Gluten products. What is gluten, why is it dangerous?

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The deeper a person penetrates into the secrets of nature, the more often he is engaged in a kind of "witch hunt", that is, he is looking for some substance that negatively affects his own he alth and life. Such products were considered in turn: carbohydrates, sugar, fats. In recent years, science has come to the conclusion that one of the most harmful substances consumed by humans along with food is gluten. It will be discussed in this article.

Gluten control

In Russia, the general consumer knows little about gluten. But Europe and America have advanced far enough in the study of this new "enemy" of humanity.

The most advanced personalities have already completely refused to eat gluten products. In any case, they think so. In he alth food stores, you can find products marked with a sign assuring that they are gluten-free. These products can now be found inordinary supermarkets. Some restaurants and cafes offer gluten-free menus. And modern hotels focused on adherents of a he althy lifestyle claim that this substance is not on their territory.

Definition

So why is gluten harmful and what is it? This substance has a Russian name: gluten. It is a vegetable protein found in various types of cereals. Most of all it is in oats, barley, rye and wheat. If you isolate gluten from the grain, you get a gray, tasteless sticky and elastic mass. It is thanks to her that flour, diluted with water, turns into dough, and after heat treatment - into lush pastries.

From a chemist's point of view, gluten is a mixture of protein enzymes, amino acids, and various types of peptides. There are several "white spots" in the chemical formula of this substance. This is due to the fact that components of a different origin adjoin the main protein chain in it. The physical and chemical properties of these compounds are not fully understood.

Properties

As mentioned above, thanks to gluten, flour can become stable when water is added. Back in the last century, our grandmothers wallpapered the walls with flour paste. The paper stuck tightly. In this sense, gluten is sometimes much more effective than modern synthetic adhesives.

However, this is not the only advantage of this substance. Gluten gives baked goods softness and splendor. In addition, in its pure form, gluten is a greatpreservative. It helps to keep bread fresh for much longer than nature intended. Modern types of bakery products can be stored in plastic bags for several months. At the same time, they do not dry out and do not become moldy.

Gluten Products

In today's food industry, the use of gluten is becoming increasingly popular. In confectionery products (waffles, muffins), the gluten content reaches forty percent. And some varieties of long-term bread are fifty percent composed of this substance. In addition, gluten is often added to ready-made and semi-finished products, dairy and meat products. Instant pizzas, pasta, flour-based confectionery definitely contain high amounts of gluten. Ham, dumplings, cutlets, small sausages, sausages, sausages - all these products loved by the people also cannot do without the addition of this substance. It is added to dairy products, especially curds and yoghurts. As a rule, gluten gives them the "delicate" taste.

Dangerous Consequences

So why is gluten bad? Why did America and Europe turn on him so much? It seems to be a wonderful product: it gives splendor and long-term preservation to rolls and bread, and makes dairy products more tender and tasty. It turns out that the whole point is the individual intolerance of the body of some people. There is such a disease - gluten intolerance. They gave him the name "celiac disease".

For the first time about this diseasespoke in the 1990s. Then the babies, who were not even a year old, began to have dangerous symptoms: bloated stomach, fetid stools, pain in the gastrointestinal tract, allergic reactions, bronchial asthma and dermatitis. Moreover, such problems began to haunt the children a couple of months after additional complementary foods were introduced into their diet. Gluten in baby food was then ubiquitous and contained in the first cereals: oatmeal and semolina.

Causes of disease

Multiple studies have shown that sick babies have some kind of deviation in their bodies. It prevents gluten from being absorbed in the intestines. In such children, ominous symptoms appeared: the permeability of the walls of the small intestine increased, and large molecules of various components of fermentation and putrefaction in it began to enter the body. They began to injure the liver and other organs of the body. Doctors considered this condition dangerous not only for he alth, but also for the life of babies. Gluten in baby food was contraindicated for them. But, since intolerance to this substance was detected mainly in children of the first year of life, the researchers considered this deviation a genetic shift.

Excess gluten

However, adults soon began to be admitted to the hospital with signs of gluten intolerance. They experienced bloating, fetid diarrhea, muscular dystrophy and constipation. When gluten products were excluded from the diet of the victims, they completely got rid of terrible symptoms forone and a half to two months. At the same time, no medical treatment was applied to them. The insidious feature of gluten is that it has the ability to accumulate in the body for a long time. A person can eat gluten products for decades, unaware that their body is on the verge of a disease, and suddenly find themselves in the hospital with dangerous symptoms. Moreover, it is not always possible for modern medicine to diagnose celiac disease, which means applying adequate treatment.

Bread is a dangerous product?

Once doctors figured out the cause of the dire symptoms that some people experience, gluten products have come under scrutiny. Bread has been blamed for causing celiac disease. However, in order not to harm the huge sector of the food industry, gluten intolerance was recognized as a genetic disease. Like, this is a disease that prevents the body of certain people from absorbing gluten.

But reality looks a little different. Celiac disease is not caused by a genetic disorder, but by gluten itself. That is a huge amount of synthetic gluten, which is now added to almost all foods. This theory is supported by several facts.

Firstly, in the modern world, bread is prepared using a completely different technology than several decades ago. In our childhood, this product did not keep for a long time, because only wheat gluten was present in it. This is a natural substance found in flour, fromwhich bread is baked. Gluten additives were not allowed in those days. Its content in food did not exceed two percent. This amount of gluten is not capable of causing either celiac disease or an allergic reaction.

Secondly, synthetic gluten is added to modern bread. Only tens of grams of pure gluten can be extracted from one kilogram of wheat flour. And the cost of a natural product is quite high. Therefore, synthetic gluten is used in the current production of bread. This results in a cheap product with an optimally long shelf life. The sale of such goods brings the maximum profit to the manufacturer.

It can be concluded that the synthetic origin of gluten, as well as its huge amount in modern foods, causes celiac disease in both adults and children.

How to stay safe

Today it is impossible to completely eliminate gluten products from the diet. Of course, a person can stop buying goods in the store and eat food grown in his own garden, but this method is not suitable for everyone.

Therefore, it is important to monitor what food enters our body. Doctors recommend minimizing the consumption of products that contain gluten flour, that is, bakery and confectionery products. It is better not to buy cheap white bread, it is better to choose whole grain varieties. You should also not abuse semi-finished products, sausages or sausage. Of course, the proposed solutionproblems are not a panacea, but just one way to protect your he alth from the costs of modern food production.

Konnyaku is a dietary product

Interestingly, the ability of gluten not to be digested in the body is used in dietary nutrition. In Japanese cuisine, gluten cakes are prepared. They are called konnyaku, after the plant from which they are processed. The technology for preparing this dish is complex.

First, fresh konjac root is cut into slices and dried, then crushed and synthesized from it a chemical compound called mannan oligosaccharide. Then special flour is made from it, which, when mixed with water and a coagulant (milk of lime), takes on a jelly-like appearance. From the resulting substance, gluten cakes are formed. It is difficult for an unaccustomed person to appreciate this product. The food has no taste or aroma. But in Japan it is quite a popular and sought-after product. Apparently, natural gluten in moderation is not only not harmful, but even beneficial to he alth.

Now you know what gluten is and how not to fall into its insidious web. Unfortunately, it is difficult to stop eating fast food. Gluten-free cereals, which take only five minutes to create, are a great opportunity to quickly satisfy your hunger. However, it should be remembered that nothing in this world is given for free. And the time saved can lead to serious he alth problems later.