What's the big deal with gluten? Who can and can't have it?
It's a topic that's been scoffed at and made fun of for more than a decade. Here's what we've learned: if you or someone you love has been diagnosed with Celiac Disease (CD), gluten can lead to catastrophic health problems. Other conditions might be linked to a gluten intolerance CD is a different story.
Celiacs react to gluten like a pathogen. Their bodies attack it with huge quantities of antibodies like bacteria or viruses and that reaction causes severe damage to the gut lining causing malnutrition and blood toxicity. The gluten protein is commonly found in all varieties of wheat (including white flour), barley, and rye. Basically, it's poison to Celiacs. This auto-immune condition causes the body to literally attack itself from the inside.
Crohn's, Colitis, IBS, and several other conditions have been linked to undiagnosed or misdiagnosed Celiac Disease for decades. Allergic to wheat? Avoid!
Whole wheat also contains an irritant known as a lectin-protein called wheat germ ag. Glutenin (WGA) can harmful to many with digestive sensitivities, especially following treatment with orally administered antibiotics which can wipe out a healthy microbiome in the digestive tract.
For more info see www.celiac.org, gluten.org
Article by GJ Lifestyle Staff
Photography by C.W. Morgan
Originally published in Grand Junction Lifestyle
