Gluten is found in numerous grains. It is a group of proteins, are found in abundance in rye, barley or wheat. Gluten causes bread to be fluffy and airy as it makes the dough sticky. It is known as a “sticky” protein due to the fact that it holds the nutrient storage spaces together in plants. Due to this particular feature, food manufacturers frequently use gluten as a filler and binder.
What Does Gluten Do?
Gluten causes substantial inflammation as it binds to the lining of the small intestine for many people. Due to this lining, the body starts attacking the small intestine cells, which causes the inflammation. Painful irritation starts to occur in the body, due to gluten. As a result the individual, who is gluten intolerant, cannot absorb the nutrient, which they consume from the food they eat. The overexposure of gluten can result in leaky gut. It can also cause a serious condition known as Celiac disease. Any person, diagnosed with celiac disease cannot consume the food items which contain gluten; hence, they have to follow a strict diet plan, which is absolutely gluten-free, for a lifetime.
Common Source of Gluten
As discussed above, gluten is most commonly found in any form of rye, wheat or barley, including:
- crackers
- muffins
- breads
- cookies
- pancakes
- pasta
- pretzels
- cakes
- cereals
- waffles
- oats
- pies
Some other sources of gluten that are not so common include candy, cold nuts, corn chips, roasted nuts, alcohol, gravy cubes, mashed potatoes, processed crab, sauces, vitamins, vegan meat substitutes, chicken, meat, and vegetable stock cubes.
Gluten Intolerance Symptoms
The most common symptom of gluten intolerance is digestive discomfort. Other symptoms include anemia and difficulty in gaining body weight. If you have noticed any of these symptoms in your body, consult your doctor and they will conduct a test for celiac disease.
In order to check whether you are suffering celiac disease or not, the doctor will conduct a blood test on your body. If the result of the blood test is positive, a tissue biopsy is recommended by the doctors for the confirmation of gluten intolerance. In the tissue biopsy, a small sample of tissue is taken from the small intestine.
In case, if you do not have the celiac disease, the gluten sensitivity is verified by opting for a gluten-free diet for a certain period of time. If the symptoms show improvement during this duration, gluten is brought back to the diet. It will verify that the cause behind the symptoms is gluten or some other reason.
If you have trouble with gluten, make sure you are checking the labels of the food items you are purchasing from the superstore before buying them, as gluten is found in almost everything. Even a small quantity of gluten in any food item you are consuming may trigger the reaction and worsen the disorder.
DISCLAIMER: The medical information on this site is provided as an information resource only, and is not to be used or relied on for any diagnostic or treatment purposes. This information is not intended to be patient education, does not create any patient-physician relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment.