Today, nutritionists around the world are discussing the rejection of “mysterious” gluten in the foods that people eat, and some decade ago people did not even know about its existence. So what is gluten, where is it, and why are healthy food devotees so skeptical?
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Gluten (translated from Latin as “glue”) together with plant fibrin and gluten makes up the group of protein proteins that make up all cereals. When wetted with water, this element becomes almost tasteless, elastic, homogeneous and very sticky gray mass. In modern food production, this substance is used almost everywhere. This is due to the low cost and easy process of extracting gluten from the grain, which is a plus for industrialists.
As a dietary supplement, gluten has many functions. It is used as a natural preservative, enhancing the elasticity of bakery products, and also as an excellent thickener, which at the same time gives the product uniformity and a delicate texture.
Here is the main list of products that may contain this “cereal glue”:
- Various bakery products and all kinds of pastries (pizza belongs to the same group).
- A group of pasta.
- Cakes and various confectionery products.
- Dishes from the category of fast food.
- Fast breakfasts (cereal, cereal muesli, sticks and more).
- Sausages (including ham).
- Retail crab sticks.
- Favorite bad snack - chips.
- Products for quick use (noodles, soups).
- Soya products.
- Seasoning mixes and bouillon cubes.
- Consumer products (mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard).
- Semi-finished factory products.
- Dairy products (for example, yogurt).
- Frozen vegetables and berries.
- Beer.
- Nutritious baby formula.
- Supplements and some vitamins.
In order to recognize the presence of this sticky substance in the purchased product, it is necessary to study its composition. Very often this component is hidden under such names as textured proteins, modified starch, protein mass, potato food starch and some other similar names.
Contrary to popular belief, gluten is completely harmless to a healthy person. It can cause significant damage to health only to those people who have severe congenital pathology - gluten intolerance. A similar violation according to statistics is present in 1% of the population of the entire planet.
Gluten is a natural product that is planted by nature in all cereals. Do not be afraid of its consumption, if there are no justified reasons.