When the subject is food, the themes come and go. In recent times the gluten became the center of attention. But not always with due Careful e search about.
And how important the subject is, even more so after the classes on proteins in the Food Science master’s degree that help to give it a new perspective.
Now between you and me: what is gluten? Really know? He is sure? How about we find out?
What is Gluten?
Gluten It’s protein, basically. But as we know, nothing is so simple like this.
Gluten is mixture of two groups of proteins: gliadins e gluteninas. They are groups, as each of them is made up of a set of diverse proteins.
I.e, is not a single isolated protein, but the sum of several types. When adding water e movementthe gluten network is formed.
What was no longer so simple becomes even more so. complex. The solubility of these proteins is used for classification. A proportion and the types of proteins depend of the plant and variety also.
Due to its composition diversified that it is not so easy to create a substitute for gluten itself. They exist, but they don’t have the same characteristics of gluten.
The best example is the bread. In it, gluten is responsible for texture, elasticity and volume.
Because of the elasticity/plasticity provided by gluten network that bread dough can trap the gas produced in fermentation and baking (read: when we bake).
Is gluten bad?
Currently, there is no scientific proof of the possible benefits of a gluten-free diet.
What is scientific and studied knowledge: there are people with celiac disease, protein sensitivity e allergy. In these specific cases, it is really necessary to pay attention to your diet because of the health complications that can occur.
A celiac disease is seen as a autoimmune diseasethat is, the body’s defense system attacks itself. In celiac patients, the small intestine is the main target of this attack.
The action is triggered by gluten. How and why does this still happen? is not fully describedbut there is evidence that genetic origin.
We cases of allergy and sensitivity, the spectrum is broader. It’s possible to be allergic to just about anything, and just as it appears, it can go away.
To some degree, the sensitivity also. External (environment, lifestyle…) and internal (psychological, irritable bowel…) factors can influence this.
There is the possibility of questioning the scientific part, after all Science is made up of questions. However, the scientific research It is the way to remove the “guesswork” from the environment and focus on the methodology with parameters that can be repeated and studied.
Are Gluten-Free Diets Better?
Within a food, the gluten it forms a kind of network that helps maintain water, minerals, vitamins and fats.
All because of its binding and interaction properties with these substances. And generally, these foods are sources of fiber as well.
When the gluten is removed from a preparation (bread, cake), the empty space left will be replaced by other ingredientsnormally, fats e sugars. Therefore, those substances that gluten network maintained will not be the same.
According to the nutritionist Katherine Tallmadgethere is evidence that a gluten-free diet is needy in fiber, iron, vitamins (folic acid, niacin, thiamine, B12), calcium, phosphorus and zinc.
Is it possible to remove gluten from the diet in a healthy way? Undoubtedlyhowever, it is necessary to have grounded and comprehensive knowledge to know which substitutions to do.
I will not consume such products because they contain wheat/gluten, so it is necessary to modify the diet to include other foods. But as the video shows, we can speculate that the vast majority have no idea what it is gluten in truth.
Being gluten-free does not mean being more natural or healthier
Like the teacher Sophie Deram always says: going on a restrictive diet in any aspect is not always the solution. They may have an effect in the short term, but you need to think about the long term. The act of eating will always be with us.
Being gluten-free does not mean being more natural or healthier. French fries, marshmallows, peanut butter (contamination from fungal toxins), soda, meringue. Everything gluten-free, delicious and questionably unhealthy.
If it were the cause of all the harm attributed to the glutenwhy would there be I argue? Seitan is a product found in Asian cuisine, it is basically gluten separated from cereals wheat, barley, rye, spelled and similar plants.
And no, it’s not something new in Asian culture. Used in the same way as textured soy protein to replace meat in strictly vegetarian diets.
Does removing gluten cause well-being?
As the journalist Michael Pollan said in an interview with Huffpost. Really, you you can feel benefits when remove gluten from the diet.
For several reasons, one of them is the power of autosuggestion (practically what explains the placebo effect or the psychosomatic issue).
And most interestingly, this possible improvement may not be turned on to the gluten in itself. As we know, gluten is present in foods cereal base (bread, pasta, cookies) that have large amounts of carbohydrates. I.e, In fact, you are limiting carbohydrates much more. (sugar) and influences the amount of sugar in the blood (glycemia).
You know, I know that a lot of fruits and vegetables it’s a more interesting option than a generous slice of cake. AND a change in diet and not just the isolated gluten withdrawal.
As I’ve already said a lot: losing weight is simplebut it’s not easy: How I Lost 30kg.
With the advancement of human knowledge and modern technologies, the diagnosis of patients with celiac disease or sensitivity became easier. In the past, as people didn’t know or didn’t know how, many people were and died without knowing.
Therefore, there is an increase in diagnoses of these conditions. But it is worth highlighting, much less than the “healthy industry I’m better than you” want to show. If we go back in time, 5 to 10 years it was very difficult meet gluten-free products on the market.
Nowadays, a trip to the market is just seeing packaging and packaging with a huge text saying As Gluten. For whom really need, the range of options has increased. However, even products that have always been gluten-free have joined this bandwagon. I’ve seen cheese bread like this before.
Look, if your cheese bread has gluten, you’re doing it very wrong. In time: yes mandatory by law inform whether or not the product contains gluten, but usually in the ingredient list. Not as a decoy the marketing.
Making a correlation, it is equal when a vegetable oilhe propagated that had no cholesterol. Oils of vegetable origin do not naturally contain cholesterol.
Thus, every product made exclusively of cassava starch (sweet and sour cassava starch, Azedo Polvilho, Doce e Fécula de Cassava) does not naturally contain gluten.
A classic example is Oat. The plant/grain itself has very low amounts (practically 0%) of the proteins that form traditional gluten.
However, it must be said that there are others from the same groupsuch as hidden which can induce a sensitivity chart similar to gluten.
However, the FDA (American Food and Drug Administration) and Codex Alimentarius of WHO (World Health Organization) classifies oats as containing gluten.
Because of the industrial processing of oats. In the vast majority of cases there is Contamination in industry, the same factory is used to make products with wheat and other cereals.
And decontamination takes money and time, oats and other products end up being contaminated. Therefore, it is not difficult to find in the ingredients list that there is gluten in the product even if it does not contain any cereal.
It’s not enough to not add wheat (or another cereal) to say it is gluten-free, the environment handling and utensils are also needed. If you messed with wheat flour in the kitchen, the gluten may be present.
And how the celiac disease It does not manifest itself to the same degree in all patients, the possibility always exists of triggering the symptoms. As there is no certainty, it is better not to take risks and put the health of a client/patient at risk.
Be very careful about saying that such food is gluten-free.
Gluten Free: Conscious Choice
Why do you need to know all this? Simple. If you want a gluten-free diet, do it right reasons and not because it is fashionable. A conscious and considered choice.
Companies are not nice, are legal entities. They may even have the objective of wanting to improve the world, but the profit factor will always be first. Realized a niche need and now they are going to explore, from a capitalist economic point of view there is nothing wrong. Profit is the goal of every company.
However, I believe that a more critical look is needed on our part, consumers.
