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Misconceptions about Gluten Free Products
By: Aniko Silk On: 7 November 2017
For 98% of people there is no benefit to gluten free products and in fact it is to their detriment. Health professionals don’t like people to consume gluten-free product unless it is necessary. Because 98 percent of people simply don’t have gluten problem
Let me clear up some misconceptions about gluten free products. Gluten free food products are made without the many desirable nutritional and fibre qualities of cereal grains. They are designed specifically for those 1% of us that suffer from a rare hereditary disease called coeliac disease. There is no cure or other treatments for coeliacs except to avoid all gluten proteins in food.
Gluten proteins are present in all cereal grains which apart from cereal foods are used in many different food products that are by-products of cereal grains. NB: Gluten proteins are also present in all oats although at very low levels that most coeliacs can tolerate. So, advertisements and product labelling for Gluten Free Oats are somewhat misleading.
Apart from coeliac disease, there are two other gluten-related conditions: gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy. However, these conditions are also rare and estimated to account for a further 1% of the population.
The bottom line is that only around 2% of the population need to be concerned about using gluten free products.
So, why do other people, that don’t need to, consume vast quantities of gluten free products you ask? And is there any value to it?
It seems humans just go along without getting the full story and seem to think like …“Oh this food is marked free of gluten, so gluten must be bad, so I better stop eating gluten”!
Manufactures are now labelling all kinds of foods gluten free. A simple salad on its own is gluten free, so is an apple or a glass of water. They are all healthy, but you don’t eat them because they are gluten free!
The reality is for most people there is no benefit to gluten free products and in fact it is to their detriment. Health professionals don’t like people to consume gluten-free product unless it is necessary. Because 98 percent of people simply don’t have gluten issues.
Whole grains, including the gluten grains wheat, barley rye and especially oats are loaded with nutrition and fibre and are health promoting. They are linked to reduced risk of: cancer, diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, and other chronic diseases. The fact is, a gluten free diet could be harmful.
There is evidence to suggest that a gluten-free diet may upset affect gut health in those without celiac disease, wheat allergy, or gluten sensitivity. A Spanish study found that even one month on a gluten-free diet may impact our gut flora and immune function, possibly enabling an overgrowth of harmful bacteria in their gut. Whereas most cereal grains feed our good gut bacteria and furthermore gluten is thought to booth our immune system which helps our bodies fight viral infections and cancer.
Don’t follow the sheep. Whole grain products are heathy foods that should be a part of every normal healthy lifestyle diet.
For more information about gluten free food products, see our main blog category Gluten Free Products.
Aniko Silk is the Executive Chef at Opera Foods Pty Ltd, Australian manufacturers & distributors of fine food products. For more information about gluten free products of Plum Foods breakfast cereals, proudly based on organic oats, particularly our Organic Rolled Oats products, contact Opera Foods on 02 4954 4077, or buy direct through the Opera Foods Fine Food Distributors Store