In: Nursing
Explain the origin of gluten and which grains are gluten free.
Describe the effect of a gluten free diet on athletic performance.
What is Celiac Disease? What percent of the population has it?
GLUTEN
Gluten is a type of protein found in wheat and wheat products and it gives that elastic nature to the food products and it is giving a chewy nature also. This gluten is a combination of proteins like prolamin and glutelin.
This is there in all types of wheat, barley and oats also. Even the cross hybrids of these grains also contain gluten.
Gluten free grains
Brown rice, corn, amaranth, buckwheat, Quinoa, Millet, Sorghum, Teff, Indian Rice grass
Effect of gluten free diet on athletic performance
The main defect of gluten is it can worsen celiac disease but the interesting thing is that only very few people are having this disease. Recent research studies are telling that gluten free diet is not increasing the athletic performance and it is not producing the inflammatory changes also in normal individuals. Majority of the food items contains gluten so it may be difficult to choose the diet without gluten and this may affect the nutritional needs of the individual. Gluten free diet is costly and it may be difficult to afford it
But if the athlete is having celiac disease gluten diet it will worsen the situation. If an athlete is having GI disturbances and if they are using gluten it will worsen the condition and it may interfere with their performance also.
Celiac disease
It is an autoimmune disorder it affects the multiple organs of the body and mainly it affects the small intestine.
Clinical features: Diarrhoea, distension of the abdomen, malabsorption, loss of appetite, and later it will produce deficiency disorders.
Incidence of Celiac disease
It affects 1-2% of the general population