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30th Jun 2014
Gluten Free Food
Why more and more people are cutting wheat out of their daily diet
There is something that prompts a knee-jerk head-butt reaction when people tell you they have a wheat intolerance or that they’re coeliac. It is horribly unfair, but alas, true. If we were inclined to be grouchy, we might say that people seem to develop allergies and food intolerances on a whim to explain some other ailment or simply to drive their friends and family berserk. But we are not that way inclined today, particularly when it comes to going wheat-free.
Having a wheat intolerance is, however, not the equivalent of being a coeliac although they are often confused. Whilst wheat products do contain gluten, it also exists in many other forms, and being a coeliac is a more severe form of food intolerance, in fact an autoimmune disease, which requires extra attention and detail in terms of avoiding certain foods.
Cutting wheat has become common practice in recent years, with more and more people cutting it from their daily routines. Here we look at some of the reasons why cutting wheat from your diet is beneficial and totally devoid of neurosis.
– Prevalence of wheat Many food products we consume tend to contain wheat, as it often acts as a binding agent. In fact there is an over-prevalence of wheat that means we are over-exposed to it and consume too much of it. Cutting wheat-based products means that you reduce, not eliminate, the presence of wheat from your diet, which one can often develop a sensitivity to it.
– Ongoing sensitivity and ailments The impact of long-term sensitivity to wheat means that it begins to impact on your health, going beyond simply digestive problems. Common wheat-related ailments include bloating, dizziness, headaches, indigestion, and constipation. It is mainly on the basis of these that people will attempt to cut it out.
– Ultimate benefits Cutting wheat from your diet for a short while (two weeks is the recommended amount) means that it clears your digestive tract of one of the common irritants, allowing you to clarify what has been causing the intolerance, as well as allowing for your stomach to settle.
– Undiagnosed Gluten intolerance Cutting wheat products can ultimately be the only way to be sure that you don’t have a gluten intolerance. According to our Editor in Chief Melanie Morris, who has been studying nutrition over the past few years, this helps. ?Quitting wheat, and grains that contain gluten may be tough, but the resulting health benefits are amazing. The only way to know if you’ve got an intolerance to gluten is to quit it entirely. Try going grain free for two weeks and see how you feel? Most will find energy levels soar, skin looks and feels better, and more complicated health issues become more manageable. If that’s you, you know what to do!?