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July 11, 2020 2 min to read

Why do people go gluten-free? 5 compelling reasons

Category : Food, Health, Lifestyle

Fad diets are something of an American obsession these days.

Indeed, approximately 45 million of us go on one diet or another every single year.

Keto diets, paleo diets, vegan diets, Mediterranean diets, Dukan diets, 5-2 diets… You name it, and we do it. Until that is, the holidays come around and we can’t say no to another slice of Grandma’s famous pumpkin pie.

Of all the diets out there, though, going gluten-free has become one of the most popular. It’s literally everywhere these days! But why do people go gluten-free? And what actually is gluten?

Are you confused about the whole shebang and want answers to these kinds of questions? Let us help! Read on to discover all about gluten and the primary reasons people follow a gluten-free diet.

What Actually Is Gluten?

Very few people had even heard of gluten until fairly recently.

But now it’s everywhere.

You get gluten-free recipe websites, gluten-free options on restaurant menus (not to mention entire gluten-free restaurants), and gluten-free alternatives at grocery stores.

Despite gluten’s newfound ubiquity in everyday life, though, there remains a lot of confusion about it. Many people on the actual diet don’t even know what it is!

Gluten’s a term that’s been given to select proteins contained in wheat, barley, rye, and a wheat-rye hybrid known as triticale.

There aren’t any essential nutrients in gluten, but a clue to its function can be found in its name. Gluten acts as a binding agent (aka, a glue) that helps food hold its form and stay together.

You get it in a bunch of different (generally carbohydrate-heavy) foodstuffs. Think bread, pasta, cereal, beer, soups, and delectable baked goods to boot.

Now, what’s all well and good. Why do people go on a gluten-free diet though? More on that next.

5 Key Reasons to Stop Eating Gluten

In reality, there’s a whole range of reasons somebody might decide to stop eating gluten. From medical needs to personal preference and everything in between! They all count and they’re all common.

Nevertheless, get ready for five of the most compelling explanations behind going gluten-free:

1. They Have Celiac Disease

Someone who’s got celiac disease definitely has the most pressing reason to go gluten-free.

They could literally die if they kept eating it! At the very least, they’d get very sick indeed. Even small amounts of gluten can cause significant damage and distress. This is because people with celiac disease can’t digest gluten properly.

Ingesting it triggers a response from their immune system, which attacks the ‘villi’ in their small intestine. Villi are elongated protrusions that facilitate the absorption of nutrients in your gut. Hinder their functioning and your body can’t get the nutrients it needs to operate.

All sorts of health-related issues can develop if the disease goes unchecked and untreated. Anybody who suspects they have it should avoid gluten, book an appointment with their physician and consider getting…
 
Continue reading the article and learn more about gluten on Daisy Linden’s blog.
 
 

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