gluten can also be found in processed meat products, imitation meat or seafood, spice mixes, soups and stock cubes, vinegars that are not fully distilled, soy sauce, salad dressings and coated nuts.

Because wheat and gluten are often added to processed foods, you need to read product labels if you have a gluten sensitivity.

Who Should Eat Gluten-Free?

Eating gluten is safe for most people. But certain medical conditions may make it necessary to follow a gluten-free eating pattern.

Coeliac disease is the first of these conditions. Coeliac disease is an autoimmune disease that appears as a result of an abnormal response by the immune system after a person takes in gluten. The person's immune system attacks the cells of the small intestine. It is a condition that affects 1% of the world's population. Although drug treatments are being researched, the most widely accepted and applied treatment at present is a gluten-free diet, followed under your doctor's guidance.

Wheat allergy is not a complete gluten intolerance, but it is a similar condition. It is an allergic reaction that develops not to gluten but directly to wheat. People with a wheat allergy avoid wheat products completely but can take gluten from foods that do not contain wheat. However, since many foods that contain gluten contain it through wheat, these people usually follow a gluten-free diet as well.

Non-coeliac gluten sensitivity describes the digestive and non-digestive symptoms experienced when people who do not have a wheat allergy or coeliac disease eat gluten. Even if signs of disease do not show up in tests, a person can develop gluten sensitivity. A gluten-free diet is again suggested to avoid this.

What Are Gluten-Free Foods?

If you have one of the conditions above that require you to eat gluten-free, you can eat the following gluten-free foods.

• As grains: rice, rice flour, starch, foods made with corn, corn bread, bread made with gluten-free flour, and potato.
• All fruit and vegetables
• Butter, small amounts of vegetable oils, margarine.
• Milk and cheese.
• Meat and fish, prepared without bread and flour.
• Oats should be eaten in amounts of no more than 5-6 tablespoons, about 50 g, a day. Oats are often transported or stored together with wheat. For this reason, even if the product label does not say gluten, there is a high chance of gluten contamination in oats. Many studies report that using oats does not cause problems in most people with gluten intolerance. Even so, it is important for the person to try carefully and to start with small amounts, to lower the chance of negative symptoms.

What Are the Benefits of Eating Gluten-Free?

A gluten-free diet offers a number of benefits, particularly for people with coeliac disease.

It can ease digestive symptoms. A gluten-free diet is mostly followed to relieve symptoms such as diarrhoea, bloating and constipation. Research shows that in people with coeliac disease or non-coeliac gluten intolerance, a gluten-free diet considerably reduces negative symptoms. It has been seen to reduce symptoms such as nausea and abdominal pain and to lower how often diarrhoea occurs.

It may help with the chronic inflammation caused by coeliac disease. Inflammation is a natural process the body uses to heal itself and prevent infection. But sometimes inflammation can become chronic and last a very long time. For this reason it can lead to many different health problems. Research has shown that a gluten-free diet may reduce inflammation and the intestinal damage caused by inflammation. In this way it may also be good for the gut flora.

It may improve energy. People with coeliac disease can often feel worn out and tired, and may find it hard to concentrate. Cognitive function may fall. These symptoms usually come from deficiencies in nutrient absorption caused by damage to the gut. For this reason, if you have coeliac disease, following a gluten-free diet may raise your energy levels and reduce the feeling of exhaustion.

It may support weight management. Cutting processed foods out of the diet will lower overall calorie intake and raise the quality of the food eaten. For this reason it can support weight management. However, I do not recommend following a gluten-free diet only to lose weight. Following a restrictive diet without an intolerance may do more harm than good.

This article is for general information only; please consult your doctor and dietitian about your own situation.