Gluten

I have taken a while to get a post together on this because I was wanting to provide some links to good articles and resources that might be helpful. Unfortunately, I haven't found many that I would consider entirely helpful.

Anyways, at the Relief Society Meeting a few weeks ago, there was a question asked about gluten - what it is and why people say its bad for you. I will do my best to answer - you are welcome to ask more questions if I am not covering what you want to know. And sorry for the lengthy post!

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. A bigger list of gluten containing foods here. Developing gluten (by kneading) changes the texture of baked goods, which is why more kneading leads to chewier products (good for pizza and bagels), while less kneading yields tender baked goods. That is also why different there are different flours - bread flours are higher in gluten while cake flours are lower in gluten.

For some people, eating gluten can cause serious health issues. Celiac disease is an intestinal disorder in which the person cannot tolerate gluten - When a person with celiac disease eats gluten, the body's immune system attacks the gluten and damages the small intestine. This can make it hard for the person to absorb other vitamins, minerals and other nutrients. There is a good, short, basic article here about celiac disease.

Some other people may have minor intolerance to gluten - its the same concept as lactose intolerance where some people have full-blown lactose intolerance and some people don't but they have a hard time digesting some dairy products. People who have an intolerance to gluten may have symptoms such as gas or bloating when they eat gluten. If you think you have an intolerance to gluten, talk to your doctor before going on any diets because by going on an unsupervised gluten-free diet, you could be masking the signs that would allow a doctor to get an exact diagnosis and look for related problems.

There are some people that claim that gluten can cause cancer and other health problems, but I have not seen any science that backs that up. I have seen information that those with celiac disease are at higher risk for cancer in the small intestine, so that may be where that claim stemmed from.

Some people claim that you can lose weight by cutting gluten out of your diet, but if you do lose weight it is more likely because you have reduced your overall caloric intake. Here is a pretty good article on gluten free diets and weight loss.

There are some people that say a gluten-free, casein-free diet may help Autism, but there have been no scientific studies to back that claim up. Some people do report a relief in symptoms after following the diet. If you are considering trying this diet to relieve symptoms of Autism, talk to a health-care professional (like your doctor and a registered dietitian) because there can be side effects and potential nutrient shortfalls when a the diet is self-prescribed. For more info here is a short article from the American Dietetic Association.

I apologize again for the length of the post - it was the best way I felt I could pass along the information I found.

~Samantha Rasmussen