Gluten can be called one of the greatest fads that have ever existed but how much truth is there to this fad? Does it really make a difference if you remove gluten from your diet?
Given below are 6 reasons why gluten avoidance is actually a real thing and why there should be awareness spread about it.
Celiac Disease is going up hill and a lot of people don’t know what’s wrong with them to get it diagnosed. Gluten is basically a protein composite found in different kinds of grains like rye, wheat, spelt and barley. Gluten has two proteins, namely glutenin and gliadin. However between the two, it is the gliadin part that doesn’t sit well with people, to which they negatively react. When you mix flour with water, gluten does its job of forming a cross linked web of sticky protein. This gives elasticity to dough and helps it to rise as and when it is baked. This elasticity and glue like stickiness is where the name gluten comes from. When the gluten reaches our digestive tract and gets caught by the cells in our immune system, these cells think that this is a foreign invader like bacteria. For the people who are sensitive to gluten, this will cause the immune system to attack the gluten consumed. This is what happens when you have a celiac disease, which is the worst form of gluten sensitivity. The immune system attacks the proteins from the gluten and also transglutaminase which is an enzyme bin the digestive tract. This is why gluten exposure in celiac gets the immune system to attack not just the gluten but the intestinal wall as well. The fact that the substances naturally present in the body rebel against the person, is the reason why celiac disease comes under autoimmune disease. This is why it is very important for expectant mothers to keep to gluten avoidance during pregnancy.
Gluten sensitivity is more common than you can imagine and can have very serious consequences if not addressed. Contrary to the popular view that believes that gluten sensitivity is stupid, it is not so. You don’t need to have a celiac disease to be gluten sensitive. Gluten sensitivity is another disorder. This is pretty common and it basically means that you have some kind of adverse reaction to anything that contains gluten. You will be able to see the difference once you leave gluten and have food items that don’t contain it. When it comes to non-celiac gluten sensitivity, there is no such attack on the body and it’s tissues. However, a lot of the symptoms are pretty much similar to the kind you will see in celiac disease. You will feel stomach pain, bloating, pain in the joints and bones, diarrhoea and fatigue.
Gluten shows adverse effects in people who are not even gluten sensitive. This is the main reason why gluten avoidance early pregnancy is important. You never know what might happen. There are many studies to show that gluten has a role to play in irritable bowel syndrome. In an experiment, a group of people with IBS were put together and it was seen that the people who had gluten containing diet showed different reactions than ones who didn’t in the form of more pain, stool inconsistency, bloating and fatigue as compared to the other gluten free group.
