Thursday, 14 April 2016

Why avoid Gluten? Its Yummy!


Now that you’re staring at this picture, what do you see? One side is trying to convince you, "EAT ME" and the other, "AVOID ME". Well just for your information, neither side is better than the other. Yes of course one side looks fresher, natural, and seemed to be healthier. But does that mean that food on the other side is not good for you? Or it doesn't taste good? Or what makes it so unhealthy? The only difference that I see in these two pictures is one side contains gluten foods and other side contains gluten free foods. Therefore this picture is convincing us that food that contains gluten should be avoided. Now, is it a good idea to eliminate gluten from your daily diet? 

Let's start with breakfast. Many of us start our day with a slice of bread, donut or a muffin and a coffee weather its from Tim Horton or homemade. A sandwich for lunch is amazing. Then a plate of pasta for dinner is ideal. Sometime between meals we go for ice cream and crackers. We all love to eat these food and we can't deny it. But the solid fact is, all these food contains gluten. We've been such a big fan of breads, sandwich, pastas, ice creams and the list goes on, for many years, so why avoid it now? If you can digest it and doesn't make you sick there shouldn't be any valid reason to eliminate gluten from you diet beside the rumors being said that gluten is not healthy. 

Of course gluten is not made for everyone. Not everyone can eat it neither digest it. In fact, some people are negatively reacted to gluten. This is common in people who are suffering from celiac disease. People who have celiac disease, when gluten reaches the stomach and then it is exposed to the cell of immune system, they mistakenly take it a foreign invader, like a bacteria [1]. In celiac disease (the most severe form of gluten sensitivity), the immune system attacks the gluten proteins, but it also attacks an enzyme in the cells of digestive tract. Therefore, gluten exposure in celiac causes the immune system to attack both the gluten as well as the intestinal wall itself [1]. So if these people continue to eat the food we love such as breads, pasta, donuts, cookies, ice cream and so on, they will certainly experience nutrient deficiencies, various digestive issues, vomiting, diarrhea, bloating, anemia, fatigue, failure to thrive as well as many other serious disease and even death [1]. Therefore, it is important they avoid gluten and eat this boring fresh, natural food also known as healthy food.

But don't be scare guys! I have couple of good news for you. First, celiac disease is very rare among young people. It usually develops at a later age. If your going to high school, then you should enjoy eating sandwiches and go for ice cream with your friends. Second good news is if your parents or grand parents are not gluten sensitive neither suffering from celiac disease, then the chances are you'll have 100% freedom to eat gluten containing food for the rest of your life. If you notice any of the symptoms that I mentioned above, then you must talk to your parents and go see a doctor. Maybe it's not the gluten that is making you sick, it could be other ingredients in the food. Celiac disease is known as an autoimmune condition that tends to run within the families [2]. So if your ancestors had celiac disease there is a possibility that you'll have to migrate across the picture and adapt the gluten-free diet at a later age. And the final good news is, people live with the illusion that gluten-containing food is bad for health and it introduces many illnesses. Then, they decide to eat gluten-free foods. DON'T LISTEN TO THEM! They are stupid and misguiding you. Actually gluten-free diets lack of certain sugars, proteins, vitamins, and fibers that you need in order for your body to function [3].

So go ahead guys, don't be fooled with what people say about gluten. You should only worry about not eating gluten if you’re suffering from celiac disease, which is very rare, if you’re still in high school. I would never stop you from not consuming gluten so go enjoy all kind of foods, weather is gluten (breads, pasta, cookies, crackers) or gluten-free (fruits, vegetables, meats, poultry, and fish).



References

[1] Gunnars, K. (2013, November). 6 Reasons Why Gluten is Bad For Some People. In Authority Nutrition. Retrieved March 31, 2016, from https://authoritynutrition.com/6-shocking-reasons-why-gluten-is-bad/


[2] Wheeler, R. B. (2014, November 20). Celiac Later in Life: Can You Become Gluten Intolerant?. In EverydayHealth. Retrieved April 12, 2016, from http://www.everydayhealth.com/news/developing-celiac-later-life-can-you-become-gluten-intolerant/
Jaret, P. (n.d.). The Truth About Gluten. In WebMD. Retrieved April 6, 2016, from http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthy-kitchen-11/truth-about-gluten





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