From HealthNewsDigest.com

Food and Nutrition
Debunking the Gluten Myth
By
May 23, 2017 - 2:16:09 PM

(HealthNewsDigest.com) - As the gluten-free trend continues to grow, it's important for people to understand what gluten is, why you DON'T need to cut it from your diet (unless you have celiac disease or a wheat allergy), and why all wheat is not created equal. Bob Quinn, PhD, organic farmer and founder of Kamut International (kamut.com) has the real facts:

1. What is gluten? Gluten is a common name for the proteins found in grains such as wheat rye, barley and triticale, which is a cross between wheat and rye. It is responsible for the elastic texture of dough. For those with gluten sensitivities, consumption of gluten triggers a serious immune response damaging the inside of the small intestine. Because of this, the nutrients from foods are not absorbed properly.

2. The gluten-free fab is unnecessary, and unhealthy. People who don't have celiac disease or wheat sensitivities, but have gone gluten-free because they think it's healthier, have been proven wrong by two new studies released this month. The first, by Harvard University, which was published in the British Medical Journal on May 2 (http://www.bmj.com/content/357/bmj.j1892), found that long-term gluten intake was not associated with heart disease, but that staying away from gluten actually increased the chances of heart problems.

A second study was presented at the annual meeting of the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology Hepatology and Nutrition (http://bit.ly/2pY3Yeo), which found that gluten-free products might make you fat because they have more calories than foods with gluten. The study also found that gluten-free breads have more saturated fats than regular loaves, and gluten-free biscuits have less protein and more fat than regular biscuits. The researchers said that a gluten-free diet for children who do not have celiac disease could impact their growth and raise their childhood obesity risk. Also, since gluten can be found in whole grains, such as organic KAMUT® brand khorasan wheat, bulgur, farro and spelt, eliminating it from a diet completely means increasing the risk for nutritional deficiencies, since many vitamins, minerals and fiber are found in whole grains.

3. Not all wheat is created equal. The most common forms of wheat today, the white flour that is used in so many processed and baked goods, is vastly different than the stone ground whole grain wheat flour from 150 years ago, and even further removed from ancient grains, like KAMUT®. While only a small percentage of the population has celiac disease or a wheat allergy, more people are noticing sensitivities to modern, processed wheat. The vast majority of wheat we consume today has been drastically altered from its original form, unlike ancient grains, which have not been. The cheap wheat most often consumed today is stripped of many of its nutrients and removes the health benefits that can be found in ancient grains (published studies have shown that KAMUT® wheat has benefits for patients with heart disease, diabetes and IBS). Bob believes that the changes made to modern wheat, not gluten itself, are probably at the heart of the troubles that people are having eating wheat.

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