Should You Consume It?

Should you avoid gluten even if you are not celiac? Is consuming it beneficial for your body? Why has gluten become a problem for so many people today when it wasn’t an issue before?

For thousands of years, humans have consumed gluten-containing grains, such as wheat, which was one of the first to be cultivated around 9000 B.C. in the Levant region. However, you have probably heard many specialists advising against these grains. So what changed? Should we avoid gluten? Why do many people now exhibit symptoms of gluten intolerance when we used to consume it without issues?

Learn about wheat and how it has changed over the years :

Is modern wheat genetically modified?

If gluten wasn’t a problem before and now it is, you might be wondering: Has wheat changed? Has humanity changed?

Wheat has not been genetically modified, leading us to another question: If wheat remains genetically the same, could it be that we have changed? Is it possible that our genetics have evolved in such a way that we now respond excessively to gluten? It turns out that humans need thousands of years to develop significant genetic changes; therefore, it is highly unlikely that in just 20 or 30 years we have evolved in a way that makes us more susceptible to gluten intolerance or sensitivity.

Development of modern wheat

Although wheat has not been genetically modified, it has undergone significant changes over the past century. These changes include the modification known as semi-dwarf wheat. This wheat variety is characterized by being:

– More drought-resistant

– Easier to cultivate

– Containing higher amounts of starch and gliadin, the latter being a protein that is part of gluten and is known for its inflammatory potential.

The introduction of this wheat was so significant that Norman Borlaug, its creator, received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 for his contribution to humanity. However, while this innovation was beneficial in terms of productivity and helped combat hunger globally, it also introduced a more inflammatory type of wheat for our digestive system.

How has gluten content in wheat changed?

Understanding how the concentration of gluten in wheat has changed over time is key to understanding its current effects on our health.

– Initially, during the Roman Empire, wheat contained only 4% gluten.

– After the Renaissance, thanks to new cultivation and selection techniques, the gluten content rose to 8%.

– Finally, with the introduction of dwarf and semi-dwarf wheat, this percentage increased to 12%. In conclusion, the wheat we consume today has three times more gluten than what many of our ancestors consumed.

This significant change is critical to understanding why gluten may now pose a greater problem for our digestive system, as our body lacks the enzymatic capacity to completely break down gluten.

Modern agriculture: nutritional deficiencies and pesticides

Agriculture allowed humans to produce food in a much more predictable way, facilitating global population growth. However, after beginning to cultivate grains and basing our diet on them, the height of humans in different parts of the world decreased. It is believed that this reduction in height was caused by a shift toward a monoculture diet, resulting in a loss of nutritional quality. Crops grown on a large scale tend to be less rich in vitamins and minerals than their wild counterparts due to soil exploitation, and lower food diversity increases the risk of nutritional deficiencies in a population.

And what about pesticides? We know this is a current issue, so how can we avoid them? Organic grains, or at least those not exposed to glyphosate, tend to be less harmful for non-celiac individuals, as many pesticides remain one of the primary causes of damage to our bacterial flora and intestinal mucosa. Therefore, you should opt for organic products whenever possible.

Learn how gluten impacts your body

What happens when gluten enters our digestive system?

First, the key concept you need to understand about why gluten can be a problem for everyone is that humans lack the enzymatic capacity to fully digest it. Gluten is a complex protein made up of chains of amino acids. Normally, our body digests proteins by breaking them down into smaller blocks and absorbing them as amino acids. However, due to the particular composition of gluten, this process is not efficiently completed. The residues of this partial digestion are called gliadin peptides, which are substances that often inflame us and can cause harm.

So, is there a way to digest gluten better? The use of traditional yeasts used in making bread and other fermented products helps in this process. These yeasts have the enzymatic capacity to break down the complex proteins of gluten more thoroughly. If the fermentation process of the bread lasts between 10 to 12 hours, the yeasts have enough time to break down most of these inflammatory proteins. By contrast, if the process is accelerated and the bread is artificially leavened in a few hours, a higher percentage of these inflammatory proteins remains, resulting in greater inflammation and damage.

In the case of cereal-derived products such as pasta, which are not fermented, digestion by your intestinal bacteria will determine the degree of inflammation that the cereal will generate for you. These bacteria will take care of digesting gluten to the extent that they are able to do so. Therefore, the resulting degree of inflammation will depend on your microbiota’s ability to digest gluten before your intestine absorbs it.

There are various conditions related to gluten consumption, such as:

– On one hand, there are people with celiac disease who experience severe symptoms when consuming gluten.

– On the other hand, other individuals with intolerance have milder symptoms.

– There are also those who only experience abdominal bloating.

Why does gluten cause intestinal damage?

Gluten has been shown to have negative effects on the mucosa of our intestine as it increases intestinal permeability. This means that the cells of your intestine, which are normally tightly joined to prevent harmful substances or bacteria from passing into the bloodstream, separate when we consume gluten. This protein, which we cannot fully digest, called gliadin, relaxes the junctions between cells and allows the passage of substances that our immune system must constantly react to. This results in more inflammatory reactions and a higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases in the future. Keep in mind that studies indicate that anyone can increase intestinal permeability by consuming gluten-containing foods, regardless of whether they have celiac disease or sensitivity to gluten. People without any type of intolerance or sensitivity can reduce inflammation more quickly because they release more interleukin 10, a small immune protein that helps reduce inflammation. Nevertheless, these individuals will also experience some inflammation and intestinal permeability.

Considerations on gluten-free diets and healthy alternatives

Analyzing this information, you may be wondering whether you really need to follow a gluten-free diet or if gluten-free industrial products are a viable solution. These products require a binding agent to perform the same role as gluten, and often these industrial substitutes can be worse for your health. Additionally, many cereal-derived products, both refined and unrefined, tend to rapidly elevate our blood sugar levels, leading to unstable energy levels, weight gain, and other negative long-term effects.

One alternative is to replace gluten-containing grains with pseudograins, such as quinoa. You can also consume sources of more complex carbohydrates like vegetables or other gluten-free grains that help maintain stable energy and blood sugar levels throughout the day. Furthermore, taking care of our bacterial flora with probiotics and prebiotics, such as fermented foods and vegetables rich in soluble fibers like inulin, can be crucial. You can also work on repairing the integrity of your intestinal mucosa that has been damaged over time due to ignorance. To repair the mucosa, you can consume foods like bone broth or collagen.

What changes can you make today?

Understanding all this information about gluten and how it influences your health is crucial for making informed dietary decisions. If you’re considering how to adjust your gluten intake, here are some practical suggestions you can start implementing today:

1. Try pseudograins: Incorporate pseudograins like quinoa, buckwheat, and amaranth, which are gluten-free and have many other benefits for your body.

2. Opt for grains with little or no gluten: If you don’t want to eliminate gluten from your diet completely, you can choose grains that naturally have lower gluten content or are gluten-free, such as rice flour, corn flour, quinoa flour, almond flour, coconut flour, chickpea flour, tapioca flour, buckwheat flour, or oatmeal. Always avoid wheat, which has the highest gluten content.

3. Incorporate fermented foods into your diet: If you consume something with gluten, try to ensure it ferments for a long time to reduce the protein content. Long fermentation helps break down gluten proteins, making them easier to digest. For example, fermented products like sourdough bread are less harmful to your digestive system, but make sure its fermentation process lasted at least 10-12 hours.

4. Take care of your intestinal flora: The health of our intestinal microbiota is key to determining our body’s response to gluten. Consuming natural prebiotics and probiotics like kefir, Greek yogurt, sauerkraut, and other fermented foods can help strengthen your immune system and improve gluten digestion.

5. Increase your intake of prebiotic fibers: Foods rich in fibers like inulin, found in chicory, bananas, garlic, and onions, nourish the gut microbiota and help protect your flora so that if there is an inflammatory response, it is minimized and causes less damage.

6. Repair damage to your intestinal mucosa: Consume bone broth and collagen supplements, as these nutrient-rich foods can help repair the intestinal mucosa damaged by gluten. Integrate bone broth into your soups and stews, or consider taking it to support intestinal health.

7. Avoid processed gluten-free products: Gluten-free products often contain high levels of sugars and unhealthy fats, in addition to having a high glycemic index. Opt for natural foods and whole grains whenever possible.

My Thoughts:

In the case of individuals with clinical conditions involving dysbiosis, even small amounts of gluten can damage the lining of the small intestine, hindering the proper absorption of nutrients from food. Inflammation also occurs in other parts of the body. The small intestine should fully heal within a period of 3 to 6 months, depending on the history of the illness as well as the patient’s commitment to implementing changes. In some cases, complete healing may take longer, although you may start to feel better.