Drawbacks Of Gluten

The Effects of gluten have been known by very few people in society. It is because people tend to consider gluten with the weight gain problem. But it is lesser known that gluten as a whole can affect your body in various harmful ways.

Avoid gluten even if you are not gluten sensitive because gluten might affect your body otherwise and weaken the normal metabolic system. This article will be focusing on the basics of gluten and its harmful effects on the body.

GLUTEN

Gluten is sometimes misunderstood to be a single compound instead it is a collective which can be found in various types of protein found in wheat, rye and barley. The protein found in wheat is called prolamins.

There is one more kind of a protein which is a crossover between wheat and rye. This is called a triticale. Prolamins, which are found in wheat, include gliadin and glutenin.

Gliadin and glutenin are highly elastic and rise when heated. This is why gluten containing grains are used as a main ingredient for the making of baked products such as bread, cake bases.

Gluten can be also bought in the powdered form which is called wheat gluten. This wheat gluten is used to make the cake fluffy and increase the strength and shelf life of the baked products.Gluten tends to break down the proteins by becoming resistant to protease enzymes. This incomplete digestion allows the body to react with the wall of the small intestine and cause damage.This damage is then called celiac disease because of the reaction of immune response.

GLUTEN SENSITIVITY

There might be a certain group of people who consume gluten and face abnormal abdominal pain and allergic reactions in the body. Gluten sensitivity can be diagnosed by certain physical examinations and blood tests.Patients with gluten sensitivity are advised to follow a gluten free diet with the consumption of gluten free grains and gluten free breads.

Processed foods and packaged food is highly prone to becoming contaminated with the gluten products. It is also advised to not eat gluten free from average or less reviewed restaurants.Gluten sensitivity can be of two types:

CELIAC GLUTEN SENSITIVITY

Celiac gluten sensitivity is a type of gluten allergy caused by inflammatory reactions. It is an autoimmune disease which can be either because of genetic or environmental factors. The celiac gluten sensitivity is known as celiac disease.

People with celiac disease suffer from a chronic condition which occurs because of the consumption of gluten foods. Coeliac disease involves many metabolic systems in the body which also causes inflammatory disorder.

This inflammatory disorder causes damage to the enterocytes. Enterocytes are the cells which line the wall of the small intestine. In some people, gluten leads to intestinal damage, malabsorption.The symptoms of the celiac disease could be weight loss, diarrhea, osteoporosis, anemia and dermatitis.There hasn’t been any other cure to the celiac disease except the consumption of gluten free foods.

NON CELIAC GLUTEN SENSITIVITY

There have been another group of people who might have symptoms after eating gluten whereas they don’t have any positive tests for gluten sensitivity. These kinds of people do not have celiac disease or wheat allergy but are only sensitive to gluten

As the above celiac gluten sensitivity indicates that there are various symptoms and causes related to the gluten. Non celiac gluten sensitivity will not be considered a diseased patient but have various symptoms.The symptoms of the non celiac gluten sensitivity are similar as the celiac disease and might overlap as well. The symptoms are headache, fatigue and joint pain.

Even the cure for non celiac gluten sensitivity is the avoidance of gluten at a complete level. Include a gluten free diet and buy food products which are labeled gluten free.

IS GLUTEN BAD FOR NORMAL PEOPLE AS WELL?

There can be certain drawbacks to the consumption of gluten. Except the people who are suffering from sensitivity might face some problems from over consumption of gluten. The effect of gluten can be:

AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

Gluten has been observed to have worsened the autoimmune conditions such as type 1 diabetes, grave’s disease and rheumatoid arthritis. The immune pathways are related to celiac disease.Gluten has been observed to aggravate molecular mimicry. Molecular mimicry is a mechanism where gluten initiates and worsened up the autoimmune disease. Consumption of such foreign antigens like gluten can lead to the production of antibodies which might start damaging your body’s own tissues.

GUT AUTOIMMUNITY

Gluten seems to have made the gut more permeable so that every kind of antibody could enter in the bloodstream. Gliadin enters in the bloodstream and occupies a place in the immune system. Because of gliadin, there have been various gut related inflammation factors such as Crohn’s disease. This might act as the inflammatory bowel disease.

NON CELIAC AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE

There have been many research studies stating the correlation of gluten with autoimmune diseases. The diseases might include thyroid, type 1 diabetes, and rheumatoid arthritis.The common link between all of these disorders is gluten. Wheat gluten triggers and aggravates the diseases.The diseases have clearly stated that such people do not have celiac disease and are tested negative for the same. They are advised to start following a gluten free diet for a long term.

IRRITABLE BOWEL SYSTEM

Irritable bowel system is a continuous problem with the bowel moment of the body. Gluten is protein majorly found in wheat, barley and rye.There are some people who can have an immune reaction with the gluten. The severe issues of it might cause celiac disease as well.The other group of people could also be intolerant to gluten. The symptoms of irritable bowel systems might include either diarrhea or constipation.

WHEAT ALLERGY

The mage age group which gets affected with the wheat allergy is the children. It might affect adults as well but is a little rare. Wheat consists of a gluten-like protein called prolamins. People with wheat allergy can cause immune responses to the wheat and the wheat products.The symptoms of wheat allergy are nausea, anaphylaxis and difficulty in breathing. Wheat allergies and celiac disease are sometimes occurring at the same time.

GUT INFLAMMATION

Inflammation is a mechanism which has a natural response to the immune system. The proteins which are found in the wheat that is gluten are generally gut irritants in nature. They affect the lining of the gut and cause inflammation in the gut.It also consists of amylase trypsin inhibitors which enhances the inflammatory responses in the gastrointestinal tract. Gut inflammation has nothing to do with the gluten sensitivity. This might happen to anyone with a weak intestinal system.

INCREASED INTESTINAL PERMEABILITY

As the above point indicates, gut inflammation is caused by gluten. This gut inflammation might lead to intestinal permeability. The gut system is very complex and follows a border control. Border control manages the nutrients and waste product which enters in the bloodstream and might need to get out of the blood stream.

Because of gluten, this border system gets damaged and forms spaces between cells. This makes the gut, a leaky gut.Intestinal permeability might also be the initial stage for the development of an autoimmune disease.

WEAKENS THE GUT BIOME

Gut biome consists of the gut microbiome which has all the good gut bacteria. Good gut bacteria helps in the regulation of the immune system, digestion and synthesize of nutrients.Good gut bacteria get affected by the gluten and try its best to eliminate it.

BRAIN SYMPTOMS

Brain symptoms are majorly caused in the gluten sensitivity diseases such as celiac disease or non celiac disease. The symptoms of such disease include brain fog and fatigue.It increases the occurrence of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Gluten may also be correlated with the depression and anxiety as stated by some researchers.

BOTTOM LINE

Gluten free diet might be a necessity for some but there are others who do it for weight loss. Whatever the reason may be it helps in maintaining your health. Studies are still ongoing so there might be no proper evidence for the same but it can be for sure that intestinal diseases, autoimmune diseases and digestive problems have been linked to gluten.

Even if you cannot go on a complete gluten free diet, you can try to lessen the quantity of gluten you consume. Frequent consumption of gluten can be harmful for the health as an overall.

Stay Healthy! Stay Gluten Free!