| Gluten-free. It's a term that's now becoming popular | | | | Nearly 3 million people in the U.S. suffer from celiac |
| among alternative medicine practitioners and | | | | disease. |
| consumers alike, as gluten, a set of proteins found in | | | | Other people with gastrointestinal problems may |
| wheat, barley and rye, is being targeted as the | | | | have "gluten-sensitivity" or "gluten intolerance." When |
| trigger for a variety of ailments including celiac | | | | a person has gluten-sensitivity, an immune response |
| disease and wheat allergy. | | | | occurs, although the damage to the small intestine |
| Reports from Nielsen indicate 20% growth in the | | | | may not be as severe as damage caused by celiac |
| gluten-free market, as 2007 sales increased to $1.75 | | | | disease. Gluten-intolerance is marked by the |
| billion from $1.46 billion in 2006. Fueling this growth is | | | | symptoms a person experiences, and may include |
| the variety of new food options available to | | | | gas, cramping and diarrhea. |
| consumers-700 new gluten-free products were | | | | Before you go gluten-free... |
| introduced in 2007 alone. With the development of | | | | If your doctor recommends a gluten-free diet for |
| tastier and more nutritional products that use | | | | you, there are obvious foods to avoid (wheat, barley |
| ingredients like amaranth, quinoa, buckwheat, millet, | | | | and rye) and not so obvious foods to avoid: Products |
| brown rice, beans, sorghum and flax-it's never been | | | | like ketchup and ice cream contain 'thickening agents" |
| easier to go gluten-free. | | | | which contain glutens. |
| So is a gluten-free diet right for you? | | | | The elimination of gluten from your diet may also |
| For people with celiac disease, gluten can cause a | | | | result in nutritional deficiencies, so balance and variety, |
| severe immune reaction, which interferes with the | | | | as in any diet, are key. Beans and soybeans can be |
| absorption of nutrients from food. When a person | | | | used as protein and fiber sources, and starches such |
| with the disease eats foods or products containing | | | | as rice, potatoes and yams are generally acceptable |
| gluten, the tiny hair-like protrusions of the small | | | | in gluten-free diets. It's also important to make sure |
| intestine, called villi, are damaged or destroyed by the | | | | that you get enough B vitamins, including folic acid. |
| immune system. Villi enable nutrients from food to be | | | | Taking a B-complex vitamin or a daily supplement |
| absorbed into the bloodstream-and when this | | | | with folic acid can help ensure that you make up for |
| important function fails, a person can become | | | | where your diet lacks. |
| malnourished, regardless of how much food they | | | | While the benefits of eliminating gluten from your diet |
| take in. | | | | are not yet fully understood, research is being |
| Celiac disease is a hereditary disease, and can be | | | | conducted to determine the extent to which a |
| tested for with a blood test that measures the levels | | | | gluten-free diet can improve health. It's important to |
| of antibodies that the body secretes when gluten | | | | understand, however, that a gluten-free diet is not a |
| has irritated or damaged the lining of the small | | | | quick fix for weight loss or a "fad diet." Be sure to |
| intestine. The test, however, is not definitive, and the | | | | talk to your doctor before choosing to go |
| best way to determine if a person has celiac disease | | | | gluten-free, and ask your pharmacist about which |
| is to see if the irritation of the small intestine stops | | | | dietary supplements might be right for you. |
| after the person switches to a gluten-free diet. | | | | |