A gluten-free diet may be adopted by individuals suffering from celiac disease or those who have allergies pertaining to wheat. Celiac disease is categorised by poor food absorption and intolerance of gluten, a protein in wheat and wheat products. Malabsorption in the small bowel comes from atrophy of the villi and a decrease in the activity and quantity of enzymes in the surface epithelium. The hallmarks of a gluten-free diet deal with eliminating all kinds of barley, wheat, spelt, kamut, some kinds of oats, and rye. It may be necessary to obtain some kind of protein supplement to compensate for the lack of gluten. If you would like to acquire a gluten-free protein supplement, it is necessary to first look at the product label so as to see whether the manufacturer labels it as being gluten-free.
Even if it does say gluten-free, the possibility always exists that it may have come into contact with some kind of gluten during the product’s processing. To some people, even a trace amount of gluten can cause problems. In other cases, the product’s labelling may imply that the main ingredient is from a gluten-free source, and yet gluten in other forms may be present, such as for flavouring purposes. This problem is exacerbated when looking at more complex protein supplements that may have dozens of ingredients with obscure labels. Fortuitously, most manufacturers are aware of the implications of celiac disease and make the effort to label their products gluten-free. If possible, the best protein supplement to acquire would be whey protein. Although, ensuring that the particular variant is gluten-free is of paramount importance.
Bibliography
- Ellis-Christensen, Tricia, and O. Wallace. “Gluten-Free Diet.” WiseGeek. Conjecture, 17 Dec. 2013. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-gluten-free-diet.htm>.
- Kietzman, Shannon, and Niki Foster. “Gluten.” WiseGeek. Conjecture, 30 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Jan. 2014. <http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-gluten.htm>.
- Professional Guide to Diseases. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2013.
