In recent years, removing gluten from the diet has gained popularity in the nutrition community, and many people now tout its advantages. Some advocates of the gluten-free diet might claim that they feel healthier and have improved digestion as a result of modifying their diet. Gluten-free diets are also adopted when people want to lose weight, become more focused, gain energy, or feel less bloated—all potential advantages that are frequently promoted by health gurus.
But what really is Gluten?
It is a protein found in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. Numerous everyday foods and beverages contain gluten, including pasta, cereal, and beer.
The two main proteins included in gluten are gliadin and glutenin. When flour and water combine, these proteins come together in a glue-like web. Gluten derives its name from its glue-like characteristics.
For non-medical reasons, people may avoid gluten due to the slightest uneasiness caused by foods that contain gluten like wheat, barley etc. and claim to be gluten intolerant. However, the most recent research indicates that if you don’t have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, your resistance is mostly psychological.
Some people may not be allergic to gluten but to a specific carbohydrate that is present in many foods. Their bodies don’t properly absorb carbohydrates. As a result, it continues to ferment in their small intestine with bacteria, causing bloating, gas, pain, and discomfort. Gluten-sensitive people, on the other hand, do not necessarily have faulty genes or blood antibodies.
Contrary to popular belief, celiac disease and gluten intolerance are not the same. Moreover, anyone who has celiac disease is gluten intolerant. In medical jargon, gluten intolerance that isn’t caused by celiac disease is referred to as “non-celiac gluten sensitivity.”
Although they share certain symptoms, celiac disease, an autoimmune condition in which consuming gluten results in damage to the gastrointestinal tract, is distinct from gluten intolerance. Dr Dimple Jangda, an Ayurveda and gut health coach on Instagram shared that a person who is intolerant to gluten may experience symptoms like bloating, digestive issues, diarrhoea, constipation, vomiting, exhaustion, body pains, bone or joint pain, headaches, depression, anxiety, brain fog, numbness, and itchy skin.
Here’s what you can do to combat gluten intolerance
The expert suggested replacing gluten with easy-to-digest options like millet. “Replace gluten with other easy-to-digest healthier options like millets! Millets are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food,” she wrote in her post adding that there are seven kinds of millets, namely pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), amaranth (ranjhira), buckwheat millet (kuttu), barnyard millet, foxtail millet, and kodo millet.
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