What is gluten?
"Gluten is a sticky protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It is also
in most oats – not because of the oat itself but because of the way it
is processed. It is what makes pizza dough so stretchy, bread rise and
pasta hold together.
Remember when you were a kid and you made paper-mache with paper,
flour and water? Well, the paper and water were not sticky. The “glue”
came from the flour! That’s “gluten”. It’s even the same root word –
“glue”!
Gluten is a substance that can make your body pretty ill if you can’t tolerate it.
To get a good a more technical explanation, click here.
How can gluten affect the body?
Well…understanding how it is “glue” gives you a clue now. It
gums-up-the-works.! It literally gums-up the lower intestine and
food absorption becomes minimized (leaving a person always “hungry”) and
a lot of other problems arise.
People who can not tolerate gluten can suffer from a wide variety of
aliments including seizures, bloating, intestinal problems, compromised
immune systems, depression, anxiety, ADHA (Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder), autism, adrenal exhaustion, and thyroid
problems just to name a few of the not so pleasant results." Simply Gluten Free
Our wheat TODAY is genetically modified!!
A review paper in The New England Journal of Medicine listed 55 "diseases" that can be caused by eating gluten. (iv) These include osteoporosis, irritable bowel disease, inflammatory bowel disease, anemia, cancer, fatigue, canker sores, (v) and rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and almost all other autoimmune diseases. Gluten is also linked to many psychiatric (vi) and neurological diseases, including anxiety, depression, (vii) schizophrenia, (viii) dementia, (ix) migraines, epilepsy, and neuropathy (nerve damage). (x) It has also been linked to autism.(ix)
"Just 10 years ago, barely anyone knew what the word gluten meant, let
alone gave any thought to avoiding it. But now gluten-free diet menus
are all the rage, and high-profile stars such as Gwyneth Paltrow,
Rachel Weisz, and Victoria Beckham have been linked to the gluten-free
lifestyle, which is said to contribute to increased energy, thinner
thighs, and reduced belly bloat."
Yes, this is such great information. Since we are eating gluten free I no longer have the puffiness around my eyes and lips when I wake up and what I thought was just family hereditary arthritic pain is gone. If I slip in gluten laden foods say on vacation these symptoms are back with a vengeance. I believe that this is one of the biggest culprits in why my mother has progressed dementia.
ReplyDeleteThis is one of the best easy to understand explainations of why many of us experience the raveges of gluten. Thanks for your research.
I am loving your recipes.