Is gluten really bad for you? Each time you go to the grocery store, you probably find new gluten -free products. You may find pizza, brownie mix and even bread that are now considered in this specific category. This article will help you determine just what science says about it and hopefully will clear some things up for you.
It almost seems that it is not the norm to walk into the grocery store or any place to eat without finding gluten-free on the menu. The smaller sandwich shops are even serving gluten-free so that they can make all customers happy. This can be a good thing if you have celiac disease or a negative response from gluten, but what about the rest of us? Did you know that only 1% of Americans have celiac disease?
For the small amount of individuals that have this disease, it is vital to their health to eat gluten-free. Many of them will suffer from the effects that gluten can have on their small intestine and problems can range from IBS to wheat sensitivity. What you may find interesting is that so many of us are obsessed with gluten-free products when we have never had one issue with it.
Valuable Facts about Gluten
Whole grain foods that contain gluten are not all bad for you. Gluten is a protein found in rye, barley, and other whole wheat foods. The consumption of whole grained food can be a good thing and help to lower heart disease and diabetes. Your body needs the essentials in these foods to prevent it from having deficiencies that are vital to your health.
Gluten-free products can also be expensive. If you decide to take this path, be sure to read the labels and make sure you are not picking up a product that could be high in saturated fat or loaded with more calories that will not feed your body nutritionally. Even with all of this information, individuals still continue to purchase gluten-free because they think they are doing better with weight loss and they feel they have improved their health. Hopefully after you read this article you can make a wise decision on gluten and know for sure if it is the best choice for you.
We don’t have enough scientific facts that say gluten causes bloating. Honestly, there are only random studies that compare healthy people with gluten intolerance. Some science may imply that some individuals that have IBS may have more problems with gluten such as GI trouble along with bloating but it is not likely with someone that is healthy to begin with. There simply isn’t enough information to conclude that gluten may or may not cause bloating in a healthy person. The most important thing for each person is to try food and take note on how it makes them feel in their digestive tract. Listen to your body, it knows what is best.
There is no research that implies that gluten causes cancer. The only association with cancer and gluten is with individuals that have celiac disease. Most importantly, the disease itself is associated with Lymphoma of the intestine and possibly other forms of cancer. It is not eating gluten that could cause cancer in healthy bodies.
Celiac disease is inherited and there is no science to back up the myth that you could get an autoimmune disease from ingesting gluten. Gluten does not force our bodies to develop antibodies that will attack our cells. There is no science to back up that gluten will cause you to have an auto immune disease.
Right now, there isn’t really any studies to back up that gluten will cause weight gain in a healthy body. When healthy individual switched to a gluten free diet, they actually gained more body fat after eating gluten free. There is just really no evidence that eating gluten will lead to gaining weight if you are healthy. Research did find a fat mass had reduced in mice after eating gluten free, but that simply cannot be said for humans. The problem with weight gain is not in gluten, it is in a day with little to no activity as well as excess calories.
Some have been lead to think gluten leads to heart disease. This could be farther from the truth. Chronic inflammation causes heart disease and that can be damaging to your arteries. The inflammation is what allows cholesterol to build up then in return you will get atherosclerosis. Multiple things can cause inflammation, but there are no records stating that gluten can create heart disease in someone that is healthy.
It wouldn’t be wise to recommend to anyone who may be allergic to gluten to eat it. It is recommend you listen to your body and if you feel that gluten is not right for you, talk to your doctor for a plan that will work for you. Do you own research and talk to other with celiac disease if you need to. There is no reason to feel bad after you eat and not be able to enjoy food as it is fuel for your body.
