What is Gluten?

What is gluten exactly? What ingredients is gluten found in?

Lots of time people approach me at Events or Farmers markets and ask me “…So what is gluten exactly” And I explain that it is a protein found in foods such as wheat, rye & barley. It creates a glue like elasticity so breads, pastas and other foods maintain their shape. Gluten creates a pull apart elasticity for breads and pastas as well as makes sauces thicker. Most people can not digest gluten. According to Hopkins Medicine, stomach acids help our bodies to breakdown proteins but no one can completely digest gluten. According to Cleveland Clinic 6%-7% of the U.S. population is gluten intolerant. It's more common than celiac disease which affects about 1% of the population.

Why are some people more sensitive to gluten than others? Severe sensitive cases to gluten are individuals with Celiac Disease. When gluten is consumed by someone with Celiac Disease an immune response occurs and the small intestines attacks gluten which leads to malnutrition. Left untreated this can cause pockets in the lining of the intestines to fill with undigested food which is malabsorption. The function of the small intestines is to break down food and absorb most of the nutrient into the bloodstream.

If the small intestines function is to bring nutrients into the bloodstream, if damaged by the effects of gluten through inflammation then the body doesn’t get what it needs to function properly. Some cases are more severe which is why it is important to pay attention to all negative symptoms and consider an elimination diet.

Sweet gut health, Samantha