“Everyone Can Benefit From a Gluten-Free Diet.”
03/01/2012
True or Not? “Everyone can benefit from a gluten-free diet.”
P. Stephen Baenziger, PhD says:
Gluten cannot be digested by those with Celiac disease or by those who are gluten-sensitive.
One of the shifts in calorie consumption in recent years involves wheat, barley and rye – all containing gluten, which cannot be digested by those with Celiac disease (CD) or by those who are gluten sensitive. In the U.S., less than 1 percent of the population has CD, and only 6 percent are thought to have gluten sensitivity.
I believe that “wheat belly” and obesity is more likely due to overeating and physical inactivity than by consuming wheat. Among the major cereal grains, wheat actually is relatively higher in protein (therefore lower in carbohydrate) than many other cereals like rice and corn. The higher protein content in wheat is because you need protein to make bread. If protein gets too low, you cannot make a loaf of bread.
A lot of people have suggested that modern wheat breeding has made people more sensitive to Celiac disease, but I can give you a sample of wheat that is 100 years old and it will still have the problem. For some reason, it is assumed that modern technology has hurt the healthful qualities of food and that is not the case.
Ruth MacDonald, PhD, RD says:
The view that everyone should avoid wheat for health reasons is not well-supported by the evidence.
While many people believe gluten is the cause of digestive issues in humans, the extreme view that everyone should avoid wheat because of this is not well-supported by the evidence. The loophole here is that people are now finding a continuum of sensitivity to gluten proteins, which opens the door to more people who might be having negative effects to wheat leading to this type of public warning, which is clearly overblown and not well supported.
“Gluten Free Yeast Bread” by Brenda Wiley is licensed under CC BY- NC-ND.
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