Most people know that making dietary changes can improve their health in a variety of ways. Everyone can benefit from a low sodium, low saturated fat diet. However, there are various parts of the population who find that cutting out foods that are often considered healthy to the general public may improve their health. For example, those people who are lactate The Diet Solution Program Books
intolerance find that by cutting dairy products from their diet they feel better and function better.

The same is true for people who suffer from a gluten sensitivity. By cutting gluten from their diet, they avoid a variety of conditions that affect their health such as fatigue, stomach pains and cramps, diarrhea, constipation, and a feeling of overall weakness that makes functioning on a day-to-day basis almost impossible.

What Is Gluten And How Do You Know If You Have A Gluten Sensitivity?

Gluten is a protein that is found in certain kinds of grains such as wheat, barley and rye and any food products containing even minute amounts of these grains. In some cases, gluten can cause serious ongoing health problems that destroy the small intestine. The name for this condition is Celiac disease and this disease can be tested for by your medical professional.

However, it is now believed that while only about 1% of the population of the United States suffer from Celiac disease another 10% may suffer from gluten sensitivity. Although the medical field is in the process of trying to devise a definitive test for people who have this sensitivity right now no such test actually exists. Determining if someone has a gluten sensitivity is more a matter of cutting gluten from the diet and seeing if the gluten related symptoms go away.

It is now thought that many people who are suffering from Irritable bowel syndrome may actually have a gluten sensitivity.

Since gluten sensitivity is a pretty new idea to the medical field many physicians do not think to recommend a gluten free diet for those people who do not actually test negative for Celiac disease. In many cases, it the patient themselves, who grow tired of the ongoing symptoms and take it in their minds to try such diets in an effort to find some relief. In many cases, these people do find relief from the stomach cramps, diarrhea, and even acne.

If I Have A Gluten Sensitivity Do I Have To Cut All Gluten From My Diet?

Gluten is a difficult protein for the body to digest and some medical professionals believe that people with gluten sensitivity who do not actually have Celiac Disease should consume as much gluten as they can comfortably tolerate. Other professionals on the other hand, feel that a complete gluten free diet is the best choice as they worry that even minute portions of gluten could affect your health down the road. The problem is that a gluten free diet is not only difficult to follow but if not followed correctly, can actually affect your health negatively as well.

The Problem With Going Gluten Free

The grains that contain gluten such as wheat, barley, and rye not only make up a large portion of most people’s diets but also provide many health benefits. Not only do these grains contain fiber that is necessary to good health but products made from these grains are also often fortified with necessary vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to stay healthy.

In addition wheat, barley, and rye also contain probiotics, which are bacteria that our body needs to help fight off other types of bacteria that are harmful to our health.

So, removing gluten from your diet means that you also need to find ways to get those probiotics, vitamins and minerals that these grains contain in another manner either through the food you eat or through supplements designed for that purpose.

These means that you will probably need the help of a dietician at least in the initial stages of a gluten free diet to help ensure that your body is getting everything it needs to remain in good health.

To make matters worse, some gluten free foods that are being sold on the market contain added sugar, salt and other ingredients that make them unhealthy to consume. While this is bound to change overtime right now, you need to read labels carefully when on a gluten free diet.

The Care Needed To Live Gluten Free

A Gluten Free Diet will no doubt facilitate health in those who have a sensitivity to gluten. However, it also means a drastic change not only in your eating and drinking habits in order to adhere to a gluten free lifestyle. For people who have a high sensitivity to gluten, even eating out can pose problems for your health. Not only are there many The Diet Solution Program Books foods that contain hidden gluten ingredients sold in restaurants and stores but something as simple as having food cooked on the same grill as food that contained gluten can have negative effects.

Shopping Gluten Free

Not all product labels will tell you if a product contains gluten or not. But there are certain words on labels that you need to look for when avoiding gluten in your diet. Some of these ingredients on labels that indicate the presence of gluten are:

* Stabilizers
* starch
* flavoring
* emulsifier
* Hydrolyzed
* Plant protein

You can also ingest gluten from such products as lip balms and lipstick, toothpaste, and even certain medications.

Educating Yourself

In order to significantly improve your health, if you have a gluten sensitivity, you are going to need to educated yourself. Talk to a certified diet specialist, read everything you can, and gather some great gluten free recipes to help you begin your journey to better health.

Make sure that you know what the gluten free grains are such as oats, brown rice, and buckwheat, and check with the manufacturing companies to make sure that none of these grains were contaminated by being processed in the same machinery as grains containing gluten.

Add more fruits, vegetables, and allowable dairy products to your diet and make sure that you eat a wide range of these foods so that you are getting the vitamins and minerals you need.

While a gluten free diet can indeed facilitate improved health for those who suffer from gluten sensitivity great care needs to be taken to ensure that you balance those vitamins and minerals you are losing by eating foods that contain them.