Wells - Going Gluten Free: A Quick Start Guide for a Gluten-Free Diet

Going Gluten Free:

A Quick Start

Guide for

a Gluten-Free Diet

by Jennifer Wells

2012 by Jennifer Wells

Kindle Edition

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Resources

Be sure to check out my other resource:

Juice for Health: Juice Fasting for Health and Wellness

Top 10 Tips to Help You Lose Weight

Gluten-Free Kids: A Quick Start Guide for a Healthy Kids Diet

Table of Contents

Introduction

Over the last several years, there has been a great deal of public awareness and research done concerning the condition and symptoms of gluten sensitivity. Whether a person experiences mild bloating after eating products containing gluten or suffers severe cramping and headaches, those affected by gluten intolerance and Celiac Disease appear to be on the rise.

Come and spend some time with me as you learn:

- What gluten is

- How gluten free differs from grain free

- What happens when your body doesnt like gluten

- How to know if a product has gluten in it

- Discover strange places where gluten can hide

- Find helpful resources to further your investigation concerning Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity

This quick-start guide will give you an overview of how to begin to live a gluten-free lifestyle. It presents information you can process quickly. You will discover some of the basics involved in going gluten free so you will know which areas to tackle first, how to clean out your pantry and refrigerator, and what a shopping list looks like.

If you suspect that you may be sensitive to gluten, think you cannot tolerate it, or you or someone you love have been diagnosed with Celiac Disease, then this resource will help you tremendously as you begin a lifestyle change of Going Gluten Free.

Chapter 1: What Is Gluten?

Although grains are classified as carbohydrates, about 10 to 15 percent of a kernel of grain is actually protein. The germ of the wheat that will become a new plant is mostly protein. The types of proteins vary from plant to plant, but in many grains, the most plentiful protein is gluten. In wheat, gluten makes up about 80% of the protein. When water is added to flour made from ground-up wheat kernels, the mixture becomes an elastic, sticky, and gooey substance. It is the gluten within the dough ball that enables bread to rise and gives it its strength and texture.

Once kneading begins, the gluten causes long and flexible strands to develop in the dough. Then when yeast is added to the dough, these strands capture the gases released by the yeast, and the dough rises. As the dough cooks, it cements the strands of the gluten protein into place and allows the dough to remain in a solid, heightened form.

Gluten is responsible for the chewiness of bread. Compare French baguettes with the softness and light airy texture of a cake. The differences in texture are determined by how much the gluten is developed. For chewiness, the gluten is kneaded extensively; for a cake, very little kneading or mixing is done. Yet, without gluten, foods like bagels, pizza, doughnuts and yeast breads would not exist as we know them today.

Gluten is found in grains like spelt, kamut, wheat, rye, graham, semolina, triticale, einkorn, durum, barley, farro, and bulgur wheat. Because flours like corn and rye have no gluten in them, wheat flour has to be added to them so loaves of bread can be made out of these flours. You see, without the gluten, yeast breads simply wouldnt get off the ground.

Oats normally do not contain gluten; however, oats that are processed commercially can easily become contaminated with gluten due to exposing this grain to other grains that do contain gluten. Great care and keeping grains separated during processing and storing have to occur in order to eliminate cross-contamination of gluten grains with non-gluten grains.

Now that you know a little bit more of what gluten is, in the next chapter I will discuss whether or not gluten is bad for you.

Chapter 2: Is Gluten Bad For Me?

Although Celiac Disease was first described nearly two thousand years ago, it has only been in the past few decades that the link between gluten and this chronic, debilitating disease has become clear. Celiac is an autoimmune disease, one of a class of diseases where your own immune system attacks normal cells within your body.

When a person has celiac disease, antibodies are formed against gliadin, a component protein of gluten. These antibodies attack the lining of the small intestine, damaging the small finger-like projections of these cells called villi. With repeated damage, these villi become atrophic, and their ability to absorb nutrients is lessened. Along with this mal-absorption, the lining of the intestine also becomes leaky, and toxic proteins that ordinarily could not enter the blood stream are able to pass through the intestinal wall and travel throughout the body.

Whenever someone with Celiac Disease and to a lesser extent someone with gluten sensitivity eats a product that has gluten in it, it triggers an autoimmune response. This attack can cause inflammation in many organ systems wherever the antibodies find similar proteins to attack. Because your body is literally fighting against itself, certain side effects result that you may not even realize are due to your gluten intake.

When this happens, here are some of the following symptoms that can occur:

- Fogginess

- Joint pain

- Headaches

- Abdominal pain

- Extremities becoming numb

- Diarrhea

- Bloating

- Fatigue

- Depression

- Fertility issues and

- Eczema

As more research is being conducted in the area of Celiac Disease and gluten sensitivity, it has become apparent that gluten is turning out to be a real problem for many peopleeven for many who dont even realize it.