Gluten Intollerence: Hype or Health Concern

A decade ago most people had never heard the word gluten before. Now it is becoming a commonplace discussion when talking about health, and when you go to the grocery store you will see the words gluten-free in bold letters on almost every aisle. North Carolina’s governor Bev Perdue was one of the first to sign a proclamation declaring May as Celiac Awareness Month. This gives us some idea of how serious this issue is becoming. Chances are you already know someone who has taken gluten out of their diet. So what’s it all about? When talking about gluten there are three different issues. All are treated with a gluten-free diet, eliminating wheat, rye, spelt, and barley.

So why is gluten intolerance skyrocketing? Most experts agree that there is definitely an element of hype and exposure involved, with the subject gaining more and more popularity in the media over time. Others suggest that it is a question of evolution, since our consumption of grains has greatly increased with the advent of agriculture, about 10,000 years ago. This is a relatively short amount of time in the scale of evolution, hinting that perhaps we are not yet adapted to process gluten on such a large scale. Furthermore, gluten is now an ingredient in many more different types of foods than in the past, listed under names like hydrolyzed protein or modified food starch, which do not clearly indicate their source. 

Another idea is that gluten issues occur because we no longer ferment or soak our grains before consuming them like we did up until very recently. Both of these processes chemically change the grain and its proteins, significantly improving our ability to digest them. Even the varieties of wheat being used now may be a factor, with some being genetically modified and others being selected over time for more and more gluten since this is what is responsible for the flakiness in baked goods that we love so much.