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Gluten-Free Diet

Gluten-Free Diet

Gluten-free diet means excluding exposure to any foods which have this protein.

We have all come across products labelled “gluten-free.” as its become more readily available but what is gluten? Simply put its the sticky protein substance in wheat.

Gluten is formed when foods with both liadin and glutenin combine.

Gluten is the main protein in cereal seed (endosperm) which is a natural component of flour which is found in our daily western diet in forms like bread, cakes, and pasta.

So what grains contain gluten? Wheat, rye and barley are all members of the Triticeae grass family.
Wheat and other wheat varieties like spelt, kamut, farro and durum, bulgar and semolina. Then other varieties barley, rye, triticale and oats.

Guts are not adapted to digest gluten and break it down. With the increasing presence of gluten in our diets, we are at an increased risk of our genetics turning on an anti-gliadin response.

Gluten Proteins

Gluten proteins should not be consumed on a gluten-free diet.

Gliadin – Wheat
Glycoprotein (a carbohydrate plus a protein) within gluten
Primary antigen leading to an inflammatory reaction in the small intestine
Gliadin (a type of prolamin) a type of protein in wheat and several other cereals which are a component of gluten.
Gliadin gives bread its chewy structure and the ability to rise

Hordein – Barley
Secalin – Rye
Avenin – Oats

Gluten-Free Diet Grains

Gluten free grains are corn, millet, rice, sorghum.

Also gluten free pseudo-cereals like amaranth, buckwheat, quinoa.

Gluten Intolerance

Gluten Intolerance causes severe pain and discomfort in disorders like celiac disease, wheat allergy and nonceliac gluten sensitivity in gluten-intolerant people.

Gluten is a compound based on prolamin and glutelin. The prolamin part of wheat, gliadin, contains peptides rich in glutamine and proline, and it is believed to play a key role in gluten intolerance.

Dr. Willem Dicke pioneered the gluten-free diet when he discovered
some types of flour cause relapse in patients with celiac disease which is thought to be an autoimmune disorder.

Celiac disease intestine becomes inflamed which can lead to the lose of ability to absorb nutrients from food. Exposure to gluten triggers an enzyme called transglutaminase which changes gluten into a chemical which causes an immune response, causing inflammation of the lining of the small intestine.

Gluten Research

Louise Burton-Payne

Passionate about feeding my body a plant-based vegan food to benefit my health, save the planet and protect animals.

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