Gluten-free diet

Who is this diet for?

Adherence to a gluten-free diet is the primary treatment for gluten-dependent autoimmune (i.e. celiac disease, gluten-dependent ataxia, Duhring's disease), immunological (wheat allergy, gluten allergy, baker's asthma, wheat-dependent, exercise-induced anaphylaxis) and unexplained etiology (non-celiac hypersensitivity with gluten). Some of them require strict adherence to the diet (e.g. celiac disease, where gluten is toxic and leads to atrophy of the intestinal villi, thereby affecting the reduction of the absorption surface for nutrients and vitamins), and others only restriction of gluten. In addition, excluding gluten from the diet can bring benefits:

• in other diseases of an autoimmune nature (for example, Hashimoto's, MS, RA, type 1 diabetes - for these groups of patients, the risk of developing celiac disease is increased, therefore, before switching to a diet, appropriate examinations should be carried out),
• neurological disorders (e.g. autism, schizophrenia, multiple sclerosis)
• in people with malabsorption syndrome, e.g. for patients after chemotherapy, antibiotic therapy or parasitic infections
• in inflammatory bowel diseases and irritable bowel syndrome.

Diet Assumptions

As already mentioned, the basic premise of a gluten-free diet is the complete exclusion of products containing gluten, that is, a mixture of proteins of plant origin (prolamine, glutein, albumin and globulin). It is found in wheat, life, spelt, barley, triticale, oats and all other varieties of these plant species. The grains of the mentioned cereals can be found, among others: in flours, groats (e.g. oats, bulgur, manna, barley, pearl, spelt), breads, confectionery products (yeast, croissants, cakes, cookies), pasta, bran, cereals, cereal coffees, muesli or even alcohol (e.g. beer, whiskey, bourbon, gin).

The diet of people who eliminate gluten, should comply with the principles of rational nutrition and be based on natural, unprocessed products among others: vegetables, fruits, eggs, dairy products, legume seeds, meat, fish, nuts, vegetable fats and pseudo cereals (millet, buckwheat, tapioca, amaranth, corn, cassava, rice, sorghum, quinoa and teff).

Read labels

Because gluten is widely used in processing, it is crucial to read food labels and their composition. Take special care when buying: ready-made sauces, dressings, yogurts, spices, cold cuts, sausages, delicatessen products, canned fish and meat, sweets or salty snacks. Moreover, gluten can even be found in medicines! The red light should be lit by: wheat or durum wheat (semolina), modified starch E-1404, E-1410, E-1412-14, E-1420, E-1442, E-1450-51, wheat germ, cake flour, flax flour, luxury flour, barley malt or wheat fibre.

Why is it so important? For people with celiac disease, consuming even a small amount of gluten is harmful. Therefore, it is definitely a better solution to prepare a gluten-free dish yourself, when we have all the ingredients under control. In addition, to increase the safety of people with gluten allergy, avoid using the same cutting boards, cutlery, strainers, plates and other kitchen equipment that the rest of the household use. You should also not use the same butter, jams, sandwich pastes or other lubricants, as they may contain bread crumbs containing harmful protein. It is also forbidden to fry in the same fat in which gluten-containing products were previously fried.

Gluten free diet at MultiLife

More and more ready-made gluten-free items appear in stores. Unfortunately, many of them are characterized by a significant degree of processing, low in fiber, B vitamins and minerals (e.g. manganese, zinc, copper, iron, calcium and selenium) and contain large amounts of sugar and artificial additives. As a result, the consumption of such foods exposes gluten-free people to the aforementioned deficiencies of important ingredients. So the best solution is to base your diet on naturally gluten-free products. These are the basis of the gluten-free diet at MultiLife. In the plan you will find, among others, gluten-free cereals such as: millet, buckwheat, rice, quinoa or amaranth, but also multicomponent cocktails, salads, cottage cheese and yoghurts with additives.

Bibliography

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• https://celiakia.pl/[accessed 5.04.2022]
• Daniel V DiGiacomo, Christina A Tennyson, Peter H Green, Ryan T Demmer. Prevalence of gluten-free diet adherence among individuals without celiac disease in the USA: results from the Continuous National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2009-2010. Scand J Gastroenterol 2013; 48 (8) :921-5
• Abhik Roy, Monika Laszkowska, Johan Sundström et al. Prevalence of celiac disease in patients with autoimmune thyroid disease: A meta-analysis. Thyroid 2016 Jul; 26 (7) :880-90
• Anamaria Cozma-Petruţ, Felicia Loghin, Doina Miere, Dan Lucian Dumitraşcu. Diet in irritable bowel syndrome: What to recommend, not what to offer to patients! World J Gastroenterol 2017; 23 (21) :3771-3783