What is gluten and is gluten bad for us?

There is a lot of discussion about it, but actually, we should ask ourselves what is gluten and   is gluten bad for us? Well, the fact is gluten isn't necessarily bad, but some people are gluten intolerant, meaning their bodies produce an abnormal immune response when it breaks down gluten from wheat and related grains during digestion.

People who have this abnormal immune response have celiac disease. Others may be gluten intolerant or have a wheat allergy.  About 1-2 % of the world's population have celiac disease but this rate may vary from country to country. This group of people must not eat gluten, but for the rest of us, it is an important part of our diet.

To a person who is not gluten intolerant, gluten will do us no harm. In fact, gluten is good because worldwide, gluten is a source of protein, both in foods prepared directly from it (bread etc.)  and as an additive to foods which are low in protein. Glutens are an essential part of the modern food industry and part of the stable diet of many cultures.

Just look at the Italians with their pasta and pizzas and you know what I mean. If the world stopped producing products with gluten, thousands of people, especially in developing countries, would die of starvation.

Gluten comes from the Latin word gluten, meaning glue. Gluten gives elasticity to dough, helping it rise and keep its shape and often gives the final product a chewy texture. Many products are made from gluten such as bread, cereals, pasta, cakes, biscuits and pizza.

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Technically speaking, gluten is a protein complex found in related grasses within the tribe Triticeae which includes wheat and related grains, barley and rye. Like the fruit of most flowering plants, Triticeae have endosperms with stored protein to nourish embryonic plants during germination. Seed glutens of some of the on-Triticeae plants, such as oats, have similar properties to those produced by the tribe Triticeae. There are 2 genera which are known to produce gluten which has detrimental health effects for some:

• Triticum (found in wheat, rye, barley)
• Avena (found in oats)

  Triticum:             

The seed proteins produced by the tribe Triticeae can be divided into four groups:

                  1) albumin

                  2) globulin

                  3) prolamin

                  4) glutelin

All 4 of these proteins are involved in wheat allergies, however, it is only the prolamin and the glutelin which cause the damage in celiac patients. The proteins found in the Triticeae tribe of grains are involved in several human diseases:

                        1) In Celiac Disease and other Autoimmune Diseases  

                        2) Gluten Sensitivity/Intolerance 

                        3) Gluten Allergy in general

Avena:

Avenin found in oats is toxic to the intestinal mucosa of avenin-sensitive individuals, and can trigger a reaction in these celiacs.

Prolamin-Glutelin complexes

Prolamin and glutelin bond together to form Prolamin-Glutelin complexes which are defined as gluten. It is specifically the amino acid sequences in the prolamin, a component of gluten, that cause the reaction in celiacs.

Prolamins are slightly different in each type of grain:

•       In true wheat (Triticum) it is called gliadin - constitutes 40-50%, of total proteins in wheat grain

•       In food rye (Secale) it is called secalin -constitutes 30-50%, of the total protein in rye grain

•       In food barley (Hordeum) it is called hordein - constitutes 35-45% of the total protein in barley

•       Oats (Avena) also has prolamin called avenin which only constitutes 10-15% of the protein in oat grain

Glutelin is also different in each species:

•       In wheat; it is called glutenin

•       In barley; it is barley glutelin

•       In rye; it is rye glutelin

•       In oats; it is oat glutelin

Note: Gluten free grains such as teff, millet, rice, corn, buckwheat, and sorghum, also contain prolamins and glutelins. But in these products, the prolamins and glutelins are made up of different amino acid sequences that aren’t considered to be gluten which cause health problems. These grains don’t cause a reaction in gluten sensitive people.

So what is gluten? It is a vital protein which makes up a large proportion of the world's food source. Is gluten bad for us? Well only if you have been diagnosed with one of the gluten-related illnesses. Experts worry, however, that going on a gluten free diets without explicitly needing to could be detrimental to a person's health, as gluten free foods are often deficient in vital nutrients. For expert advice on how to avoid gluten click this link.