Better Understanding Gluten Free

In one of my recent posts, Should You Go Gluten Free?, I discussed the reasons for and against jumping on the gluten free bandwagon and how it’s easy to fall prey to the gluten free junk food. A gluten free diet shouldn’t be viewed as a ‘weight loss approach’, rather as a means to address certain physical symptoms often associated with gluten sensitivity and auto-immune conditions.

Commonly I’m asked by my savvy readers and clients who are trying to decode mainstream health information, what is gluten anyway? Why is it bad for us all of a sudden? Haven’t people been eating gluten for thousands of years? It seems like celiac disease came out of nowhere, why now? I wanted to try to quickly address these questions here for you.

Better Understanding Gluten Free

To start, I should define this sticky term (pun intended). Gluten is a protein found in certain grains – barley, rye, kamut, spelt and oats – and the big one, wheat. It’s what makes baked goods, breads, and pizza dough chewy and stretchy texture.

There are many theories out there to address the questions I often get. I’ve summarized a few of the hypotheses for you below.

1. The sheer volume of grains we’re eating.
The Standard American Diet (SAD) is largely based on refined grains found in products such as pancakes, tortillas, bread, crackers, cereals, pasta, pizza and so on. To add insult to injury, almost all processed foods contain grain based additives. Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised at this given the longstanding guidelines from the USDA telling us that we should consume 6-11 servings of grain based foods each day. And there was no distinction made between Ritz crackers and brown rice. We have become starchetarians essentially.

Our bodies were not designed to eat grains in this volume. Most animals, including our closest relative, the chimpanzee, don’t eat grains and if they do, in small quantities. Humans have only been eating them for the past 10,000 years, which may sound like a long time but is actually insignificant on the scale of evolution. It’s like feeding a cow large quantities of grains, whose body is designed with multiple stomachs to eat grass. What happens? They get sick. Hence all the antibiotics cattle are pumped full of to prevent illness. (Some content sourced from Chris Kresser)

2. The grain hybridization program of the 1970’s.
A hybrid, as you know, is combining two plants or animals of different variety into one. Decades ago large food science companies created hybrid wheat to create a shorter, more durable and higher producing wheat. It created huge excesses of the grain in our food system, which could address world hunger and also act as a driver for creating a whole host of processed foods. This newer wheat strain introduced new proteins in our food system, and our bodies ultimately. It’s like giving a dolphin a candy bar, they aren’t meant to eat it and the substance, while edible, is novel to their digestive system. These new proteins have been linked to an increase in certain chronic conditions, namely celiac disease. (Some content sourced from William Davis)

3. Our increasingly clean and sterile environment.
Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Cleanliness is godliness after all. Our immune systems no longer have to fend off so many bugs and infections, especially when we’re young. As a result, our immune systems start to overreact to things that are considered harmless, such as wheat. (Some content sourced from Joseph Murray)

Regardless of the reason why gluten intolerance or sensitivity is increasing, the consequences are here and being felt among us. I’ve probably not resolved your question about whether you should go gluten free in this post, but hopefully I’ve helped inform your thinking about what seems to be a trend is actually an emerging public health issue nearing critical mass.

In fact, I just came back from Italy, the land of pasta, bread, pizza and everything white flour and learned that they are very aware of gluten and celiac disease. So much so that all children get tested before entering kindergarten. And if they test positive, their parents receive a subsidy towards gluten free food.