Eating gluten-free, from the Harvard Health Letter
Gluten seems to be the food ingredient non grata these days. Why? Partly because doctors are diagnosing more cases of celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder whose symptoms are triggered by gluten, a protein-starch combination found in wheat, barley, rye, and spelt. For now, a gluten-free diet is the only way people with celiac disease can deal with their condition.
In addition, a growing number of people fall into a gray area: they don’t have celiac disease, but they do have a hard time digesting gluten. There are no tests for this problem, aside from trial and error with a gluten-free diet, reports the June 2009 issue of the Harvard Health Letter.
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