Posted By:
Steve Parcell
Category:
Gastroenterological Health
Virtually everyone has heard about gluten-free diets. A gluten-free diet is medically necessary for those with celiac disease, an autoimmune condition. It can be thought of as an extreme allergy to gluten. Those with celiac disease incur damage to the intestinal tract when they eat wheat gluten, leading to weight loss, iron deficiency, diarrhea, fatigue, and malabsorption. People also avoid gluten because it gives them unpleasant symptoms or they just want to be healthier. In this post I discuss the real science behind the problem with wheat gluten and inflammation. What is Gluten? Gluten is a mixture of proteins present mostly in wheat, but also in barley, rye and oat. Gluten is the main protein in wheat, constituting approximately 80% of the total proteins in this grain. Gluten is very resistant to digestion. [1] Therefore, some people get bloated when they eat gluten.[2] There are two subtypes of gluten in wheat called gliadin and glutenin. Gliadin is a protein and Glutenin is a protein responsible for the strength in elasticity of bread dough. Gliadin also has four subtypes recognized by the immune system: Alpha-gliadin Beta-gliadin Gamma-gliadin Omega-gliadin It is possible to be allergic to wheat. This is measured through a...