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Family Health Magazine - NUTRITION

Giving up Gluten
Is it right for you?

Gluten-free’ is everywhere these days. Gluten has been blamed for many different ailments, from bloating to weight gain to brain fog. Hearing about gluten so often may have you thinking about your diet.

What is gluten?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. It is responsible for the structure, strength and texture of the dough used in baked goods. As gluten adds strength and elasticity to products, it is added to many of the commercial foods we eat.

How do you test for gluten sensitivity?

If you think you might be sensitive to gluten, get tested. Your doctor can perform a blood test to check for gluten antibodies. If these antibodies are present, this means that your body is reacting to gluten. This will be followed up by a small biopsy of your small intestine. If you are serious about wanting a diagnosis, do not give up gluten before the blood test. Removing gluten from your diet may change the results of the blood test, and the test will appear to be normal.

Who can benefit from a gluten-free diet?

If you are diagnosed with celiac disease, you must completely eliminate gluten from your diet. This is the only way to treat the disease. About one per cent of Canadians have celiac disease. It involves tiny, hair-like projections called villi that line the small intestine. In celiac disease, gluten triggers an immune (defence system) response that damages the villi. The work of the villi is to absorb nutrients, but they cannot do so when damaged.

Perhaps you are one of the six per cent of the population with ‘non-celiac gluten sensitivity.’ In this case, you test negative for celiac disease, but have many of the same symptoms of gas, bloating and other complaints with your stomach and intestines. A diet that reduces or eliminates gluten may help you feel much better, but not always.

If you are not diagnosed as being sensitive to gluten, there is no evidence that dropping gluten will help you lose weight and feel more energetic. Gluten is not essential to your health. You may benefit from reducing gluten if you focus on eating gluten-free whole grains, lean meat, pulses (black beans, lentils, chickpeas), vegetables, fruit, milk and yogurt. Reducing gluten may be a stepping-stone in learning more about nutrition and making improvements to what you eat. For instance, you may be used to having a quick bowl of cereal for breakfast. Instead, try quinoa with yogurt, dried fruit, nuts and seeds, and see whether you feel fuller and more energized.

The pitfalls of going gluten-free

If you remove gluten from your diet, do not fall into the trap of filling up on gluten-free breads, bagels, cookies and snack foods. Many gluten-free products are made with refined flours and starches like white rice flour, tapioca flour, potato starch, and cornstarch. These ingredients are low in fibre, protein, iron, and B vitamins. Unlike wheat flour, they are not fortified with vitamins and minerals. Many are also higher in fat, carbohydrates and sodium. For instance, a gluten-free bun has 45 grams of carbohydrate while a regular bun has 25.

Gluten-free diets tend to be low in fibre because wheat bran is off limits. To add fibre, include two tablespoons of chia seeds, or ground flax seeds in your daily diet. Legumes and lentils are high-fibre foods appropriate for a gluten-free diet. Eating at least three fruit servings and four vegetable servings a day will also help boost your fibre intake. When buying a ready-to-eat cereal, choose one that has whole grains as a first ingredient, and at least six grams of fibre per serving.

Why do we hear so much about gluten today?

Celiac disease and gluten sensitivity are both on the rise, especially as people age into their senior years. This increase could be due to any combination of the following.

• We are eating much more gluten compared to generations before us. We choose more wheat products throughout our day, like muffins, donuts, cookies, bagels, and wraps. Gluten is found in smaller amounts, in prepared meats such as hot dogs, canned soups, sauces, salad dressings, seasonings, soy sauce, beer, flavoured coffees and chocolate bars, as well as some supplements and medications. Even small amounts can add up over the course of a day.

• As people age, they may become less able to tolerate gluten if the health of the villi in the small intestine changes. An incident causing stress or illness might also trigger a change in the way the body processes gluten.
• Today’s wheat is different from how it was a generation ago. Wheat strains have been developed to be drought, heat and pest resistant. The wheat is naturally higher in gluten. This quality produces better results in baked products.
• Purified wheat gluten is added to foods such as high fibre bread, as it helps the fibrous dough to stick together and rise. If you are a home baker, using bread flour that has more gluten makes it rise higher than with regular all-purpose flour. Plain ‘wheat gluten’ is not just for commercial use, and is available in the baking aisle of many grocery stores.
• Since 2011, Health Canada has listed wheat as a priority allergen, making wheat and gluten-free words more visible on all processed foods.

If you wish to substitute the foods that contain gluten in your kitchen, check the website of your local supermarket to find a listing of gluten-free products carried in the store. A variety of gluten-free bread products and baked items are available, as well as baking mixes, flours, cereals, crackers, deli meats and soups. There are also gluten-free rice or quinoa crackers, corn tortillas or corn tortilla tostados, frozen pizzas and frozen dinners, sauces, condiments, and even ice cream.

Boosting your health while avoiding gluten

• Many foods you have in your kitchen are already naturally gluten-free. This includes meat, poultry, fish, eggs, nuts, seeds, pulses (black beans, dried peas, chickpeas, lentils), milk, yogurt, cheese, vegetables and fruit. Potatoes, yams, corn, rice and rice noodles are also gluten-free.
• Find recipes using other grains, such as quinoa, millet, amaranth and buckwheat, to help you get fibre, vitamins and minerals.
• Instead of flour pasta, choose pasta made from quinoa, rice or corn.
• Keep your intestines healthy by eating probiotics, found in yogurt and kefir.
• Make homemade meals using fresh and minimally processed foods.
• When you eat out, choose restaurants that serve freshly made dishes. Avoid fast food chains.
• Tip: If you eat rice regularly, try mixing it 50:50 with pulses (black beans, lentils, chickpeas). See Pulse Canada’s recipe booklet, Pulses and the Gluten-Free Diet, at www.pulsecanada.com.

Perhaps cutting back on gluten is a starting point for changing to a healthier way of eating. Are you filling up on refined bread products like sugary cereals, donuts and cookies? Are you getting high quality, healthy meals and snacks with plenty of whole vegetables and fruit? Your goal should be a healthier diet, whether or not it is free of gluten.

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While effort is made to reflect accepted medical knowledge and practice, articles in Family Health Online should not be relied upon for the treatment or management of any specifid medical problem or concern and Family Health accepts no liability for reliance on the articles. For proper diagnosis and care, you should always consult your family physican promptly. Copyright 2012, Family Health Magazine, a special publication of the Edmonton Journal, a division of Postmedia Network Inc., 10006 - 101 Street, Edmonton, AB T5J 0S1  [NU_FHcd14]