(14-03-12) The Gluten-Free Diet: Fad, Necessity Or Tool For Optimal Health?

Over and over again, advice on avoiding gluten ominously warns that you should
consult a dietitian or other nutritional expert before attempting a gluten-free
diet. Seems to me, this is exactly backwards. Those eating a typical gluten-
filled diet chock full of white bread, cookies, cakes, beer, pasta, etc. are
the folks in serious need of nutritional help. If you eat a basic gluten-free
diet, limiting processed foods and sugar while eating plenty of fruits,
vegetables and good protein sources, you?re probably eating the healthiest
foods available.

Gluten Research

Medical researchers are having a hard time nailing down all the implications
of what gluten does to human health. We know that gluten, a type of protein
found in wheat, barley and oats, cannot be digested by humans. We know that
some people have an extreme reaction to eating foods containing gluten. After
that, the research picture grows murky.

For those who suffer what is called celiac disease, ingesting gluten causes
the body to begin an autoimmune reaction that destroys the lining of the
intestinal tract. As the structures in the small intestine called villi are
compromised, the body?s ability to absorb nutrients malfunctions. The results
are often severe digestive distress and nutrient deficiency diseases. And as
you start to suffer malnutrition because nutrients are passing through you, you
can also be subject to leaky gut syndrome. The walls of your damaged intestines
begin to leak, allowing substances into the body that can stimulate further
destruction by immune cells.

In people who react to gluten as I do, digestive problems are milder but
gluten sets off an immune inflammatory attack on nerves, brain cells and other
parts of the body. This can lead to brain fog, problems with muscle
coordination and memory difficulties that resemble Alzheimer?s. In my case,
going off gluten restored most of my memory. (Though I can still be in trouble
at the supermarket if I don?t have a written list of all the items I intend to
buy.)

Beyond those symptoms, reactions to gluten can include a collection of
discomforts so bewilderingly wide-ranging it?s hard to believe they?re all
linked to same substance. People sensitive to gluten can suffer headaches,
chronic fatigue, osteoporosis, lymphoma, irritable bowel syndrome, eczema,
irritability, depression, joint pain and a whole host of other distressing
difficulties.

Gluten Complications

Complicating this situation is the fact that some people react to gluten but
don?t seem to suffer full-blown celiac disease. Consequently, researchers want
to categorize these folks as gluten-sensitive but have so far failed to come up
with a rigorous definition of who falls into this category. As you might
expect, they also are having trouble coming up with a precise calculation of
the percentage of the population that suffers these sensitivities.

Don?t forget ? nobody can digest gluten. Does that mean everyone has at least
a low-level gluten discomfort but only some have problems serious enough to
notice? So far, the experts can?t seem to agree.

If you decide to eat a gluten-free diet, you should focus on eating real food,
not items designed to mimic foods that contain gluten. Minimize processed
gluten-free foods like cookies, cakes and breads. Seek nutritional guidance if
you need help recognizing which foods contain hidden gluten. (Look here for
some tips.) Eat at least five servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Eat good
sources of protein like fish and meat. (Eat organic, free-range meat where
possible.)

If you?re worried about your nutritional status on a gluten-free diet, you can
also take a multi-vitamin and multi-mineral to stay supplied with
micronutrients.

Inescapable Problem

Experts now estimate that at least 1 percent of the U.S. population suffers
from celiac and most don?t know it. Researchers are also baffled about the fact
that the incidence of celiac has quadrupled during the last 100 years. Amidst
all this controversy, increasing numbers of people are trying a gluten-free
diet. Although others differ, my experience with going gluten-free has
convinced me it?s a great idea for just about everyone.

Source: www.easyhealthoptions.com

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In evidenza

"L'informazione presente nel sito serve a migliorare, e non a sostituire, il rapporto medico-paziente."

Per coloro che hanno problemi di salute si consiglia di consultare sempre il proprio medico curante.