22 Οκτωβρίου 2018

Gluten and obesity and being overweight

At the very beginning you need to understand what gluten is.Gluten is a protein or, more precisely, a mixture of proteins that is found in certain cereals. Some of the proteins inside the cereal, mixed with water and heated, form connections, or just gluten. This protein makes the dough more elastic, sticky and retains water, resulting in a final product that is more fluffy, smooth and does not crumble.

For example, in the production of bread, gluten captures the air produced during fermentation, which means that in addition to being fluffy, it has a larger volume, it expands. If you use flour without gluten or if you buy a gluten-free product, you will see a difference in consistency, the product will be more "dry".

So what grains contain gluten?

Gluten is found in certain cereal species, which include: wheat, rye and barley. Everything that is processed from these cereals contains gluten.

We can therefore imagine the number of products we eat every day containing this protein. But is it so bad? Over the last years, much has been discussed on this subject ...

Is gluten harmful?

According to research, healthy people tolerate this protein. But for us it is not a question of whether the protein is tolerated or not. In the end, we tolerate tobacco and alcohol, and this is common, and these products are highly harmful to human health ... right?   Tolerance is associated with the ability to digest. And we don’t all digest gluten to the extent that it causes strong and unpleasant symptoms.  

However, there is evidence that shows that to improve the health condition of people suffering from chronic inflammatory diseases, eliminating gluten from their diet is necessary. Even acne decreases dramatically after reducing the consumption of this protein.

When it comes to obesity, there are benefits, of course! But from a scientific point of view, it is not certain that this is directly related to gluten ...

It is clear, however, that glycaemic and cholesterol levels improve with such a nutritional change. There is scientific evidence that insulin sensitivity is improved when gluten-containing food products are eliminated from the diet. What's more, it is a strategy that is taken into account in the treatment of obesity and being overweight.

Whether it's because of the content of gluten in the diet or another ingredient, it's worth giving it a try!

* Such a nutritional change should be consulted with a dietician to ensure that all the nutritional requirements are met.