Understanding The Gluten Diet

Gluten diets are fast gaining popularity nowadays. Many people adapt this kind of diet for a wide variety of reasons, ranging from personal preferences to medical reasons. Still, the understanding and appreciation of the gluten diet is not that deep and widespread.

The gluten diet or a diet that is free of gluten excludes all kinds of food that contain gluten. Gluten is a protein compound that is commonly found in wheat, barley, rye, oats, and other cereal grains. There are various resources, especially on the internet, which give helpful information on gluten diets and on the gluten content of foods.

People who are sensitive to or cannot tolerate gluten, especially those afflicted with dermatitis herpetiformis or with Celiac disease, resort to a gluten-free diet. Gluten damages the lining of the small intestines of people with Celiac disease. This, in turn, affects the process of absorption of food nutrients and this usually results to diarrhea, weight loss, iron deficiency, and malnutrition. A gluten free diet is also said to help decrease symptoms related to allergy in children.

Removing gluten from the diet of an individual who is sensitive to gluten can also improve that individual’s overall well-being, energy, and moods. The gluten diet can also be part of the treatment of autism spectrum disorders as this kind of diet can help by alleviating certain autism symptoms in order for the patient to be able to function more normally, comparatively speaking.

Though the gluten diet brings a lot of benefits especially to those who have gluten intolerance, it is not that easy to keep up with the demands of the diet. There are a lot of food stuff that are less obvious source of gluten like starches, soy sauce, soups, pickles, tofu, ice cream, flavored tuna, pastries, malted milk, and a lot more. It is not easy to totally avoid gluten in one’s diet as many food stuff contain this protein compound.

To be able to totally get rid of gluten in one’s diet, it is very important to read the labels of food stuff and to avoid those with evidences of gluten. There are also cosmetics and pharmaceutical products that have ingredients containing gluten so one needs to be very careful and diligent in closely examining the labels and in researching on the gluten content of the food stuff and other products that one usually consumes.

More often than not, resorting to a gluten diet is a permanent lifestyle decision especially for those with gluten intolerance or with Celiac disease. And to be able to address the needs of people on a gluten-free diet, more and more food manufacturers are now producing food stuff that are free from gluten. Most of these have labels that they are gluten free.

It is recommended to consult with a physician first before deciding to go on a gluten diet. Furthermore, to be able to stick to this kind of diet, one would need the support and sensitivity of family and friends. There are also support groups that provide assistance to people who are on a gluten diet.