{"id":18875,"date":"2019-10-04T10:00:44","date_gmt":"2019-10-04T17:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/?p=18875"},"modified":"2023-05-22T17:49:01","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T00:49:01","slug":"what-does-gluten-free-mean","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/foodrevolution.org\/blog\/what-does-gluten-free-mean\/","title":{"rendered":"Gluten-Free: Is it for Everyone?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Millions of people around the world have gone gluten-free in the last decade. A 2015 Gallup poll found<\/a> that around one-fifth of Americans and many Europeans prefer gluten-free foods. <\/p>\n

So it makes sense to ask the question: should we avoid gluten? Is it bad for our health? Should everyone go gluten-free, or just certain people? <\/p>\n

Ordinarily, these questions would lend themselves to pretty straightforward scientific inquiry. Researchers would examine different populations, explore the biochemistry of gluten in the human body, and conduct randomized trials to see the results of different dietary patterns.<\/p>\n

All this work is already out there \u2014 and we\u2019ll talk about a lot of it in this article. But talking rationally about gluten has become difficult for a couple of reasons. First, there\u2019s a lot of money in convincing as many people as possible not just to avoid gluten, but to purchase manufactured gluten-free analogues and substitutes. By 2020, the gluten-free foods market is projected to reach<\/a> $7.59 billion in the United States alone.<\/p>\n

Second, gluten has become a pawn in the culture war between vegans and meat lovers. Many in the Paleo and keto communities cite gluten concerns as evidence that plant-based diets are inferior to those containing large amounts of (gluten-free) animal products.  <\/p>\n

When financial interests and cultural forces intersect, the truth often suffers. The \u201cYou\u2019re-either-with-me-or-against-me\u201d attitude can undermine the good-faith pursuit of truth, and the millions of dollars at stake can fund pro-industry propaganda at the expense of facts.<\/p>\n

What to Expect in This Article<\/h2>\n

In this article, we focus on the actual evidence. We explore what the science says about gluten, who can benefit from avoiding it, and whether it might actually be beneficial for some people.<\/p>\n

And we want to remind you upfront that you know more about your body than anyone else does. More than the marketers trying to sell you their products. More than the scientists searching for trends in large populations. And more than your social media friends and acquaintances sharing the latest blog post on why you should never touch wheat. Or why your so-called gluten-intolerance is nothing but a placebo effect. So read on, and consider what we\u2019re learning from scientific inquiries, along with your own experience of what your body is telling you. <\/p>\n

What Is Gluten?<\/h2>\n

Gluten is an umbrella name for proteins<\/a> called prolamins (primarily glutenin and gliadin<\/a>) found in wheat, rye, barley, and the lesser-known triticale (a word that sounds to me like the backbeat to an ABBA song, but is actually a cross between wheat and rye). Wheat grains include wheat berries, durum, emmer, semolina, spelt, farina, farro, graham, KAMUT\u00ae Khorasan wheat, and einkorn. <\/p>\n

In addition to being a protein, gluten also binds foods together like a glue, helping to maintain their shape and structure. Remember paper mache art projects in third grade? It\u2019s the gluten in the flour that makes everything stick together.<\/p>\n

Even though oats don\u2019t contain gluten, many oats sold commercially are actually carriers of gluten. This is typically a result<\/a> of cross-contamination that happens either during the growing of the crops or during commercial processing methods. You can find certified gluten-free oats online, and in more and more supermarkets.<\/p>\n

Wheat, rye, barley, and triticale are in<\/a> in many of the following products.<\/p>\n