Introduction
For years, it has been known that gluten causes damage for people with celiac disease. What was not widely known until recently is that gluten also has damaging effects on people who are not affected with celiac disease. Early research has suggested that gluten sensitivity among non-celiacs is a natural reaction of the human immune system.
Gluten should be avoided not only by those who have Celiac disease, but by the general public, as well. The only difference between these people is the stronger reaction of those with Celiac disease to gluten and wheat. Even people who have no indications of the disease have some type of reaction to the consumption of Gluten.
Gluten causes inflammation of the gut in 80% or more of the population. That’s a huge percentage of people who can benefit from a gluten-free diet. Most people develop antibodies in the gut, against gluten proteins. What this means is that every time you consume gluten, your body is having an immune system reaction to it. This is what causes a lot of the health problems for many people. It simply isn’t healthy for the body to be having a reaction every single time you consume gluten, which for most people is every meal! 99% of people have the potential, genetically, to develop antibodies against gluten. Yet nobody has the ability to fully digest Gluten.
Antibodies that act in the stomach, surprisingly, can be a good thing. When your body does not react against the intrusion of gluten immediately, the gluten proteins might more easily enter the bloodstream. This would trigger immune reactions in other parts of the body.
The main gluten protein that causes problems is Gliadin. It is structurally similar to other proteins found in the Pancreas and Thyroid. Antibodies that fight Gliadin might also attack these organs themselves, causing autoimmune problems like type 1 diabetes and hypothyroidism.
Humans are not adapted to properly eat and digest wheat. Sadly, wheat is ever-present in our foods and our society. Many health conditions might not even exist if wheat was not as highly consumed.
You will notice positive changes almost immediately after you remove wheat and other grains that contain gluten from your diet. This book will lead you through the process of eliminating gluten from your diet, and giving you viable alternatives that can satisfy hunger without the dangers of gluten. Your body will thank you for adopting a gluten-free diet.
Chapter One - What exactly is Gluten, and Which Foods Contain It?
What is Gluten?
Gluten is in its simplest form a name for the proteins that one finds in wheat, barley, rye and triticale. Wheat includes einkorn, khorasan wheat, faro, farina, spelt, emmer and durum. Gluten is used to help foods in maintaining their shape. It effectively holds foods together. Some foods you would never think of as containing gluten actually do. The main three gluten-filled foods are wheat, rye and barley.
What Foods Contain Gluten?
In addition to wheat, rye and barley, foods that contain malt have gluten. They include malt vinegar, malt flavoring, malt syrup, malt extract, malted milk, malted milkshakes and malted barley flour. Brewer’s yeast is also a culprit.
Many foods that contain gluten sources may have the ingredient hidden within the list of ingredients. Be sure to read labels before you assume that a product is gluten-free. Some products labeled wheat-free are actually not gluten-free. They could still contain rye, barley or spelt, which is contain gluten.
Common foods with gluten among their ingredients are:
Beer (unless it is listed as explicitly gluten-free)
Malt beverages
Noodles, including egg noodles, chow mein and ramen.
Mung bean and rice noodles are free of gluten.
Pastas, including gnocchi, couscous, dumplings and ravioli
Pastries and breads, including rolls, doughnuts, muffins, potato bread, cornbread, flatbreads, bagels, pita and