Gluten

Gluten is one of the most criticized elements among nutrition lovers, so much so that when many people read it on the nutritional label of a certain product, they decide to avoid this food at all costs. The truth is that a large number of those who avoid gluten do not know in depth what this element is, they just follow what they heard from others without stopping to think why we should avoid gluten or even if it is really necessary to avoid it.

During this guide we will discuss some essential aspects about gluten so that you can know in depth the main characteristics of this nutrient and its interaction with our body, this way it will be easy for you to make decisions about whether or not you should avoid its consumption.

What is gluten?

It is increasingly common to find "gluten-free" labels adorning various products of our daily consumption. Different food brands try to make use of the absence of this element in the composition of their foods to sell us the idea that the product is healthier.

However, it is important to know that gluten is just another protein obtained from the seeds of a great variety of cereals. In these seeds we find a high amount of non-gluten elements, such as starch, which is why if we want to eliminate gluten, but keep the rest of the compounds, we would have to subject these seeds to a variety of extra processes, which usually can make production more expensive or difficult.

Is gluten harmful?

To understand what is the basis of the controversy about how harmful gluten can be, it is important to know that a large number of people will not perceive any harm to their health when consuming gluten, since, as we have explained, it is simply a protein. The problem is with those whose body does not have the facility to break down gluten and therefore end up rejecting it through a kind of allergy. In these cases gluten can be extremely harmful, because it becomes a toxic element, which if consumed can cause serious consequences.

People suffering from celiac disease cannot ingest gluten, because this disease causes the elements of gluten, which are not broken down, to act as an offensive agent for the immune system, increasing the negative effects caused by this disease.

Recommendations

Once exposed the main characteristics of gluten and analyzed which are the cases in which gluten can behave as a harmful element for our body, we can only say that gluten is not a protein that you have to avoid, if you are