5 most popular and ridiculous myths about the dangers of gluten

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

We looked at five of the weirdest and most unfounded rumors about the dangers of gluten and found out why most people do not do any harm to it.

Gluten, or gluten, is usually called a group of storage proteins of wheat, rye, barley and other cereal plants. Recently, along with anti-GMO campaigns, proponents of "healthy lifestyles" have begun to actively criticize the use of foods containing gluten, inventing often ridiculous myths and rumors about gluten.

It must be said right away that, according to the World Organization of Gastroenterologists (WGO), approximately 1% of people worldwide suffer from celiac disease - a rare genetic intolerance to foods that contain gluten. Such people are strictly not recommended to consume any products made from wheat, rye or barley.

Milk, for comparison, cannot be digested by every fifth inhabitant of Russia or nine out of ten adult Chinese.

The digestive system 99% of the population is gluten-tolerant. Gluten is, after all, not some poisonous protein artificially created by evil scientists in laboratories. In addition to gluten, wheat, rye and barley contain many vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Whole grains have been shown to lower the risk of heart disease and diabetes, among other things.

Nevertheless, there have been too many myths about the dangers of gluten lately to not pay due attention to their debunking.

Myth 1: Gluten leads to bloating and flatulence

The journal of the National Center for Biotechnology and Information published the results of experiments conducted in double-blind testing, which proved that the ingestion of foods containing gluten by healthy people does not lead to any discomfort on the part of the digestive system.

All the talk that eating foods with gluten leads to bloating is unfounded. Listen to your body: if after you have eaten, for example, bread, you do not feel discomfort, giving it up is simply pointless.

Myth 2. Eating gluten leads to obesity

Gluten-free diet lobbyists often say that eating foods that contain gluten leads to obesity. This is true, but only partially. Provided that you lead a passive lifestyle, flour products will contribute to the deposition of fat, but gluten has nothing to do with it: as a rule, bread and rolls are high-carbohydrate and high-calorie foods, and it is the uncontrolled consumption of simple carbohydrates that can lead to problems with excess weight.

Myth 3. Gluten leads to autoimmune diseases

It's about celiac disease again. Adherents of a gluten-free diet believe that this disease can be earned or caught like the common cold. In fact, celiac disease, as already mentioned, is a rare genetic disease. Eating foods that contain gluten will not earn you it.

Myth 4. Gluten increases the risk of cardiovascular disease

To date, there has not been a single scientific study, the results of which would confirm this thesis. Heart problems can be caused by severe infectious diseases such as sore throat, a cholesterol-rich diet, alcohol abuse and tobacco smoking, rather than gluten-containing foods.

Myth 5. Gluten causes cancer

Half-truth, based on research showing that lowering the intake of foods containing gluten leads to a lower risk of cancer in the intestines. At the same time, the experimental group consisted of persons with celiac disease, that is, people for whom gluten is a foreign product at the genetic level.

Often these results are generalized and projected onto healthy people, which is incorrect.

Only the human body can dictate to him what foods to eat and which ones should be discarded. Listen to the reactions of your body to the food you eat and do not rush to change your diet based on rumors not confirmed by scientific data, no matter how many of them there are in your information field.