Alarming Impact of Gluten on your Body
By:
Jessica Joy
Gluten is a class of storage proteins that are known as prolamins and are found naturally in certain cereals grains, like wheat, barley, and rye. Gluten contains glutenins and gliandins that are the prolamins present in wheat.
Foods that contain gluten are: -
- Grains – whole wheat, wheat bran, barley, and rye.
- Processed grain-based products – bread, pasta, soba noodles, cookies, pastries.
- Foods and beverages – barley malt and soy sauce.
One thing to take note of is that Gluten can cause various health problems and here, we will discuss them.
- Celiac Disease
It is an inflammatory autoimmune disorder that is caused by a trigger immune response. Gluten is highly resistant to protease enzymes that break down protein in the digestive tract. Due to incomplete digestion of proteins, peptides cross through the wall of your small intestine into the rest of the body that triggers immune response causing celiac disease.
- Wheat allergy
This type of allergy is more common in children but can impacts adults as well. People who are allergic to wheat have an abnormal immune response to proteins present in wheat that is glutens. Some symptoms of wheat allergy are nausea, vomiting, rashes, and hives.
- It may worsen autoimmune disease
Consuming gluten may cause or worsen autoimmune conditions, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Grave’s disease, and rheumatoid arthritis. Gluten also acts in molecular mimicry in which gluten initiates or worsens.
- Other conditions
Gluten may also cause bowel diseases, such as irritable bowel syndrome and inflammatory bowel disease, which can only be prevented as no proper medication is provided as a treatment strategy.
People suffering from a gluten allergy should have a gluten-free diet. It is not necessary for all to have a gluten-free diet but can be a choice. Nowadays, people are more into a gluten-free diet and are avoiding consuming wheat, rye, and barley.
