The truth about gluten

We have all noticed how ‘gluten free’ has suddenly become so popular. Yet most of us are still in the dark when it comes to the health benefits of a gluten-free diet. The author Professor David Sanders runs the UK’s leading clinic for gluten-related problems. In his book ‘Gluten Attack: Is Gluten waging war on our health? And if so what can we do about it?’, he brings us the latest evidence and groundbreaking research findings on the effects of gluten from a medical perspective.
“I believe there is no doubt something has happened or is happening to society and our relationship to gluten and therefore wheat. I would like to share the unbiased evidence with you and let you make your mind up.”
In the opening chapter, we read that Novak Djokovic celebrated his Wimbledon victory by eating some grass and joking that it was ‘gluten-free’. The tennis champion is one of many famous people who are following a gluten-free diet.
Presently, the gluten-free market is outselling all other diet options including low carbohydrate and fat-free diets. Reuters estimates that the gluten-free industry will increase from $1.31 billion in 2011 to a projected market of $23.9 billion by the year 2020.
According to studies conducted by the Sheffield Institute of Gluten-Related Disorders, 13 percent of the population report symptoms when they eat gluten and furthermore 2.9 percent have decided to follow a gluten-free diet. However, the author acknowledges that the subject of gluten sensitivity is driven by the food and gluten-free industry. Gluten-free products are four times more expensive than products containing gluten and that means big business. Interestingly enough, this business is endorsed by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Victoria Beckham, Rachel Weisz, Michael Douglas and Miley Cyrus who have announced in the media that they are gluten intolerant or gluten sensitive.
To fully understand the medical effects of gluten, we must learn about coeliac disease which affects only 1 percent of the adult population. For people with coeliac disease when gluten is ingested, an auto-immune response is triggered in the small intestine, causing damage to its lining. Eventually, the response produces an inflammation which in time leads to the mal-absorption of nutrients. There is no cure for coeliac disease but a strict gluten free diet will help healing the intestinal lining and prevent further inflammation.
Gluten is basically a special type of protein that is found in foods such as cereals, certain grains and wheat. It is interesting to know that if we can break down proteins to their basic constituents that are called amino acids, we cannot do this with gluten. Humans are unable to digest gluten but this does not prevent us from eating wheat.
“Gluten reaches a certain protein configuration of many protein blocks and will not allow itself to be digested further. In fact it is this aspect of gluten which is the problem or ‘antigen’ (something foreign to be attacked) to our immune system.”
One of the main purposes of gluten is to keep the elasticity intact in foods during the fermentation phase of food productions. Gluten makes bread chewy and prevents other foods from having a sticky doughy-like texture. Gluten is also used in the food industry for sauces, instant soups, some energy drinks, and even the Mars bar.
Nowadays, coeliac disease is on the rise. This is the case in Finland where a study has shown that the prevalence of coeliac disease has doubled over a twenty year period. Finnish investigators have suggested that autoimmune diseases are increasing due to the fact that our immune system is not functioning properly. Our immune system is geared to fight infection and parasites however, with the advent of modern hygiene, the lack of exposure to allergens and microbes are causing a growing number of autoimmune diseases.
A similar story happened within the Amerindian Toba community. Traditionally hunter gatherers, these indigenous people receive nutritional support which is wheat based. As a result, 4 percent of the population has been diagnosed with coeliac disease. In China and India which are both rice based cultures, doctors are reporting new cases of coeliac disease.
A growing number of people are also suffering from gluten sensitivity. Gluten is responsible for attacking the small bowel but this form of gluten attack appears to be unrelated to the kind of symptoms that we observe in patients with coeliac disease.
What happens is that when people eat gluten, it crosses their small bowel gut barrier and triggers an immune response which causes the production of antibodies which can be measured in a blood test.
“The first thing we noticed which was encouraging if you have gluten sensitivity was that these patients did not commonly have the nutritional and metabolic deficiencies of patients with coeliac disease. The gluten sensitivity patients generally did not have anaemia, their iron stores were usually not low and they did not usually have low vitamin B12 levels” writes Professor Sanders.
This means that people suffering from gluten sensitivity do not have to adhere to a gluten-free diet with the same degree of rigidity as recommended for coeliac patients; it can even mean that in the future their sensitivity might change and lifelong adherence may not be necessary.”
Professor Sanders is one of the world’s leading specialists on the subject of gluten. In “Gluten Attack”, he reveals the truth about gluten and brings us the latest evidence and groundbreaking research.
The incidence of coeliac disease is increasing worldwide and we are also witnessing an increasing trend of other gluten related disorders.
“The emerging entity of non-coeliac gluten sensitivity requires so much more international scientific study (perhaps the rest of my career)” says Sanders.
However, if you believe you suffer from symptoms which might be related to gluten, it is important that you make no changes to your diet before consulting a specialist. You must undergo a thorough investigation and take the proper tests to make sure whether you have coeliac disease or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.
The author concludes with an open debate: Is gluten a public health problem? This book has revealed that commercial gluten usage is unregulated and appears to cause many unexplained effects and associations.
This is a challenging book to read but it ends on a lighter note with delicious gluten-free recipes. After all, a gluten-free diet can have a variety of health benefits such as improving cholesterol levels, promoting digestive health and boosting energy levels.

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