Gluten-Free Craze

With the attempt to go gluten-free, the movement has skyrocketed, but is it really for the best of everyone?

In celiac disease, patients are required to adhere to a gluten-free diet only because the intake of this protein causes malabsorption of nutrients.

It is a disease that arises due to an autoimmune response of the body to gluten – a protein in wheat, barley, and rye that causes harm to the small intestine. Despite this, a small amount of gluten is poisonous to persons with such complications.

Non–celiac gluten sensitivity is slightly different because people who experience this condition experience distress when consuming gluten but this does not cause the type of harm observed in celiac disease.

Some of the signs may include swelling of the abdomen, tiredness, and headache. Although these symptoms are relieved by adopting a gluten-free diet, the condition is not as well-researched as coeliac disease and has no universally reliable diagnostic markers.

Substitutes for gluten-containing foods are easy to find: rice, quinoa, and gluten-free flour, for example. But, in most cases, these products do not contain the same nutrients as those prepared with gluten-containing grains. It has been observed that many are less in fiber and other vital nutrients such as iron, B vitamins, and magnesium which, if not in control may result in malnutrition.

Risk exists when one opts to take a gluten-free diet even though one may not have a medical reason to do so. Many gluten-free processed foods are high in sugar and fats and will contribute to weight gain and other related diseases.

Also, self-diagnosis means that you can eliminate gluten from your diet to hide the symptoms of other diseases, and such a therapy will take a long time.

That is why, if a person is diagnosed with celiac disease, the gluten-free diet is mandatory, as well as the gluten-free diet can be useful in case of individual sensitivity to gluten. Yet in other circumstances, it can give no advantage as far as profits are concerned and may lead to nutritional deficiencies. One needs to seek the advice of a doctor before going for a radical change in his or her diet.

Thank you for reading!