Is it Dangerous to Eat Gluten?

Walking past the supermarket shelves, it's hard to miss the brightly coloured «gluten-free» labels on various products. While this is often a clever marketing tactic, many consumers are reassured by the label without considering the full ingredients of the product. What's often overlooked are the harmful additives that enhance taste and smell, but are not beneficial to our health

Let's take a closer look at what gluten is and who it can be dangerous for.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat. It is the gluten that makes bread dough so pliable and malleable. And it seems to be nothing wrong with that. For centuries our ancestors used bread and were healthy. But with the rapid development of the food industry, there was a need to produce more wheat, and therefore to use chemicals that significantly modified the composition of modern culture. More and more people began to suffer from a gluten allergy, which is accompanied by bloating, rashes, headaches, nausea, nasal congestion or sneezing.

Gluten allergy is often confused with coeliac disease, an autoimmune disease that affects the small intestine mucosa. Symptoms are very similar to allergies, but only a qualified gastroenterologist can make an accurate diagnosis by conducting a histological study. Coeliac disease occurs only in 2% of the world's population. But this is not the only category of people who are categorically not recommended to use gluten.

Numerous studies have shown that the use of gluten-containing foods can have influence in the development of autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, lupus erythematosus, Crohn's disease, etc. This is detailed in а Susan Blum's book «The Immune System Recovery Plan».

If you don't have any of the above problems, follow how you feel after another serving of pasta, pizza or sandwich.

Signs of Gluten Sensitivity

These are common signs of gluten sensitivity that you should be aware of:

⁃ Bloating and flatulence;

⁃ Various skin rashes;

⁃ Headache;

⁃ Discomfort or heaviness after eating;

⁃ Diarrhea or constipation;

⁃ Sudden fatigue.

If you notice any of these signs, it is a reason to exclude products containing gluten and monitor how you feel.

Just in case, we remind you that this protein is found not only in bread and flour products, but also in grains such as bulgur, spelt, oatmeal (unless it is labeled "gluten free"), beer, and some dairy products.

Nowadays there are many useful alternatives, even in bakeries you can find amazing breads made from green buckwheat, corn or rice flour. You can even bake your own bread, it's not as hard as it sounds. In this case, you can be sure of the quality of the product you have personally produced. If you are not ready to look for alternatives to your habits, give up packaged white bread in favor of whole grain bread with added seeds from the nearest bakery.

Most importantly, listen to your body—it always sends signals when your lifestyle or diet isn’t working for you.