For people with celiac disease—about one percent of the population—the briefest exposure to gluten can trigger an immune reaction powerful enough to severely damage the brushlike surfaces of the small intestine. Celiac disease associated with wheat protein, exact - with cereals containing gluten, which also include barley and rye. But if you remove these foods from the diet, most patients can get better and their intestines will begin to work normally again.
If you look at a simplified family tree of popular cereals, you will notice that all problem in one genetic branch. Oats in small quantities to most patients with celiac disease is possible, although some, and it causes some related symptoms (Fasano A., Catassi C. Celiac disease // New England Journal of Medicine, 2012. Vol. 367. Pp. 2419–2426.). Rice, maize, millet, sorghum and tef for patients with celiac disease are safe: they are not really related to the wheat, barley and rye (Kellogg E. A. Evolutionary history of the grasses // Plant Physiology, 2001. Vol. 125. Pp. 1198–1205.).
The problem is in people without celiac disease try to use gluten-free versions of traditional wheat-based foods are actually junk food. That becomes clear after a cursory glance at the labels of many gluten-free products. Ingredients like rice starch, cornstarch, tapioca starch, and potato starch are often used as replacements for white flour. But they are highly refined carbohydrates, and release at least as much sugar into the bloodstream as the foods that people have forsaken. Our patients have jumped on this bandwagon and largely left the medical community wondering what the hell is going on. True allergy to wheat is less common than allergies to other foods. Alternative gluten containing product often does more harm.
Now no 100% proof against gluten. To find out the effect something like gluten has on people’s diets is complicated, need long-term studies, and there won’t be a useful answer for years.
Many gluten-free foods are not fortified with vitamins and minerals, and so following a gluten-free diet may lead to nutritional deficiencies.
Gluten-free packaged foods are often higher in fat and sugar than are products that contain gluten, and studies have found that some people become obese or overweight after starting a gluten-free diet. (Dr. Norelle R. Reilly, pediatric gastroenterologist at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.)
Ways to solve problems:
1) No panic,
2) Change white bread on whole-wheat bread,
3) Baking bread by yourself,
4) Avoid popular processed foods from which we get most of gluten (wheat bread, pizza, cookies, cakes, and pasta made from white flour). Eat a variety of whole plant foods, not limiting cereals, including 100% whole wheat products.
used: newyorker, livescience, Thomas Campbell. «The China Study Solution: The Simple Way to Lose Weight and Reverse Illness.»