Jon Searles

Gluten and Celiac Disease: Is gluten free for me



Posted: Sunday, August 30, 2009

by Jon Searles

Gluten comes from the Latin word meaning "glue", which obviously causes a little concern when we realize that this is in our food. Gluten has been used in wallpaper pastes because of its sticky non water soluble properties. It also helped me to make my first paper mache pig when I was 5 years old. My mother mixed wheat flour, salt, and water together to form the paste I needed. I soaked strips of newspaper in this white goo and was able to create a pig shaped animal over the framework of a small balloon. However, my artistic abilities aside, I am more concerned with sharing the cause of celiac (also spelled coeliac) disease.

Gluten is found in a variety of grains that we eat and begins life as a protein in the ground flour. Gluten can be beneficial especially in the formation of carbon dioxide cells during yeast fermentation. After all without gluten to hold the cells and letting bread rise, bread is just a tortilla. The gluten captures the gas allowing bread to rise. Wheat, barley, and rye flours tend to have the most of the protein involved in the formation of the sticky gluten, oats are sometimes implicated. Maize, millet, buckwheat, and rice have much less and are much safer to consume for those with gluten digestion issues. Gluten is used commercially as a thickener for confections, gravies, soups, and other food products.

Celiac Disease was diagnosed in the 19 th century when it was noticed that children who were denied wheat and grains during famine actually had some health improvement. Whereas their growth appeared slow and they suffered from intestinal problems, this subsided during the time of famine until grain products were added back to their diets. Failure to thrive, diaherrea, and fatigue are all too common in those that suffer from this disease which cause inflammatory problems in the intestine of sufferers. Vomiting, cramps, bowel problems, and a host of dietary concerns involved in the poor absorption of nutrients can cause serious problems. This disease may have even been seen in the second century since early writings indicated a disease similar in people with diets high in grains.

To those of you who suffer from this disease (1 in 133 according to www.webmd.com ) it can take as many as 9 years to properly diagnose the disorder and the long term health issues are severe. Doctors are linking the disease to everything from behavior disorders in young children to diabetes in older adults.

Gluten-free is the marketing term your capitalistic minded friends are using in the food industry to offer alternatives to products with gluten. With today's food sources and substitutes it is only a matter of time before they realize they can no longer demand a high price premium for the "gluten free" tag on food store shelves. There is, as with everything else, an organization that can help sufferers understand the disease and offer resources, www.celiac.org .

As for my paper mache pig, I painted it pink and it served as a piggy bank for many years. Little did I know that the outer shell was toxic to some individuals.

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