“I’ll Just Cut Out Gluten”

“I’ll just cut out gluten”

Continuing with our Top 5 Nutrition Arguments You’ll Hear This Christmas, here is another common solution people take to when they want to get in shape. This short post is just to provide you with the facts to make an informed decision about the best solution for you.

Are we all allergic to Gluten?

Is gluten ok to eat?

Should we pass on the pasta?

Here are some facts that will help you decide.

Did you know as few as 1.8% of people are celiac? This means that gluten (a protein) is able to get through the small intestine and into the bloodstream. Proteins are a type of macro molecule (big) and should not be able to get into the bloodstream and the persons immune system recognises the molecule as a foreign body and attacks it in the same way it would a bug or pathogen.

According to one 2009 study around 20% of people in the UK feel they are allergic to wheat and report having experienced symptoms of anaphylaxis or digestive discomfort whenever they eat it with 54% considering that they are intolerant to the wheat in bread specifically.

Only 0.8 % were able to be medically diagnosed with an intolerance.

Does this mean they should ignore symptoms?

Probably not a good idea to power through if you feel bloated! Recent research indicates that other proteins like zonulin and gliadin found in wheat products may be playing a role in digestive discomfort but more research is definitely needed.

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