Gluten-Free diet: Benefits & dangers

 


 

Everything you need to know about adhering to a gluten-free diet, from the items you should stay away from to the dangers you could face.

 

Gluten can be an irritant to the digestive tract for many people, causing them to experience cramping, gas, and diarrhea. If you suffer from any of these symptoms, it may be beneficial to eliminate gluten from your diet. Those who are unable to properly digest gluten will find that adhering to a gluten-free diet is surprisingly easy to do thanks to the abundance of gluten-free alternatives that can be purchased in grocery stores and the growing number of restaurants that are providing gluten-free meal options to customers.

 

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that can have a significant influence on a person's general health, in contrast to gluten sensitivity, which can cause some discomfort. Those who have celiac disease are susceptible to having their symptoms worse by even minute amounts of gluten, which can be spread through the use of shared equipment and cause cross contamination. Because of this, a gluten-free diet for people with celiac disease could have more restrictions than a gluten-free diet for people with gluten sensitivity. When going out to eat, you might have to request that gluten-free food is prepared completely separately using sterile equipment. Additionally, gluten-free products that are manufactured in factories that also manage products containing gluten might not be an option.

 

Keeping this information in mind, is there any advantage to following a gluten-free diet? Continue reading to learn everything you need to know about eliminating gluten from your diet.

 

Gluten is a type of protein that may be found in cereal grains including wheat, rye, and barley. Gluten is used in the production of starchy foods like pasta, bread, and couscous.

 

"Gluten is a protein in the seed," explained Dr. Marion Sloan, a general practitioner and chair of the Primary Care Society for Gastroenterology in the United Kingdom, in an interview with Live Science. A diet devoid of gluten can be achieved by avoiding grains such as wheat, rye, and barley. Because gluten is such a cheap ingredient, however, it manages to find its way into a wide variety of foods as they are being prepared and cooked. This presents a challenge.

 

It is recommended by the USDA guidance for 2020-2025 that you center your meals around starchy foods. Even while some starchy foods, such as rice or potatoes, do not contain gluten in their natural state, you may find that on a gluten-free diet you cannot consume certain frequent meals. Gluten is difficult for the bodies of people who suffer from celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or gluten intolerance. Most people are able to digest gluten and have no problems with it once it has been processed by their bodies.

 

According to a research that was published in the journal Lancet (opens in a new tab), celiac disease affects approximately one percent of the general population. You should consult your physician if you have any reason to believe that you may not be able to handle gluten. Your physician can then provide you with the appropriate testing and treatment.

What exactly is a diet devoid of gluten?

 

In order to alleviate symptoms of celiac disease, wheat allergy, or gluten sensitivity, a gluten-free diet is one that excludes or provides gluten-free alternatives. You may find that a successful gluten-free diet relies more on basing meals on other grains such as rice and corn, or starchy vegetables such as potatoes and yams. Although there are a lot of wheat-based foods that do not contain gluten, there are also a lot of gluten-free alternatives to these foods.

 

Gluten-free meals have a tendency to be excessively processed to duplicate things like bread and pasta, so it can be healthier (and cheaper) to locate fresh alternatives and consume as many unprocessed foods as you can. This is because gluten-free foods are designed to replicate products like bread and pasta. Processing can also lead to contamination, and some gluten-free alternatives are created in factories that also process wheat products, so it is possible that even minute amounts of gluten are present in these items. On the label, it will typically say that the product was produced in a factory that also processes nuts.

 

However, eliminating all processed meals entirely is not a realistic option for the vast majority of individuals. When you don't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen preparing meals, it's a good idea to stock up on foods that are quick and simple to prepare, like pasta and bread. If this is the situation for you, you should scrutinize the labels of items that assert to be gluten-free to ensure that there is no possibility of contamination through cross-contamination.

 

According to Dr. Sloan, patients with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity can safely consume the majority of food groups without experiencing any adverse effects. Rice, potatoes, and cornflour, which is manufactured from maize, do not contain gluten and are therefore suitable for consumption.

 

Gluten-free diet benefits

 

Going gluten-free can be a game changer for those who must avoid gluten because of an intolerance to the protein or celiac disease. However, most people won't notice any specific improvements in their health after eliminating gluten from their diet. Gluten causes damage to the small intestine in those who have celiac disease, which can lead to nutrient shortages due to malabsorption if the gluten continues to be consumed. Managing the disease and providing the digestive tract with an opportunity to recover are both made possible when gluten is removed from the diet.

 

She believes that avoiding gluten "stops the response in the gut lining," which means that the intestine stays healthy and is able to continue its task of absorbing all of the nutrients from digested food. Because an ongoing allergic reaction can cause inflammation of the intestinal wall, the wall can become damaged and lose its ability to absorb properly. This results in a decreased ability to absorb a wide variety of minerals, but particularly iron and folate.

 

Those who suffer from an IgE-mediated allergy, which is most commonly a wheat allergy, may experience symptoms that are distinct from those of celiac disease patients, but they will, in a similar fashion, discover that avoiding wheat products is helpful in managing their symptoms. Even when their reaction isn't caused by gluten, individuals might discover that avoiding gluten in their diet is the best way to manage their symptoms.

 

Consuming gluten won't actually cause any damage to the body of a person who has non-celiac gluten sensitivity; nonetheless, they may have difficulty digesting it, which can result in symptoms such as bloating, diarrhoea, and gas. Because these symptoms can cause significant discomfort, adhering to a gluten-free diet may assist those who experience them remain symptom-free and maintain their sense of well-being. Because non-celiac gluten sensitivity is an intolerance and not a disease, the amount of sensitivity to gluten may be lower in those who suffer from it. If you have this condition, you may not need to avoid cross-contamination because it is not an allergy or a disease, and it is possible that even minute levels will not set off an adverse reaction in you.

On a diet free of gluten, here is what you should consume and what you should avoid.

                                                                                     

What should be avoided:

* Items made from wheat, including but not limited to bread, pasta, couscous, and cereals (bear in mind some porridge oats might contain gluten from cross-contamination)

* Rye foods like crackers and rye bread among other rye goods

* Beer

* Sweet breads and baked goods

* Pastries and sweet biscuits

 

What you should eat:

* Potatoes, yams, and other varieties of sweet potatoes

* Fruit and veggies

* Quinoa, rice, and corn are all examples of grains

* Legumes and items derived from legumes, including tofu

* Alternative types of flour such as rice flour and potato flour

* Seeds and nuts in their original, unaltered form without any processing.

* Fresh eggs

* Raw or recently cooked meat, poultry, or fish (not marinated, breaded or batter-coated)

 

Gluten-free diet: potential dangers and important factors to consider

 

Many people who follow gluten-free diets do not have a dietary limitation that is required for medical reasons and instead follow the gluten-free diet as a trend.

 

A study that was published in the journal Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition (opens in new tab) suggests that adhering to a gluten-free diet is completely pointless unless you have celiac disease, an IgE-mediated allergy, or non-celiac gluten sensitivity. The study was conducted on people who had either of these conditions.

 

"From a purely personal standpoint, I do not feel that there is any advantage to adhering to a gluten-free diet if you do not have an allergy to gluten "Jessica Fishman Levinson, a certified dietitian, chimes in as well (opens in new tab). It is a common misconception that gluten-free cuisine is inherently healthier because it contains less calories and less fat, but this is not always the case.

 

Dr. Sloan also discusses the additional cost associated with purchasing gluten-free branded products. "The gluten-free diet is perhaps more expensive to the point where people say they can't adhere to that diet because it costs too much," she says. "The gluten-free diet is potentially more expensive to the point where it costs too much."

 

Going gluten-free comes with the additional danger of missing out on a nutritious and well-rounded diet. In light of this, it is essential that you acquire the knowledge necessary to learn how to maintain a gluten-free diet without placing an excessive amount of reliance on specialized items and processed food.

 

"If gluten-containing products are replaced with highly processed gluten-free foods such as pastries, energy bars, etc., you will not lose weight and you may actually gain weight because many gluten-free foods have a higher calorie content than their gluten-containing replacements, says Levinson. "Gluten-free foods are highly processed."

 

Because it is loaded with fresh fish, meat, fruits, and vegetables that are naturally free of gluten, the Mediterranean diet is often seen as an excellent starting point for gluten-free eating.

 

 

Article source :  https://www.livescience.com/53061-gluten-free-diet-facts.html

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/salad-buah-berry-sehat-vitamin-2756467/

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