The deeper a person penetrates into the secrets of nature, the more often he engages in a kind of “witch hunt”, that is, he searches for a certain substance that adversely affects his own health and vital activity. 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 used by humans with food is gluten. He will be discussed in this article.
Gluten Free
In Russia, little is known about gluten to the general consumer. But Europe and America have come quite far in the study of this new "enemy" of mankind.
The most advanced individuals have already completely refused to eat gluten-free foods. In any case, they think so. In health food stores you can find products marked with a sign assuring that there is no gluten in them. Now such products can be found in ordinary supermarkets. Some restaurants and cafes offer a gluten-free menu. And modern hotels, focused on adherents of a healthy lifestyle, argue that this substance is not on their territory.
Definition
So what is gluten harmful and what is it like? This substance has a Russian language name: gluten. It is a plant protein found in various types of cereals. Most of 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 it that flour, diluted with water, turns into dough, and after heat treatment - into magnificent baking.
From the point of view of a chemist, 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 are adjacent to the main protein chain in it. The physical and chemical properties of these compounds are not fully understood.
The properties
As mentioned above, thanks to gluten, flour can become stable in the addition of water. As far back as 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 makes baking soft and splendid. In addition, pure gluten is an excellent preservative. It helps preserve the freshness of bread much longer than nature has let go of it. Modern types of bakery products can be stored in plastic bags for several months. However, they do not dry out and do not become moldy.
Gluten Free Products
In the modern food industry, the use of gluten is becoming increasingly popular. In confectionery (waffles, muffins), the gluten content reaches forty percent. And some varieties of long-term bread are fifty percent made up of this substance. In addition, gluten is often added to finished products and semi-finished products, dairy and meat products. Instant pizzas, pasta, and pastry based on flour definitely contain gluten in large quantities. Ham, dumplings, meatballs, sausages, sausages, sausages - all these products beloved by the people also can not do without adding this substance. It is mixed in dairy products, especially in curds and yoghurts. The "most delicate" taste gives them, as a rule, gluten.
Dangerous effects
So what is harmful gluten? Why did America and Europe so gang up on him? It seems to be a wonderful product: it gives splendor and long-term preservation to buns 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. He was given the name "celiac disease."
For the first time, this disease was discussed in the 1990s. Then, in children who were not yet a year old, dangerous symptoms began to appear: a swollen abdomen, fetid stool, pain in the gastrointestinal tract, allergic reactions, bronchial asthma and dermatitis. Moreover, such problems began to haunt the kids a couple of months after they introduced additional complementary foods into their diet. Gluten in baby food was then ubiquitous and contained in the first cereals: oatmeal and semolina.
Causes of the disease
Numerous studies have shown that sick children in the body have a certain deviation. It does not allow gluten to be absorbed in the intestines. Ominous symptoms appeared in such children: the permeability of the walls of the small intestine increased, and large molecules of various components of fermentation and decay began to enter the body. They began to injure the liver and other organs of the body. This condition was considered by doctors as dangerous not only for health, but also for the lives 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 to be a genetic shift.
Excess gluten
However, soon, with signs of gluten intolerance , adults began to arrive at the hospital. They had bloating, fetid diarrhea, muscular dystrophy, and constipation. When gluten products were excluded from the diet of the victims, they completely got rid of the terrible symptoms in a half to two months. At the same time, drug treatment was not 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-free foods for decades without suspecting that his body is on the verge of a disease, and suddenly find himself in a hospital with dangerous symptoms. Moreover, modern medicine can not always diagnose celiac disease, and therefore apply adequate treatment.
Is bread a dangerous product?
As soon as the doctors understood what the cause of the terrible symptoms that some people experience was causing, gluten products became the subject of close attention. The culprit of the occurrence of celiac disease was declared bread. However, in order not to harm the huge sector of the food industry, gluten intolerance was recognized as a genetic ailment. Like, this is a disease that prevents the body of individuals from absorbing gluten.
But in reality, everything looks a little different. Celiac disease is not caused by genetic abnormalities, but gluten itself. That is, a huge amount of synthetic gluten, which is now added to almost all food products. 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 was not stored for a long time, because only wheat gluten was present in it. This is a natural substance found in the flour from which bread is baked. Gluten additives were not allowed in those days. Its content in food did not exceed two percent. A similar 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, in the current production of bread, synthetic gluten is used. This results in a cheap product with an optimally long shelf life. Selling such a product brings maximum profit to the manufacturer.
It can be concluded that the synthetic origin of gluten, as well as its huge amount in modern food products, causes celiac disease in both adults and children.
How to protect yourself
Nowadays, it is impossible to completely eliminate gluten products from the diet. Of course, a person can stop buying goods in a store and eat foods 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 use 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 varieties from whole grains. You should also not abuse semi-finished products, sausages or sausage. Of course, the proposed solution to the problem is not a panacea, but just one of the ways to protect your health from the costs of modern food production.
Konnyaku - a dietary product
Interestingly, the ability of gluten to not be digested in the body is used in diet food. Gluten-free cakes are prepared in Japanese cuisine. They are called cognac, by the name of the plant whose processing product they are. The cooking technology of this dish is complicated.
First, the fresh horseradish root is cut into slices and dried, then a chemical compound called mannan oligosaccharide is crushed and synthesized from it. Then they make a special flour from it, which, when mixed with water and a coagulant (milk of lime), acquires a jelly-like appearance. Gluten cakes are formed from the resulting substance. It is difficult to appreciate this product for an unusual person. Food has neither taste nor aroma. But in Japan, this is a fairly popular and sought-after product. Apparently, natural gluten in moderation is not only not harmful, but even healthy.
Now you know what gluten is, and how not to get into its insidious network. Unfortunately, it is difficult to refuse to eat instant food. Gluten-free cereal, which takes only five minutes to make, is a great opportunity to quickly satisfy your hunger. However, it should be remembered that nothing in this world is given in vain. And the time saved can subsequently result in serious health problems.