beauty

What is gluten and why is it harmful? Myth or reality: Is it true that gluten is harmful? The benefits and harms of gluten after 50 years

“Gluten-free recipes”, “Our product does not contain gluten” - what is this ubiquitous gluten, and why is everyone so afraid of it? Challenger medical expert Dima Solovyov is looking into it.

Gluten is everywhere. Both literally and figuratively: on the one hand, gluten is found in almost a third of products, and on the other, a number of experts claim that gluten is extremely harmful and should be avoided in every possible way. Today we will tell you what these concerns are connected with and how justified they are.

Gluten and celiac disease

Gluten is a sticky protein found in cereal grains: rye, wheat and barley. When making bread, it is what makes the dough sticky and elastic: baked goods wouldn’t be as tasty without gluten. However, gluten is not only found in bread: it is found in all dishes where flour is added, including for frying. Even if a food does not contain flour, gluten may still be added to it to add volume and shape. According to American statistics, up to a third of the products on store shelves contain gluten.

Science has long known that some people are gluten intolerant. This disease is called celiac disease. However, until recently it was believed that such intolerance was rare and mainly occurred in children. The latter showed that adults also suffer from this disease, and much more often than doctors previously thought. It is estimated that 0.8-1% of the population in developed countries is gluten intolerant. It was the discovery that celiac disease affects tens and hundreds of millions of people that made gluten infamous, and special shelves with gluten-free products appeared in stores.

From a medical point of view, celiac disease is a digestive disorder in the small intestine that occurs as a result of an autoimmune reaction to gluten. Normally, the surface of the small intestine is covered with myriads of tiny villi, which are involved in the absorption of proteins and fats. In patients with celiac disease, these villi are damaged and cease to perform their function, the absorption of nutrients is impaired and digestive upset occurs. At neglected form diseases due to an autoimmune reaction thyroid, bones, cancer - in a word, everything is more than serious.

The “classic” symptoms of celiac disease are bloating, persistent diarrhea, upset stomach and weight loss. However, the experience of doctors shows that they do not always occur: symptoms of celiac disease can also include anemia, increased fatigue, skin rash, joint and muscle pain and many other “nonspecific” symptoms. If you notice them in yourself, do not rush to conclude that you have celiac disease, but there really is such a possibility.

It is assumed that there is a genetic predisposition to celiac disease: if it is found in one family member, then the risk for his blood relatives is from 0.8 to 4.5%. Probably, celiac disease manifests itself in people who are predisposed to it by inheritance, under the influence of stress factors: previous viral infections, pregnancy or surgery for some other disease.

Diagnosis of celiac disease is based on the determination of special antibodies in a blood test and a biopsy of a fragment of the affected intestine during an endoscopic examination. It is impossible to make a diagnosis based on symptoms alone: they are too nonspecific.

We made the entire previous excursion into medicine with only one goal: the only one The medical indication for a gluten-free diet is celiac disease. For those who suffer from this disease, only eliminating gluten from food helps to completely cope with the symptoms and eliminate all manifestations of celiac disease. People with celiac disease can lead a normal life and feel completely healthy, just by consistently following a gluten-free diet.

What you can eat and what you can’t

Let's look at the rules of a gluten-free diet in more detail. In theory it is quite simple.

What not to do:

Wheat flour
Rye flour
barley cereals, beer
oats (only for some patients, most tolerate it).

What you can (in fact, everything else):

any vegetables and fruits
any meat
corn
potato
beans, lentils, soy milk
milk and dairy products (at the beginning of a gluten-free diet, it is better to do without them).

In reality, following a gluten-free diet is not an easy task. The problem is that flour is added to many products, and even a small amount of it is considered harmful for patients with celiac disease. For example, there are cases where the disease manifested itself after a person ate gluten-free food in a restaurant... which was cooked in reused water in which wheat pasta was previously cooked.

Anyone who has just started following a gluten-free diet finds it difficult to navigate and choose the right foods. The salvation may be the recent emergence of ready-made gluten-free products, which have begun to be produced by both small and large food brands. Now you can find gluten-free pasta, cookies and even beer in stores. The only problem can be their cost - such food is noticeably more expensive than usual, moreover, in Russia its range is small, and last year it completely disappeared from the shelves for a while.

Not just celiac disease?

There is a group of people who experience symptoms similar to those seen in celiac disease, but testing has not been able to detect this disease or others. possible reasons health disorders. Doctors usually give such patients the following advice: try eating gluten-free for a month and then evaluate the results. If all the symptoms have passed, then the diet should be followed in the future.

A condition where gluten causes digestive upset, but there are no signs of autoimmune inflammation characteristic of celiac disease, is sometimes simply called gluten intolerance. However, not all doctors recognize its existence, and there are no clear criteria for such intolerance not related to celiac disease.

Scientists from Australia recently conducted a study that puts forward the version that in this case the problem may not be in gluten at all, but in some carbohydrates, grouped under the general name FODMAPS. In a group of 34 people examined, it was the elimination of FODMAPS that made it possible to cope with the symptoms, and gluten did not significantly affect them. However, the data from this study will not be easy to apply in practice: a diet that excludes FODMAPS carbohydrates seems even more difficult than a gluten-free one! So the rule “exclude gluten for a month” for such patients continues to be relevant...

Diet as a tribute to fashion

However, for many people who refuse gluten, such a diet is not at all a salvation from the disease, but another way to lose weight, maintain healthy image life and feel better. The gluten-free diet is all the rage right now: it was recently featured in South Park, and many celebrities, including Lady Gaga, have tried it. However, how justified is it from a medical point of view?

Arguments for:

Even in developed countries, more than 90% of cases of celiac disease remain undetected, and the disease itself is more common than half a century ago. So a gluten-free diet can help those who have a hereditary predisposition to celiac disease or have never noticed the symptoms.
For many people, a gluten-free diet offers a much healthier way of eating than what they are used to. At a minimum, you will definitely eat less flour (this, by the way, will help you cope with excess weight).
You will definitely be on trend: the gluten-free diet is currently at the peak of its popularity. In the United States, where it is best known, the gluten-free food market has grown tenfold in recent years, with gluten-free restaurants opening, travel agencies offering gluten-free tours, and even gluten-free dog food in stores. Gluten-free is not just a diet, but a whole lifestyle!

Cons:

There is no convincing evidence that going gluten-free is beneficial for people who do not have any symptoms of celiac disease. There are no major studies or serious theoretical works on this topic. Many popularizers of the gluten-free diet among doctors (for example, cardiologist William Davis and neurologist David Perlmutter, who made fortunes from their books and lectures) rely more on anecdotal evidence and their oratorical abilities than on scientifically proven data.
Gluten-free products are not always as healthy as their “regular” counterparts. Peter Green of Columbia University, “Food producers have four main ways to make food taste good: add more salt, sugar, fat or gluten. If you need to reduce one thing, you have to add more of the other components.” Unfortunately, laboratory analysis of gluten-free food confirms these fears: sometimes it contains more harmful fats and carbohydrates. In addition, the usual gluten substitutes (potato or corn starch) are carbohydrates, and gluten itself, let us remind you, is protein. So if you have already decided to rely on a gluten-free diet, it is better to prepare the dishes yourself: fortunately, you still have meat, vegetables and fruits at your disposal.

good results

To summarize: a gluten-free diet is definitely necessary for patients with celiac disease. People with similar symptoms can try it on a short time and evaluate effectiveness. For the rest of us (and therefore most of us), the question of whether to follow a gluten-free diet is not a medical issue, but rather a matter of fashion or personal preference. Medicine does not know the advantages of a gluten-free diet for healthy people, but if the desire is strong, you can try it. The main thing is to remember all the possible pros and cons.

The chief physician of the medical center, Sona Kocharova, explained what gluten is and why humans need it: “It is a complex plant protein, its task is to connect other proteins. Gluten is found in many grains, such as wheat, oats, and barley. Without it, the body does not receive enough iron, magnesium and vitamins B and D. It also contains 18 amino acids, some of which the human body cannot synthesize itself. Gluten helps to easily absorb calcium and phosphorus, which is especially important for infants.”

Excluding gluten-containing foods from the diet lowers immunity, increases the risk of allergies and the development of bronchial asthma.

Kocharova Sona, chief physician aesthetic medicine center IconLab

Buckwheat, rice, and corn flour do not contain gluten, but when making dough from these types of flour, you have to add special thickeners and fats, which is harmful to the body.

Why is gluten dangerous?

In people with celiac disease, of which only about 1% occur, gluten causes a reaction that prevents the absorption of nutrients. This causes painful symptoms: bloating, diarrhea and nausea.

Signs of celiac disease can range from mild to severe, including intestinal damage, hair loss and anemia. These people need a gluten-free diet throughout their lives.

There are many causes of celiac disease, the most important of which is genetic predisposition.

Petrov Dmitry Yurievich, Ph.D., Associate Professor of the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Fundamental Medicine, Moscow State University

Dmitry Yurievich provides data from epidemiological studies. The prevalence of celiac disease when using immunological diagnostic methods reaches from 1: 200 to 1: 100 patients. Thus, celiac disease should be classified as a fairly common disease of the small intestine. Celiac disease with severe malabsorption is much less common, ranging from 1:6,000 to 1:1,000 of the population. On average - 1: 3,000.

However, it has developed when gluten-free products are increasingly being chosen by people who do not suffer from celiac disease, but simply consider such food healthier.

Increased sales of gluten-free products as a result of marketing

Sales of gluten-free products grew by 12% worldwide over Last year. By comparison, overall grocery sales were up 4%.

In the UK, around 30% of adults have consciously reduced their intake of gluten-containing foods or are actively avoiding them.

Global trends in nutrition take a long time to reach Russia, so we can observe both positive and negative aspects. The gluten-free diet is no exception.

Khovanskaya Veronika Aleksandrovna, nutritionist

Nutritionist Veronica Khovanskaya notes that a special diet for gluten allergies (celiac disease) is not suitable for those who do not have such problems. On the contrary, thoughtlessly following it can cause disruption in the functioning of organs and even weaken cognitive functions.

Slow carbohydrates are necessary in the diet of a healthy person. Reasonable consumption of carbohydrates in combination with adequate physical activity will help maintain and increase health.

Candidate of Medical Sciences Dmitry Yuryevich Petrov believes that people’s passion for gluten-free products is purely a matter of fashion: “Its popularity is associated with the difficulty for a person without a medical education to understand the reasons for the development of celiac disease and attempts to protect themselves in this way. Many restaurants will offer gluten-free options that will have special notes on the menu along with vegetarian options. But in this case, it would also be correct to include dishes for diabetics and people suffering from milk protein intolerance on the menu.”

Study linking gluten-free foods and heart disease

A team of 13 scientists from Harvard and Columbia University in New York said a gluten-free diet to prevent heart disease cannot be recommended for people who do not have celiac disease.

“There is a general consensus in the medical community and among laypeople that gluten can cause obesity, metabolic syndrome, and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease in healthy people,” they wrote. Long term gluten consumption in adults without celiac disease and risk of coronary heart disease: prospective cohort study. they are in the British Medical Journal. “As a result, gluten-restricting diets have become popular.”

The researchers analyzed data from more than 100,000 people with coronary heart disease and conducted detailed surveys on a regular basis between 1989 and 2010.

Eating habits were studied medical workers(64,714 women and 45,303 men) who took part in two similar diet-health studies. It turned out that those who consumed more gluten were more likely to buy whole grain products.

After adjusting the results for confounding factors, the researchers concluded that there was no association between gluten consumption and the risk of heart failure.

A gluten-free diet does not reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. There are no evidence-based controlled studies on this topic.
Petrov Dmitry Yurievich

Also, researchers analyzing a sample of 100,000 respondents found that eating whole grains helped prevent the risk of heart failure and death from cardiovascular disease.

The conclusion of scientists from Harvard and Columbia University is similar to the recommendations of domestic experts. Gluten-free foods do not prevent the occurrence of cardiovascular diseases. People who severely limit their gluten intake may also significantly reduce their intake of whole grains, which can be detrimental to their heart health later in life.

Do you follow any special diet?

Among people who preach healthy eating, the question of gluten is popular today. What it is? What are the harms of gluten? In what products is it found? All this will be discussed in the article.

Gluten: what is it and why is it harmful?

Gluten (lat.gluten - glue) is a protein found in cereals. Its highest content is determined in wheat: the grain contains 23,788 different proteins, united under the general name of gluten, or gluten. Its suppliers are also rye, oats, and barley.

Many people avoid foods containing gluten. What is it and why is it harmful? The elastic, rubber-like protein contains gliadin and glutenin. Gluten is determined in carbohydrate-containing products, flour products, and some offal. It is possible to detect gluten even in ice cream. It does not dissolve in water; after hydration, it forms fibers when swelling. Gluten is widely used in the production of flour and products made from it.

For most of the population, protein is not harmful to health. However, some people have it from birth. In this case, the harm of gluten is obvious; it becomes dangerous to health.

Gluten intolerance

Products containing gluten cause allergic intolerance in many people (1 in a thousand). This phenomenon is an autoimmune disorder associated with malabsorption (insufficient absorption of substances by the body). Gluten-dependent enteropathy is manifested by abdominal pain and diarrhea.
Gluten-sensitive celiac disease is considered a more serious form of intolerance to the component. The disease is caused by an increase in the number of intraepithelial lymphocytes in the body that have a specific receptor set. Gluten is detected by cells as a threat. The immune system destroys the villi on the walls of the small intestine. The consequence of the impossibility of complete breakdown of microelements is the formation of toxic substances in the intestine and its injury.

What else is harmful about gluten? In adults with latent (hidden) forms of celiac disease, stool disturbances, flatulence, and bloating are noted. It is often masked by various forms of gastrointestinal diseases and dermatological pathologies. After 30 years, an atypical form appears. Associated symptoms are characterized by joint pain, kidney disease, depression, migraine, and changes in the biochemical composition of the blood. According to clinical studies, up to 8 percent of infertile women with celiac disease have successfully given birth using a gluten-free diet.

Since the main factor in gluten intolerance is a genetic predisposition to it. Celiac disease can be diagnosed from childhood. In a child, gluten intolerance is manifested by frequent, pasty, foamy stools (5 times a day) and foul-smelling stools. Other signs are a large “rickety” belly, noticeable underweight before two years of age, and slow growth of the child.

A sick body does not receive enough necessary microelements, nutrients, and vitamins. Hence, accompanying signs of the disease in children may be the presence of fatigue, lethargy, and emotional instability (tearfulness, aggression). Often sick children suffer from dermatitis, poor skin, frequent fractures, poor posture, anemia, and diseases of the teeth and gums.
Growing up, boys with gluten intolerance are susceptible to sexual dysfunction, and girls are susceptible to menstrual irregularities.

Possibility of complications due to gluten intolerance

Gluten intolerance without treatment can lead to serious complications. It can manifest itself in autoimmune hepatitis, autoimmune thyroiditis, diabetes mellitus type 1, rheumatoid arthritis, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, including cancer. Diseases of recurrent pericarditis, scleroderma, myasthenia, and difficulties in conceiving a child can also be a consequence of advanced celiac disease.

Please note: the critical gluten content limit for people with allergies to the component is 1 mg per 100 g of product.

How to diagnose celiac disease?

Gluten intolerance is often difficult to determine: the symptoms are similar to those of many diseases. For the most part, celiac disease is detected through comprehensive diagnostics. Targeted identification is carried out in stages.

At the first stage, an immunological study of the patient’s blood is required: the blood is distinguished by autoimmune bodies, endomysium, and the level of antigliadin antibodies.
Positive results for the gluten test are determined by a biopsy: the mucous membrane of the small intestine is examined. The procedure reveals atypical receptors in lymphocytes, the condition of the villi, and lesions. A biopsy confirms the preliminary diagnosis.
The third, six-month stage, is the anti-gluten diet. General improvement in condition and disappearance of symptoms of the disease finally determine celiac disease.

The main treatment is lifelong adherence

Gluten: where is it found?

Where is gluten found? Wheat, barley, oats, rye - and all products made from these cereals. Cereals from them, bran, also contain gluten. In certain doses, it is found in beer drinks, kvass, wheat vodka, and malt extract. Coffee and cocoa also contain this protein.

The presence of gluten is typical for gastronomic products: meatballs, cutlets, sausages, crab sticks, chips, mayonnaise, sauces and dressings. Bouillon cubes, powders, ready-made soups and cereals, and soy products contain protein.

Need to know: E160 E411 E637 E636 E953 E965 indicates the presence of gluten in the product. Its presence has been detected in products with dyes and flavors.

Where else is gluten found? It is part of the components of many medications - valerian in dragees, "Complevita", tablets of "Metronidazole", "Diclofenac", "Fenistil", "Paracetomol", etc. Particular attention should be paid to drugs for children (vitamins, tablets). Gluten-dependent people must consult a doctor when choosing medications.

What foods are gluten free?

The absence of gluten has been detected in the following food products.

The protein content is excluded from rice, buckwheat, corn, millet cereals, products from sago, sorghum, amaranth, and quinoa.
Vegetables and fruits are free from protein; it is not found in potatoes, sweet potatoes, and legumes.
The use of meat, fish, and eggs in food is safe for gluten intolerance.
In milk, natural fermented milk products, creamy and vegetable oil There is no powdered gluten.

Eating hard cheeses is harmless. But you should pay attention to the labels on the packages so as not to make a mistake with the choice of products.

Rice for celiac disease

Rice is an excellent food for people with gluten intolerance. Up to 70% of its components are complex carbohydrates, which promote rapid saturation and a long-lasting feeling of fullness. It contains up to 8% vegetable protein, which allows vegetarians to do without meat. The presence of fiber in large quantities useful for good functioning of the stomach and intestines, because it envelops the mucous membranes and provides them with protection from irritants.

Vitamin B in rice promotes the proper functioning of the central nervous system, and lecithin in large quantities has a beneficial effect on intellectual activity. The most important thing is that there is no gluten in rice even in small doses. This makes the cereal useful for people suffering from celiac disease.

Gluten: production

Analytical data show that gluten production and sales are growing (up to 4% by 2016). Gluten is extracted from wheat flour using an aqueous medium and decanting centrifuges that separate the gluten from other components. Then the gluten is dried, during which its chains are broken by disintegrators. A circulation dryer at a gentle temperature helps preserve the protein structure.

Gluten is used for the production of flour as a component that determines the characteristics of the dough: its elasticity and firmness depend on the quality of the gluten. Low protein grains produce weak flour. Adding gluten to it is economical and beneficial for manufacturers: the cost of such products, with good commercial qualities, is significantly lower than the costs of producing flour from strong wheat.

The use of “gluten” flour is important for the production of bakery and confectionery products from it. With the presence of protein, the water absorption capacity of the dough increases, the shelf life of the finished product increases, and the physical properties of the dough are strengthened. In addition, the products are less crumbly, and the yield percentage of finished products increases to 7 units.
In the production of pasta, protein is needed as a plasticizer and binder, which is important when forming dough and cooking finished products. Ready-made breakfasts with wheat also contain gluten as a fortifying component. The meat processing industry uses it as a functional component that helps improve the structure of products, increase the density and elasticity of products.

Due to the viscoelastic properties of gluten, it is used for the production of cheese, meat, crab analogues, and artificial caviar.

Gluten free flour

Industrial production of gluten-containing flour does not mean that gluten-dependent people will never have to eat the product. Gluten-free flour will be your salvation. Its variety will allow you to create an excellent gluten-free menu. For gluten-free nutrition, flour made from buckwheat, rice, corn, and peas is recommended. Eating flour dishes made from flax, amaranth, almonds, potatoes, bird cherry, and tapioca is beneficial.

For dough viscosity, corn and potato starch are used instead of gluten. Without harming your health, you can bake pies, make pancakes and enjoy cheesecakes. In addition, stores sell ready-made flour mixtures for all types of dough (shortbread, puff pastry, etc.) for making pancakes, cookies, and bread.

Gluten-free food

The essence of such nutrition is that eating gluten-free foods cannot harm your health, and for people with celiac disease it is a vital necessity. For a gluten-free diet, the main rule is the exclusion from the diet of wheat, rye, barley, oats, as well as all products derived from them (cereals, bakery, confectionery products).

It should be remembered: in cheap sausages, sausages, frozen semi-finished meat and fish products, and many sauces, there is a high probability of adding powdered gluten.

Eating buckwheat, millet, and corn cereals is beneficial. A grain crop such as amaranth was used by the ancient Incas and Aztecs, and in Rus' it was revered by wise elders. Including legumes, fresh vegetables and fruits in your diet will enrich your diet and make it healthy.

Gluten-free nutrition does not limit the consumption of meat, fish, dairy dishes and eggs. Some strong drinks are not prohibited: wine, tequila, rum, some types of whiskey. Recently, the production of gluten-free beer has been established.

The harm of gluten is obvious to people who are allergic to this protein. However, nutrition without its use does not affect the quality of food and its variety. In addition, a number of manufacturers of gluten-free products today offer a fairly large range of products that do not contain harmful protein.

The turn of the XX-XXI centuries is the time of food allergies. But if not long ago adults and children suffered from intolerance to chocolate, peanuts and citrus fruits, today they have been replaced by new horror stories - lactose and gluten (or gluten). The fight against gluten began in the West - American parents are literally snatching white bread from their children’s hands, TV stars are calling on screens to give up wheat in the name of eternal youth and beauty, and fashionable chefs are vying with each other to offer new gluten-free masterpieces in restaurants. What is wrong with the unfortunate protein, what does gluten contain and is it possible to cope with an allergy to gluten?

What is gluten and where can you find it?

Gluten – what is it and what does it contain? Nutritionists and pediatricians are being asked this question more and more often today. The clever term hides a group of complex proteins that are found in the grains of cereal plants. Gluten champions are wheat, rye and barley (popularly known as).

In its pure form, gluten is an ordinary powder of an indistinct color, and if you pour it with water, you get sticky gray plasticine. It is this plasticine that every housewife remembers with a kind word when kneading dough for pies or dumplings. Gluten gives wheat and rye dough a pleasant elasticity, allows you to make buns and rolls of various shapes, and makes store-bought bread and homemade buns soft and fresh.

But in the question “gluten, what is it – a natural product or a chemical additive?” There simply cannot be any options. Wheat protein is a completely natural component obtained from wheat kernel back in the middle of the last century in England. Today, the percentage of this substance in bread is an indicator of the quality of the product. Remember the most delicious bread you've ever eaten! Lush, porous, with a crispy crust... Or store-bought rye, which sits quietly in the kitchen for a week and does not spoil. It's all gluten...

But it’s not just bread that producers generously sprinkle gluten into. Its nutritional value, plasticine properties and ability to bind vitamins and minerals have led to the fact that on almost every store shelf you will find products containing gluten: the table below will convincingly demonstrate this to you.

Forms of gluten intolerance

Yes, yes, we didn’t make a reservation - allergies to bread protein have many faces. When understanding the problem of gluten harm, it is important to understand the difference between severe hereditary intolerance and heightened sensitivity of the body.

Today, scientists and nutritionists distinguish 3 different degrees of the human body’s dislike for grain protein:

Celiac disease.

This is a severe genetic autoimmune disease with which 0.5-1% of the population of the small blue planet (we're talking about Earth, if you haven't guessed) is born. The peculiarity of the disease is that when bread protein enters the intestines, immune cells seem to break loose and begin to attack the native body as if it were an enemy.

First, the villi of the small intestine suffer, and the processes of assimilation and digestion of food are disrupted. Then the nervous system, bones and teeth, liver, and circulatory system come under attack. Infertility, autism and schizophrenia are the terrible consequences of celiac disease. The disease can manifest itself at any age; the only way to treat it is to give up bread and sausage forever.

Allergy to gluten.

This is just one of the options for food allergies: the body refuses to digest bread protein and in response forms special antibodies. Salvation is a therapeutic diet and regular tests. Gluten allergy is not a death sentence, and children may well outgrow the harmful disease as they age.

Sensitivity to wheat and barley protein.

What gluten is and why it is harmful is easiest to explain if you simply have a very sensitive body. When gluten enters the intestines, it causes slight inflammation. It disappears as soon as soft bread, fragrant buns or life-saving dumplings disappear from the diet. You can live with such a diagnosis to the fullest - you just need to reduce gluten joys or periodically follow a diet.

How to recognize your allergies?

The anti-gluten nightmare has gripped half the planet today. IN fashion magazines, health portals, on sites for moms - everywhere you can read that gluten is a real poison. Not to mention that many sources refer to almost any gluten intolerance as celiac disease.

In fact, pure genetic pathology accounts for only 20% of all celiac diseases. Most - 40% - are classic allergies, the remaining cases are either a combination of celiac disease with allergies, or hypersensitivity. So how do you understand what kind of diagnosis you have? And when can you start preparing for the fact that gluten-containing foods are now taboo delicacies?

The first sign that indicates rare celiac disease is problems with stool, any kind at that. If you constantly experience diarrhea or constipation, take a closer look at how you feel. Signs of the disease are anemia, osteopenia, growth or development delay, weight loss, dermatitis, muscle weakness.

Typical symptoms will indicate an allergy. If you are literally dying from abdominal pain, practically cannot leave the toilet, you are vomiting and, in addition, hives have started to appear, urgently check your diet.

Are you suffering from gas and diarrhea? Or maybe you still have a headache, hyperactivity or extreme weakness, or aching muscles? Hypersensitivity to bread protein begins this way.

You can determine that the body does not accept bread gluten in a simple way. Remove from the menu for a couple of weeks all products that definitely contain (or may contain) gluten. If the symptoms have completely disappeared or smoothed out a little, immediately contact an allergist for additional tests.

Gluten-free diet – pros and pitfalls

Gluten – benefit or harm, food poison or the secret of delicious baked goods? Not only doctors and patients, but also amateurs argue about this healthy eating. Athletes and actors, TV presenters and singers enthusiastically talk about gluten-free life. The legendary Oprah Winfrey (though not for us, but for Americans) and wife famous football player Victoria Beckham is the most ardent opponent of buns, sausages and mayonnaise.

Pros of the diet

Everyone who has excluded gluten from their menu assures us loudly that their weight is noticeably reduced, their skin becomes clear, and their eyes shine. Lightness throughout the body, vigor, the desire to live and create - this is what a person gets by giving up hamburgers, fatty sauces and spaghetti. And nutritionists do not argue with this.

In a real therapeutic diet, along with gluten, bread and buns, fast food and cakes, sweet yoghurts and sweets, fatty sausage and mayonnaise, canned food and pasta disappear from the diet - that is, the most harmful to the liver, blood vessels and thin waist products. All this fatty crap is replaced by vegetables and fruits, fish, nuts, healthy cheeses - how can you not lose weight and enjoy life?

Cons of the diet

But there is also danger in such a diet. It’s one thing when you deliberately refuse grandma’s pie and mom’s sandwich, and another when you can’t have all these goodies for medical reasons. Patients with celiac disease will never get better on toast and dumplings - these dishes simply will not be digested. But the soul reaches out to cookies and waffles!

But baked goods and sweets without gluten are many times higher in calories - in order to make up for the lack of glutenous protein and make the products tastier, the manufacturer is forced to put in as much sugar and fat as possible. So it turns out that products without gluten are just as dangerous as those with it...

Allowed products and gluten-free recipes

Nutritionists urge that a gluten-free diet should not be considered just another way to lose weight and cheer up. This diet is therapeutic, and only people with intolerances and allergies need to strictly follow it. But don’t rush to give up on your hedonistic dreams - it’s quite possible to remain a gourmet and a happy person without gluten in your diet. Meet the gluten-free products – the list is quite large:

any fruits, berries, vegetables and root vegetables;
eggs and butter of all types and varieties;
natural meat, poultry and fish;
rice and maize;
any spices and herbs;
nuts by weight (not in mixtures!);
legumes (, beans);
millet and;
tapioca;
sweet potato, etc.

Baking during a bread-free diet is also not a dream, but a real reality, fragrant and sweet. The only advice is to use homemade recipes to be sure of the composition and calorie content of diet pies and cookies.

Cooking sites offer many recipes without flour, and if you want pancakes or bread, you can find gluten-free flour in supermarkets. Usually it is a mixture of rice, buckwheat, almond and other types of flour. And to prove how delicious life without flour can be, here are a couple of recipes.

Omelette with herbs and cottage cheese

You will need:

300 grams of fresh (lettuce or greens), a small bunch of green onions, 4, 400 grams, 1.5 cups of hard cheese, salt and spices of your choice.

Break the cottage cheese with a spoon so that there are no lumps left, add beaten eggs, cheese, and chopped herbs. We put it in the oven for 40 minutes, then take it out, sprinkle it, or put it back in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

Chocolate cake without flour

You will need:

100 grams of dark chocolate and butter, 150 grams of sugar, half a glass of cocoa powder, 3 eggs.

Melt the chocolate in a water bath, then add the diced butter. When melted, remove from heat, add beaten eggs, sugar and cocoa. Sprinkle the mold with cocoa or cover it with parchment and put it in the oven for 35-50 minutes. The inside of the finished pie should be slightly moist!

What enzymes will help with problems with gluten digestion?

A gluten-free diet is an obvious solution to gluten intolerance. But, firstly, there are hidden sources of it in some products, and secondly, at the intermediate stage of the transition from normal nutrition to a new diet, it is not always possible to completely abandon your favorite buns. And it can be difficult to refuse a colleague who brought you a piece of cake in honor of defending your thesis - and this happens from time to time.

In such cases, it may be advisable to take drugs with the enzyme dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV). This is one of the key enzymes involved in the process of protein digestion. It has been proven that the lower the level of DPP-IV in the intestinal lining, the more susceptible it is to various types of damage observed in people with gluten sensitivity. Unfortunately, such an aid in digesting gluten is not very cheap: on iHerb, the price of the most inexpensive option (Gluten Digest from Now Foods) starts at about $12, but even this is something that customers respond to with gratitude:

A hyperactive child, to whom a kinesiotherapist recommended a gluten-free diet, could eat a bun in kindergarten, which immediately affected him. Now his mother calmly sends him to kindergarten, giving him a capsule of this drug in the morning.
The woman was again able to eat buns, cakes and dumplings, which she lacked to be happy.
An autistic child has been on a gluten-free diet for a year and a half. Parents cannot always keep track, and his behavior changes: causeless laughter, crying in his sleep, diarrhea in the morning. Using these capsules at the first sign of gluten entering the body solves the problem.

So such enzymes are a good alternative and help with diet.

Gluten-free cosmetics – a new step on the path to beauty?

Popular dislike for the unfortunate gluten sometimes reaches the point of absurdity. It is not difficult to find out what gluten is, what products it is found in and under what names it can be hidden. Gluten often hides under the mysterious names of “textured vegetable protein” and “hydrolyzed vegetable protein.” But it's in the food. There is also gluten... in powders, lipsticks and body lotions with vitamin E.

Therefore, today cosmetic giants are actively producing supposedly hypoallergenic products. cosmetical tools. To all the assurances of scientists that protein can only cause harm if it enters the intestines, manufacturers prudently respond that anything can happen.

But if you do not intend to eat kilograms of your lipstick and taste the fragrant body cream, then you can safely use traditional, gluten-free cosmetics.

For Russian people, bread is not just a food product with harmful plant protein. It is part of culture, a symbol of prosperity, health, and family well-being. After all, even at the largest family feasts, among the plates of appetizers and salads, there will definitely be a basket with the usual sliced bread, black or white. Bread is also the richest source of vitamins of the entire B group.

Therefore, if you cannot imagine life without morning toast with butter or a piece of Borodinsky for lunch, you do not need to deny yourself the pleasure of bread. And if a gluten-free diet is necessary for health reasons, be sure to contact a nutritionist so that together you can create the ideal menu - both therapeutic and appetizing.