Gluten causes a number of health issues including celiac disease, and the number of people with gluten-related illnesses and allergies is on the rise, yet a lot of people remain undiagnosed. However, those who have taken note of the effects of gluten on their body and switched to a gluten-free diet, usually start feeling better very quickly. Still, many are affected by gluten but are totally unaware of it. This is why the team at MedAlertHelp created an easy to understand infographic below that provides deep insights into everything you need to know about gluten.
Gluten consists of proteins, gliadin and glutenin being the most important ones. When you mix flour with water to make a dough, a sticky chain of proteins is formed. Gluten got its name from the “glue-like” properties of wet dough. Apart from wheat, it is also abundant in rye, barley, and triticale.
If you are sensitive to gluten and you eat a gluten-rich meal, the cells of your immune system will react to it as though they have encountered bacteria. This reaction from the immune system also extends to the intestine wall, which can become damaged – causing a variety of unpleasant symptoms. The worst form of this reaction is termed “celiac disease.”
Celiac disease comes with symptoms such as stomach pain, weakness, skin reactions, muscle pain, diarrhea, and so on. The degeneration of the intestine wall caused by the attack of the immune system cells can also lead to nutrient deficiencies, which can, in turn, cause anemia and other disorders.
On the other hand, there are people sensitive to gluten who don’t experience the symptoms mentioned above. This makes diagnosing the disease quite difficult because the disease might manifest in other forms, like non-celiac gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy.
Another issue is that some people have heard that avoiding gluten can be beneficial for their health, even though they don’t have any form of gluten sensitivity. This makes the effect of gluten in foods much more complicated. Now, many questions may be running through your head, but don’t worry, you will find all the answers and more in the infographic below.
