Sticking up for gluten

[Ian David]

Sticking up for gluten
Gluten-free has become synonymous with a healthy diet for many, which does a terrible disservice to this useful little protein, writes Brian Dunning.
By Brian Dunning, Citizen Special February 7, 2011 7:38 AM

It has become one of the new fads in health food stores: A gluten-free diet can treat autism, obesity, or any of a wide variety of conditions, they say. But is gluten really something that most people should avoid?

<snip>

But there's a growing trend to portray gluten in a negative light. A few people are born with gluten sensitivities. A non-sequitur line of reasoning has followed: if some people can't tolerate it, it therefore must be bad for everyone. In response, some promoters of fad diets and various quack health schemes are now advocating gluten-free diets.

<snip>

Yet those whose business is the sale of gluten-free products would often have us believe that many more of us should buy them. Some claim their products help people with autism or ADHD, which is completely untrue according to all the science we have. The autism claim in particular is broadly repeated across the autism activist community. A 2006 double-blinded study published in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders tested children with and without autism, on gluten-free and placebo controlled diets, and found no significant differences in any group.

Some naturopaths routinely list gluten as a cause of disease in general. This is a medically bizarre claim. Proteins are essential for nutrition, and there is no evidence that incidence of disease increased worldwide once wheat became a staple. Bread contains carbohydrates, which are not essential and can be safely minimized in the diet, but by no logic should the strategy of avoiding carbohydrates extend to avoiding gluten.

More:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/health/Sticking+gluten/4234087/story.html

Hat-tip to: http://twitter.com/JonathanAbrams/status/34642624891592705

[SidDithers]

1. I love gluten and wouldn't wish a gluten-free diet on anyone...

however, my daughter does have Celiac Disease, and is one of those "lucky" few that hast to eat gluten free. GF bread is awful, even toasted, compared to regular bread. GF cereal isn't bad, GF pasta can be hit and miss.

We've been most successful finding "regular" foods that happen to be gluten free. There are enough choices - soups, salads, meats, rice based side dishes, potatoes, corn tortillas etc - that she gets lots of tasty variety in her diet. We've even got a gluten-free cake recipe that's almost as good as non-GF, for birthdays and cupcakes.

I have mixed feelings about people choosing to eat GF, however. The more call there is for GF options, the better the selection will be for those who truly need to eat GF.

Sid

[dixiegrrrrl]

3. Wheat has been bred to contain MORE gluten than it used to, I found out.

Which may be tilting gluten sensitive people over the edge, so to speak.
( I have celiac condition).

But I never got a sense that anyone was "anti-gluten" in the broad sense.
Have no idea where that perception came from.

If you feel like, I sure would be interested in that gluten free cake recipe. You can pm me if you prefer.

:hi:

[yellowcanine]

5. Hard wheat has more gluten than soft wheat. That is why it makes better bread.

Gluten provides stability to the bread dough while it is rising and baking. So it will result in a lighter bread. Generally one doesn't want that for cookies and some kinds of cakes so soft wheat is used for those - though there is still some gluten. It is all about baking quality.

I have no problem eating gluten so I am not ready to give up eating bread made from hard wheat or cookies and cakes made from soft wheat, for that matter.

[BanzaiBonnie]

6. A close friend can't have gluten

It makes her very sick. All sorts of rashes and brain fog.

She has been told that if she can find "old world wheat" that she could eat it. So, there may be something to this.

[dixiegrrrrl]

8. I would very much like to know more about that, Banzai.

So you know who told her this?

[BanzaiBonnie]

12. Her naturopath gave her the info

My friend will still not eat any wheat because gluten affects her so badly. She just leaves it alone.

[Ian David]

4. That's one way to look at it. Tricking people into eating gluten-free unnecessarily...

... creates more of a market for a variety of foods to be supplied to those who DO need to eat gluten-free.

Not a socially responsible strategy, but I guess it does have an upside.

However, increasing demand can also increase cost.

[Cowpunk]

9. I doubt that they can raise the prices on this stuff much higher.

People will just find other things to eat. We may see something like what happened during the Atkins diet fad, with lots of companies trying to cash in by merely changing their labels.

[Hatchling]

11. My favorite gluten free cookie:

1cup peanut butter
1cup packed brown sugar
1 egg (or for cholesterol free: tbl flaxseed meal and 3 tbl water)

Roll into balls, dip in regular sugar and flatten with standard fork criss cross pattern.
Bake at 350 for 812 minutes depending on your oven.

They disappear rapidly.

[Enthusiast]

15. Thanks.

This recipe will be put to good use.

[xchrom]

2. recommend

[Kali]

7. helminths might fix the problem!

[Thav]

10. I agree with most posters - it's a marketing fad

And it will fade as all fads do. If you're not sensitive to gluten, then eat it up!

But I guess there is a down side to the marketing fad fading - there'll be less product out there for those who are sensitive to gluten. Having friends who are sensitive, I'm sure they love the expanded product availability.

One thing I will agree with is whole-grain stuffs. I haven't bought white bread for years, and can't stand it - no flavor! I've recently started buying pita chips to eat with dips. I first bought plain ones and was all "meh" about it. Then I bought some whole grain ones and my taste buds reveled in the flavory goodness!

I sure hope whole grains stick around for a long time.

[Odin2005]

13. Gluten is the new Health-Nut boogyman.

[SheilaT]

14. I likewise get very tired of those

who think none of us should have gluten. Unfortunately, it makes me far less sympathetic to those who truly do suffer from celiac disease than I should be.

I'm sorry you can't have the stuff, but let me enjoy what I can eat.

[Enthusiast]

16. I'm a huge gluten fan.

I feel it would be ridiculous to remove gluten from the diet unless one were truly gluten intolerant. I would certainly never eliminate gluten from my diet on a whim. In the past I was an enthusiastic pasta maker, beer brewer and bread maker. But that was in the past.

I found that I have celiac disease. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, well maybe Glenn Beck. The symptoms can become worse, like mine did, far worse. The symptoms I had were horrible. There are degrees of gluten sensitivity. I ate gluten with no obvious side effects for most of my life. In addition to the really bad symptoms, I found several other mysterious ailments simply disappeared when I eliminated gluten from my diet.

[HuckleB]

17. Kick.