If you were looking for “gluten-free” foods 10 years ago, it was hard to find many options. However, the gluten-free food industry has dealt with a number of athletes who were diagnosed with a gluten allergy and needed alternative foods to add variety to their meal planning. It was not an easy task at the time. However, as the search for nutritional options and education has emerged, many athletes are choosing to embrace a diet once considered restrictive with open arms.
If you were to adopt a “gluten-free” lifestyle 10 years ago, a variety of food selections may not have been in the repertoire at the time. However, this niche market has gone mainstream in the last 5 years, growing into a multi-billion dollar industry. Whether by necessity or choice, Gluten Free Living now offers a variety of its cohorts. Athletes are looking for nutritional options, and as our momentum grows to educate our athletes to make informed decisions about their food choices, gluten is one of the topics that is constantly talked about. Questions often arise during nutritional seminars about what exactly gluten is. Gluten is a protein found in many different types of cereals/breads.
How many times do we feel the effects of gluten after a night of eating out? Having that beer before dinner with the bread that almost all restaurants bring to the table, as well as the pasta dish, makes us pack in the car bloated and uncomfortable, suffering from what can be considered a Gluten Buzz. Now, there are plenty of reasons to feel bloated, but gluten may be to blame. Only 1 percent of the population has been identified as gluten intolerant, but as more people try the gluten-free lifestyle, many of us have noticed a much more pleasant feeling after consuming food.
The pursuit of athlete supremacy and the drive to improve their quality of life has broadened the scope of topics frequently discussed with athletes. Whether by necessity or choice, gluten is one of those topics that gets repeatedly discussed.
Gluten is a protein found in many different types of grains. This protein provides elasticity to the dough and spongy texture to the bread. Foods that contain gluten are barley, couscous, wheat, rye, malt, durum wheat, spelled, etc. Oats are known to have some gluten cross-contamination as they are usually processed in wheat factories, so they are not recommended for people with true gluten allergies. Celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, ADHD and autism are some of the disorders that can be avoided by adopting a gluten-free lifestyle.