What is Gluten?

Hi everyone. I am associate Professor, medical doctor, paediatrician (children's doctor). I have done a lot of studies about problems related to food allergy, gluten-sensitivity (the gluten syndrome), coeliac disease, and gastroenterology problems. I am also known as the medical food doctor!

Today I will be sharing with you some facts about Gluten:

Gluten is the central character in the celiac disease/gluten sensitivity story.

Found in wheat, rye and barley grains

Gluten is a common food protein. But when we eat it, it does not get readily digested. That is where the problem originates. Undigested gluten fragments can go on to trigger immunological reactions. Then, a few weeks or months later, we can experience symptoms caused by the immune response.

Gluten is found in the cereals of wheat, rye and barley. Smaller amounts, of similar protein fragments (avenin, or avenalin) are also found in oats. But only a small number of people are troubled by it.

Sticky, and great in cooking

Gluten is a natural part of the proteins of these grains. It gets its name gluten because, when cooked, it goes sticky like glue. Gluten is the stuff that makes bread dough sticky, such that it won’t easily come off your hands.

However, gluten is very useful in cooking and baking. Gluten helps to stick food components together. When you make bread and muffins, and all your wonderful baking, it is the gluten that glues the foods together. It traps the air so that you can make airy, fluffy, light food. Gluten prevents your baking from falling apart into crumbs.

Food without gluten

Once you take the gluten out of the food, you get much smaller air pockets in the baking. That is why gluten-free baking can be rather solid. That is the technical problem of taking gluten out of your diet.

It is an irritating fact that gluten is found in the three cereals wheat, rye and barley. It cannot be removed, therefore you have to remove these grains from your diet.

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If you're suffering from those symptoms and you're not sure if you have a food allergy or not please contact me or leave me a comment.

TAGS: food allergy, food, allergy, skin, common, babies rash, babies allergies, gluten