as you walk down the aisle of your local supermarket you can't help but notice
something strange there gluten-free biscuits gluten-free cereals heck there's
even gluten-free ice cream so you start to wonder should I avoid gluten maybe
gluten is the reason why I feel tired all the time
so is gluten bad for our health and what does it do to our body well there's lots
to talk about so let's get stuck into it
welcome to another docunlock video wheat is a type of grass that was first
used as food some time between 10,000 and 8800 BCE in a region of the Middle
East known as the Fertile Crescent the seed of this grass is what we call wheat
grain these grains contain many nutrients like carbohydrates and
vitamins but they also contain proteins one of these proteins is called gluten
gluten is not just found in wheat it is also found in rye and barley flour made
from these grains contains gluten and this gluten ends up in foods like breads
and pasta now it's time for the interesting part
how gluten affects our body before I jump in there's something we need to talk
about when it comes to the science of gluten there are three levels of
certainty the first level are things that we are incredibly sure of and have
strong evidence there is very little to argue about here the second level
contains things that are probably true but we're not completely sure of all the
details and then there's the third level new discoveries that are at the cutting
edge of science let's start at level one things that we know for sure here we
find celiac disease a condition that is absolutely related to gluten and affects
about one in every hundred people after eating something containing gluten its
first stop is the stomach here gluten is partially digested and converted into a
protein called gliadin gliadin then makes its way to the small
testin in the small intestine there is an enzyme called tissue transglutaminase
also known as TTG TTG moifies gliadin slightly to make deamidated gliadin
the immune system of people with celiac disease don't like this type of gliadin
at all thinking that it is an enemy the immune cells launch a full-blown attack
unfortunately this intense war causes a lot of collateral damage the lining of
the intestine becomes inflamed and over time it can become eroded this makes the
guts less effective at absorbing nutrients so what do people with celiac
disease experience initially people may experience gut related symptoms like
abdominal pain bloating and diarrhea antibodies from the immune response in
the gut can travel to the skin and cause a rash which can show up as itchy
blisters around the elbows and knees if celiac disease is left untreated it can
lead to nutrient deficiencies such as iron deficiency and in children these
nutrient deficiencies can lead to poor growth so why do people get celiac
disease in the first place well one thing we know for sure is that there is
a strong genetic component studies have shown that almost all people with celiac
disease have variation in one of two key genes involved with the immune system
but we know that genetics alone cannot cause celiac disease because there are
people with variations in these genes who do not develop the condition
scientists are actively looking for other triggers that can lead to celiac
disease in people who are genetically at risk
luckily celiac disease can be diagnosed quite easily it just takes a screening
blood test followed by a biopsy of the small intestine to confirm the diagnosis
an important point is that these tests only work while you're still consuming
gluten within a few weeks of going gluten free the immune response to
gluten can dampen down enough that the tests become unreliable if you're
concerned about celiac disease it is best to speak to your doctor before you
go gluten-free if you're already following
gluten-free diet then your doctor can still diagnose celiac disease based on
your genetics and a gluten challenge but this can be a slower and more expensive
process now let's talk about level 2 the emerging signs about gluten here we find
something called non-celiac gluten sensitivity in some people
gluten-containing foods can lead to abdominal pain bloating and changes in
bowel habits but when blood tests and biopsies are done there is no evidence
of celiac disease so if these people don't have celiac then what could be
going on well we know that foods made from wheat barley and rye don't just
contain gluten they also contain other nutrients for example wheat contains a
type of carbohydrate called FODMAPs FODMAP is just a confusing sounding name
given to a collection of carbohydrates such as fructans galactans and polyols
fodmaps are pretty common in our food and don't cause problems for most people
but we know that some people find FODMAPs difficult to digest and this can
cause bloating and abdominal cramps we also know that gluten-free diets tend to
have lower amounts of FODMAPs one possible explanation why some people
without true celiac disease feel better after going gluten-free is that their
gut is actually sensitive to FODMAPs instead of gluten so gluten-free diets
and get the credit even though it was the lower amount of FODMAPs
that did the trick another suggestion is that aside from people who are sensitive
to FODMAPs there could be a smaller number of people who are truly sensitive
to gluten without having celiac disease either way non-celiac gluten sensitivity
is a difficult diagnosis to make since there are no diagnostic signs or
tests for this condition and it relies on how a person feels on a gluten-free
diet this is an area of active research so we can expect to learn more in the
years ahead and now we reach level 3 new experimental hypotheses that are at the
cutting edge of discovery the most notable finding here is that
gluten causes something called leaky gut syndrome
basically the lining of the intestine is made of cells that are held together
with something called tight junctions there is a protein called zonulin that
acts as a lever to open these junctions if zonulin levels increase then these
junctions open up and food-related particles inside the gut are allowed
access to the bloodstream in other words the gut becomes leaky in people who have
celiac disease high immune activity in the gut is shown to increase zonulin
levels dramatically but what about people without celiac disease well there
is a lab study that showed that glidin can trigger these junctions to open in
healthy people too but not as much as in people with celiac disease the big
unanswered question is whether leaky gut is actually harmful for our health a
key researcher in this space is Professor Alessio fasano who is a
pediatric gastroenterologist at the Massachusetts General Hospital
in an interview with Mark Hyman in 2018 he states that at this stage we don't
know where the leaky gut has any negative health effects for people
without celiac disease he suggests that perhaps in appropriate amounts
intestinal permeability may actually help train the immune system to detect
potential invaders and be an important part of maintaining gut health one other
concern that is somewhat related to gluten is that modern wheat is very
different to ancient wheat due to cross breeding and that modern wheat may be
causing us to become sick in other ways at this stage there isn't enough
scientific data to back up this concern so we'll have to wait and see what
future research shows now you might be thinking why not go gluten-free anyway
why worry about eating gluten at all well one important point is that
following a gluten-free diet can have its own risks gluten-free diets have
found to be lower in key micronutrients such as folate and iron this can lead to
nutrient deficiencies of the long term so here's the bottom line people with
celiac disease absolutely need to avoid gluten no question about that
there is another emerging category of people who don't have celiac disease but
may still experience bloating and pain in response to gluten containing foods
these people may benefit from changes to their diet but this needs to be planned
carefully to avoid nutritional deficiencies and address other potential
factors that affect gut health such as FODMAP intake for the rest of us gluten
and whole grain foods are not harmful and a part of a healthy balanced diet
with plenty of other fruits and vegetables I'm interested to hear what
you think do you think gluten-free is just a fad or do you think that avoiding
gluten is helpful let's talk about it in the comments thanks for watching and
I'll catch you in the next one