Gluten Free Diet

By Kat Ahn on May 4th, 2009

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Gluten-free diets seem to be all over the news and blogosphere these days.   What is gluten exactly and what causes gluten intolerance? Well, according to Web MD,” gluten intolerance is caused by sensitivity to gluten, the protein in wheat, rye, and barley which make up the base for most cereals, breads, and pastas.”

Gluten intolerance causes painful and uncomfortable abdominal pain, gas, bloating and diarrhea.  And in more serious cases, it causes celiac disease which is when, “gluten actually triggers the body’s immune system.” And if people with celiac disease eat gluten, their immune system responds by damaging the villi, or tiny fingerlike projections in the small intestine that absorb the nutrients from food.”

Elizabeth Hasselbeck, a host from ABC’s “The View,” recently wrote a book called, “The G-Free Diet,” which talks about her struggle against celiac disease and how she created a new diet plan that allows her to eat the foods that she likes, without having to eat gluten.  There are many food substitutes that have gluten-free labels and it is important that you check out labels carefully if you do suffer from gluten intolerance.

Instead of wheat and rye, you are able to eat Amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, popcorn, cornmeal, millet and cereals and breads made from corn, rice, potato, soy, tapioca and flax.

The lesson here is that if you do need to follow a gluten-free diet, there are many delicious substitutes so that you can still enjoy the foods you love.  And you don’t need to get sick to do so.

(Photo by Whatsername? on Flickr)