Gluten intolerance (1)
Olufunke Faluyi
years now, my mother has been having a swollen and painful foot, especially in the mornings and the pain will linger on for days. It breaks my heart to see her in such excruciating pain.
After having ruled out any disease that could cause the swelling, our confusion became more heightened because we did not have an idea of what the cause could be. Just one day, she sat down and did a soul search and it suddenly occurred to her that the frequently swollen and painful feet always occur a day after she eats anything made with flour!
I told her that it is called gluten intolerance and I advised her to stop eating anything made from flour. This week, I will be talking about gluten intolerance, but first, I will explain what gluten is.
Gluten is a family of storage proteins formally known as prolamins. They are naturally found in certain grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye. Many prolamins fall under the gluten umbrella but they are most commonly identified by the specific grains in which they are found. For instance, glutenins and gliadins are the prolamins in wheat, secalins are found in rye and hordeins are found in barley.
In foods, gluten has a variety of functional culinary benefits. It gives many grain-based foods their soft chewy texture. In bread, for instance, gluten proteins form an elastic network that stretches and traps gas, allowing the bread to rise and retain moisture.
Although gluten is a naturally occurring protein, it is often added to foods during processing to provide added texture and shape and to promote moisture retention. It seems to be in just about everything, from bread, pasta ( spaghetti), and beer to cosmetics and nutritional supplements. In addition to wheat, gluten also comes from rye, barley, and triticale (a cross between rye and barley). Sometimes, it is in oats, but only because the oats may have been processed with other foods that contain gluten. Oats themselves do not contain gluten.
According to Johns Hopkins specialist in internal medicine and obesity Selvi Rajagopal, M.D.,
“Gluten is a protein found in the wheat plant and some other grains,” He went on to say that Gluten is naturally occurring, but it can be extracted, concentrated, and added to food and other products to add protein, texture, and flavor. It also works as a binding agent to hold processed foods together and give them shape”.
According to Selvi Rajagopal, “There’s a lot of confusion about gluten being an evil food. Gluten isn’t inherently bad for most people,” says Rajagopal. “We, as humans, have consumed gluten for as long as people have been making bread. For centuries, foods with gluten have been providing people with protein, soluble fiber, and nutrients.” Gluten in itself, especially gluten found in whole grains, is not bad for healthy people whose bodies can tolerate it. However, grains like wheat are often stripped down to make processed foods such as snack crackers and potato chips. These refined products have very little resemblance to the actual wheat plant, which is highly nutritious,” explains Rajagopal.
What is not great about gluten is that it can cause serious side effects in certain individuals. Some people react differently to gluten, where the body senses it as a toxin, causing one’s immune cells to overreact and attack it. If an unknowingly sensitive person continues to eat gluten, this creates a kind of battleground resulting in inflammation.
Typically, gluten must be ingested for it to cause a reaction. Unless you accidentally swallow them, gluten-containing skin care products and cosmetics are not a problem. For this reason, avoid using such products on your lips or around your mouth, and also avoid gluten-containing dental products.
If you use a cosmetic or skin care product that contains gluten and you develop a skin reaction, see your doctor or dermatologist to identify the cause. It is possible to have an allergy to wheat or another grain that causes a skin reaction. Since there is not any defined science on it yet, opting for gluten-free cosmetics is a very personal decision people need to make.
Gluten intolerance is a digestive disorder resulting in a person reacting adversely to foods containing gluten. Simply put, gluten intolerance is when you get sick after eating gluten. Anyone can have a gluten intolerance, though it is more common in women. Some people are born with a gluten intolerance; others develop it later in life.
Humans have digestive enzymes that help us break down food. Protease is the enzyme that helps our body process proteins, but it can’t completely break down gluten. Undigested gluten makes its way to the small intestine. Most people can handle undigested gluten with no problems. In some people, gluten can trigger a severe autoimmune response or other unpleasant symptoms. People with certain medical conditions should avoid gluten. Let us see them:
