gluten free Zucchini Muffin Recipe

How Does Gluten Affect Your Health?

Sensitivity to gluten has become a hot topic today. With its relationship to acne, osteoporosis, allergies, and other conditions, it's no wonder there's such a buzz around gluten. But what precisely is gluten? How can it effect your health? And why does it matter anyway? Let's explore these questions now.

To start, I'll define what gluten is and is not. Gluten is a substance (it's actually a protein) that is found in a handful of specific grains. Gluten isn't a virus or bacteria, nor is it artificial. It is a naturally occuring part of the grains in which it is found, and these grains are called "gluten grains".

Gluten occurs naturally in just these grains: wheat, rye, and barley. Whenever you eat any amount of any of those grains, you are eating gluten. Don't forget that this includes flours made from these grains, as well as any other foods made from these grains, such as beer, bread, and pretzels.

Gluten can cause health problems because in certain individuals, it causes damage to the intestinal lining and causes the immune system to become imbalanced. This leads to a whole host of problems, including anemia, autoimmune diseases, nutrient deficiencies, and more.

Some confusion has arisen over whether oats should be considered gluten grains. The short answer is: maybe. While it's true that oats do contain a substance that is similar to gluten, it is different than the gluten in wheat, barley, and rye. This substance in oats doesn't cause problems for most people. However, the issue lies in cross-contamination. Oats are often grown near gluten grains, and are loaded onto the same trucks and processed in the same machines as gluten grains. This leads to traces of wheat, barley, or rye gluten being found in oats. Look for labels stating "gluten-free" when purchasing oats to be sure don't contain gluten.

Surprisingly, gluten can show up where you least expect it. Fried foods often contain gluten because the foods are dipped in a batter that contains gluten-containing flour before frying. soy sauce usually contains wheat. Shop for tamari to put on your favorite Chinese food instead, it is usually gluten-free. Lastly, gluten can be used as a food additive in foods such as candies, to provide texture and consistency.

Grains containing gluten became an important foundation of our diet around 10,000 years ago, as the first agricultural societies experimented with relying on cereal grains for sustenance. Since then, our dependence on cereal grains, including gluten-containing grains, hasn't fallen out of favor.

One interesting factoid is that the geographical areas that have had the longest exposure to gluten in their diets, also tend to have the lowest incidence of gluten allergy (celiac disease). This means that it likely takes many generations for our bodies to adapt to eating this gluten as a food. The fact that many of our genomes haven't fully adapted to eating gluten is a likely reason for such a large number of people being sensitive to gluten.

If you now or in the past have suffered from arthritis, autoimmune diseases, anemia, frequent stomach or bowel problems, or skin conditions, you should consider that perhaps you too have a sensitivity to gluten.

To find out if gluten may be causing your health condition, visit your Portland Chiropractor for an evaluation. You should look for a Portland Chiropractor knowledgeable about gluten-related conditions and begin your road to recovery.
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