Gluten: The Short Of It

Written on June 6, 2009 – 10:40 am | by admin |

Gluten:  A Biography

I had a hard time getting my mind around this but gluten is NOT wheat.  And it’s not flour.  Though it is found in each.  Gluten is a combination of two proteins:  gliadin and glutenin.  It is a protein found in many grains such as wheat, barley and rye.  Rice and corn are often called glutens but they only have the giadin protein in them.  And it is the combination of the two proteins which make a lot of people really sick.  More about that later.  But what you need to know:  Wheat bad.  Rice good.

What is gluten’s life purpose?

Gluten makes dough pliable and baked goods chewy.  Think coagulation.  It’s also added to foods that otherwise don’t have a lot (or any) protein in them such as ketchup and ice cream.  Gluten lurks in many things, but more about that later.

Why is gluten the devil?

For many, most, it is not.  But for about 1% of the human population, it is sickening, damaging and absolutely incompatible with comfort, happiness or good health.