When it comes to health, our diets are one of the main things that we focus on, but sometimes we think we’re eating right when we are actually eating badly. There have been a countless number of studies that have led us to question the seemingly healthy food we’re eating. In these studies, gluten has come up time and time again as problematic for certain individuals. Who would have thought that eating normal wheat-based cereals or a slice of rye bread could be dangerous to people unaware that gluten can have an adverse effect on them.

First things first: what is Gluten?

Gluten is the protein part of wheat, rye, barley, and other related grains. Gluten is very common among grain food produce. Gluten became infamous when several clinical studies and findings revealed that there are people who somehow, are “intolerant” to gluten-filled food products. These people generally have a problem digesting gluten, especially when gluten is processed in the small intestines.

People with Celiac Disease
The intolerance to gluten is widely known in the medical world as a gluten-sensitive enteropathy (GSE) – a more popular term for it would be “Celiac Disease”. According to Wikipedia, in the United States alone, the cases of celiac disease are between 0.5% – 1.0%. For those who are diagnosed with this kind of condition, doctors have found out through examination that the patient’s gut surface and the lining around the small intestines are severely damaged due to an abnormal immune reaction to partially digested gliadin, present in gluten foods.

With an injured gut and small intestines, the person is likely to experience pain in the stomach close to abdominal cramps. Some may experience severe diarrhea after eating gluten food and are likely to experience the feeling of both bloating and apparent weight loss. People with celiac disease are often found out to have mineral deficiencies or malabsorption of nutrients.

How To Incorporate a Gluten-Free Diet
The good news is that the damage to the gut and small intestines can be reversed by eliminating food with gluten in ones diet. This way, the adverse reaction to the gluten will stop and it gives the body a chance to heal.

The more challenging aspect of adapting a gluten-free diet is finding out what kind of grain, cereal, bread, etc, have gluten and don’t! Grains are a staple on most people’s diets and you just can’t do away with all of them entirely. Gluten can even be found in meds and other tablets/pills that use gluten as a binding agent. It also can be in your cosmetic products like lipsticks, balms and toothpaste.

Other examples of food with gluten are those that contain wheat, barley, rye, made with graham flour, durham, spelt, and kasha. What you can eat are amaranth, quinoa, corn, rice, soy, buckwheat and oats, but do be careful as there might be wheat mixed in inside the package.

It’s more difficult to find the kind of food source that are gluten-free, as it’s often always in a special category or in a special aisle in a specialty food store. Some people suffering from celiac disease may even eat food with gluten in it and they don’t have any idea the damage that it can cause. Doctors often advise their patients to regulate their diet strictly, and do it for a long period of time, possibly even the patient’s whole life. If you’re suffering from celiac, it is quite limiting and frustrating.

One great resource to find gluten free foods is www.Zeer.com. They offer a subscription service that provides their members with detailed information on the gluten content on over 115,000 grocery items. For a monthly fee of $14.95, members of the Zeer website are allowed to instantly check the gluten status on over 30,000 food products, with over 500 products added or updated weekly. Each product is either assigned a “gluten free” or “contains gluten” rating.