One of the more recent concepts to make headlines in the ever-changing field of nutrition and healthy eating is the gluten free diet. Natural food stores and even regular groceries have sections of gluten free products and more and more product labels proclaim the contents to be gluten free. What’s the big deal? To solve this mystery, we’ll first examine what gluten is and then delve into the issues associated with it.

Gluten is a protein found in wheat (including spelt), barley, rye, farina, graham flour, semolina, Durham, bulgur, kamut, matzo meal and triticale along with other lesser known grains. It is the gluten content that gives dough its elasticity. Gluten is also an ingredient in some food additives used for flavoring and thickening foods so may not show up on ingredient lists.

Gluten is not inherently bad for you; however, it has been found to have serious effects in children with celiac disease which is known by several names, non-tropical sprue, endemic sprue, gluten enteropathy and gluten intolerance.

Celiac disease is caused by a reaction to gluten protein and results in inflammation of the small intestine, which in turn results in decreased nutrient absorption. Symptoms include fatigue, chronic diarrhea and, in children, failure to thrive, but the disease has also been found in cases affecting other organs, and manifesting none of the usual symptoms.

There is no “cure” for the condition; people with celiac disease must simply not ingest gluten. While celiac disease does affect adults, the effects of the condition are most significant in children.  So, it is particularly important that those children with the condition be given a gluten free diet.

It’s also noted that if you think you have celiac disease, you should consult your physician for testing, before going with a gluten free diet because reducing gluten consumption makes the condition harder to document and positively identify.

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