Why the sudden craze of gluten free products? My mom has a gluten allergy and I get that.
But it seems a lot of people are going gluten free when they don't "need" to.
Just saw Mr Hanes eating "gluten free bread" on Facebook, so it got me wondering why "healthy" people chose this?
My grandpa was a wheat fsrmer in Montana's Golden Triangle along with my father inlaw so the idea if eating bread that's not whole grain is perverse lol.
Just curious.
Unfortunately, the need for gluten free foods isn't an option for many. This includes me, my wife, and our two children. We each carry either a gluten intolerant gene, or a celiac gene. I have long had gut and intestinal issues, but it wasn't until my son was tested for celiac that we became aware of all of our issues. Interestingly, many of my families symptoms are psychological as much as they are physical. Shortness of temper, easily distracted, etc.
When all this started with our family I had to ask, what is gluten? According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, "Gluten is a general name for the proteins found in wheat (durum, emmer, spelt, farina, farro, KAMUT® khorasan wheat and einkorn), rye, barley and triticale. Gluten helps foods maintain their shape, acting as a glue that holds food together." Read more at
https://celiac.org/live-gluten-free/glutenfreediet/what-is-gluten/#8Xumx4qofIu5gwBJ.99
I'm a firm believer the apparent rise in gluten (wheat protein) related diseases and its negative affects on our bodies is due to the development of genetically modified wheat grown in our country. I'm 50 now and my parents are 83. My parents didn't have the kinds of issues my family does, likely because they didn't consume as much of the genetically modified products as my generation and my kids generation has. Regardless of whether you believe that or not, the truth is there are many more people being diagnosed with gluten issues and celiac disease than ever before.
This is serious stuff for many people. If it goes undiagnosed or treated the gluten will destroy the villi in the small intestine, which leads to malnutrition. Some people are so sensitive to it they can't ingest a single crumb of bread or share pots and pans that have been used to prepare food with gluten in it.
And yes, I MISS REGULAR BREAD .. and pasta, and pie, and ... you get the picture.
BTW, a good topic for another thread is backcountry food for food allergies. Might have to start one if it hasn't been covered yet/recently.