Being gluten-free is the new trend of the day. People are trying to avoid gluten by all means. You and I are being influenced by factors like social and traditional media coverage, aggressive consumer-directed marketing by manufacturers and retail outlets, and increased exposure to the clinical benefits of gluten avoidance. But is gluten powder really that bad?
The perception that gluten powder is bad for your health spreads like wildfire. A gluten-free diet is projected as a healthy lifestyle change. But is it? People are mainly avoiding gluten powder to lose weight. As the influence of social media is driving us to have a perfect body, the gluten-free diets pitched by influencers will look like a fantastic option to you. But is that factual or partial scientific truth? To arrive at an informed conclusion, we will have to look more into the topic.
What is gluten powder?
Gluten powder, also known as gluten flour, is a high-protein flour extracted from hard wheat. Almost 70 per cent of it is proteins, which are insoluble in water. It is an additive added to low gluten flours to improve its gluten content, rising and elasticity. Gluten also improves the texture and chewiness of foods like bread, which otherwise could be dense.
How is gluten powder made?
As an important wheat protein processed from natural wheat flour, it is not synthetic in any sense. At first, we soak wheat grains in water to activate the gluten in them. Then these grains are processed until everything other than gluten is removed. Further, it is dried and grounded. There we go. Now we have our very own totally natural gluten powder.
Why are people avoiding gluten powder?
In current times, our society is religiously trying to avoid gluten from their food. This is because they believe gluten powder is a highly unhealthy substance making them sick and gaining weight. But unfortunately, gluten doesn’t affect you until and unless you have some sensitivity or allergy to gluten. Let’s see the people who should avoid gluten powder from their diet.
Should you avoid gluten powder?
While gluten is generally an element that doesn’t cause trouble to most of the population, some people should avoid it. If you are experiencing stomach upset, dizziness, headaches etc., after eating foods with gluten, you may have one of the medical conditions listed below.
- Celiac disease
- Non-celiac gluten sensitivity
- Wheat allergy
- Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH)
If you have medical conditions like these, you should avoid gluten from your diet. The body of these people with these medical conditions will regard gluten as a toxin; hence it is highly dangerous for their well-being. But what about the rest of the population? Should we, too, avoid gluten?
Well, you may think that as we are unsure whether we have these medical conditions, won’t cutting off gluten from our diet be safe? Like it won’t create any problems, right? Or is it? Sorry people, but gluten deficiency do exist. Gluten, like every other element, is important for the proper functioning of our body. Hence, a gluten deficiency in people who don’t have the diseases listed above will cause severe medical conditions. Want to know what they are?
Problems caused due to gluten deficiency
- Exposure to toxic heavy metals: Overusing gluten-free foods like rice and fish contain toxic heavy metals like arsenic, mercury, cadmium, and lead.
- Increase the risk of type 2 diabetes
- Increase the risk of heart disease
- Increased risk of colorectal cancer
- Significant decrease in the level of vitamin B3
- Decrease in folic acid
What are you missing out on while avoiding gluten powder?
Gluten is an extremely good source of protein. Actually, it is a healthy alternative to animal protein sources. Moreover, it is also rich in phosphorus, which helps you maintain the health of your bone and teeth and repair and maintain your body. It is a low-fat product that will help you with your cholesterol level. It is a storehouse of microminerals like iron and selenium. And more importantly, foods that contain gluten powder will have a high level of fibre, which is extremely good for your body.
So now you may be thinking, if gluten is such a good product, aren’t gluten-intolerant people severely lacking by being unable to use them? Unfortunately yes. But there is one product that might help you and gluten-intolerant people to have more fibre in your body, Nutriplus Fibrefit.
Nutriplus FibreFit
Nutriplus Fibrefit is a healthy step that will help your body to remain healthy. This product contains natural plant fibre extracted from Gum Acacia, one of the richest sources of soluble fibre. This product helps you to add fibre to your diet, which will, in due time, reduce the risk of heart disease, type-2 diabetes, stroke etc. It will also improve your digestive health and keep you full for longer. As a result, this product can help gluten-intolerant people enjoy some of the benefits of gluten without consuming gluten powder.
To Conclude
Finally, what do you think? Should you avoid gluten powder? Or should you avoid partial science facts and arrive at informed decisions? Gluten powder is not an enemy unless and until you are intolerant to it. And depriving yourself of gluten powder, with so many benefits, will be stupid. So, people think and decide. And for those who cannot experience the goodness of gluten powder, grab a Nutriplus FibreFit and enjoy your days.
