Gluten Free Foods Can Benefit Everyone As Gluten Protein Is Hard To Digest

By Kathryn Barry

Gluten free foods are making their way to mainstream. Soon you will be seeing more and more gluten free breads, desserts, etc. which will be made from gluten free grains.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is found in wheat, rye, and barley.

Your digestive system has a very hard time digesting gluten because of its large size. It is one of the most complicated proteins known to mankind.

Problems seem to begin when gluten reaches your small intestine.

Leaky gut syndrome and more serious allergic reactions can occur because gluten has the ability to rip holes in your intestinal lining.

This intestinal damage will weaken your ability to absorb essential nutrients from your food which will then lead to malnutrition and later to more serious health problems like a full blown disease.

Grains that do not have gluten are rice, corn, quinoa, tapioca, buckwheat, millet, teff, amaranth, sorghum, and pure oats.

Grains that contain gluten are wheat, barley, rye, and cross contaminated oats.

Wheat gluten grains include spelt, wheat bran, wheat germ, wheat berry, triticale, couscous, durham, bulgar, farina, semolina, einkorn, farro, graham, udon, seitan, wheat grass and matza.

What are Gluten Intolerance Symptoms?

Some of the symptoms of gluten intolerance are bloating, gas, constipation, diarrhea, nutritional deficiencies, casein intolerance, fat in the stools, weight loss, weight gain, aching joints, cramps, tingling and numbness, depression, headaches, irritability, skin rashes, itchy skin, irregular menstrual cycles, and slowed child growth.

Celiac disease is a very serious type of gluten intolerance and this causes your immune system to be triggered by gliadin which is a gluten protein.

The inflammation created by this protein will interfere with your small intestine's ability to function and absorb nutrients. The lining of your small intestine will be flattened from your immune system's response to this protein.

This is a fairly common disease and will usually be found with other family members. Continuing with the consumption of gluten while having this disease could create even more diseases.

The only way to effectively deal with this disease is a strict gluten free diet.

A Remarkable and Ancient Gluten Free Grain is Quinoa

You'll find lysine in quinoa which is a amino acid and quinoa is also higher in protein than most grains.

This is one of the amino acids that most grains are known for not having.

This amino acid is needed for the absorption of minerals such as calcium and for muscle building.

Important amino acids like lysine are needed to produce your body's enzymes and hormones.

Because quinoa contains all eight of the essential amino acids, it is considered a complete protein food.

Gluten Free Food Advice

Gluten free desserts can be made by replacing gluten containing flours with gluten free flours. There are a lot of beautiful cookbooks being produced to show people how to make wonderful gluten free treats.

Gluten free foods that come to you from nature are fruits, vegetables, nuts, beans, eggs, whole dairy products, animal meats, fish and seafood.

Trying to avoid gluten in your diet, is like trying to avoid aging. You must be on the ball at all times and read every label as most processed foods contain gluten in disguise. - 31875

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