Why so much attention to gluten free?  What is gluten, and celiac disease? 
 
Celiac disease, also more casually referred to as wheat or gluten intolerance, occurs when your body cannot digest gluten, a protein most commonly found in wheat, rye and barley.  However, it's very important to realize that these are not the only culprits that can cause severe problems.  Other grains such as oats and spelt also contain gluten, and gluten can be found in countless processed foods without being labeled as such.
 
"Gluten" comes from the Latin word for glue, and its adhesive properties hold bread and cake together.  But those same properties interfere with the breakdown and absorption of nutrients, including the nutrients from other foods in the same meal. The result is a glued-together lump in your gut rather than a nutritious, easily digested meal.
 
The undigested gluten then triggers your immune system to attack the lining of your small intestine, which can cause symptoms like diarrhea or constipation, nausea, and abdominal pain. Over time, your small intestine becomes increasingly damaged and less able to absorb nutrients such as iron and calcium.  This can lead to anemia, osteoporosis and other health problems.
 
Personally, I am avoiding gluten and I don't have celiac disease.  But a lot of people are adversely affected by gluten on some level even if they don't have celiac, just a lesser form of gluten intolerance.
 
In order to combat celiac or gluten intolerance, it's not enough to simply avoid grains.  You must also pay attention to the quality of all the other foods you eat. A very large percentage of Americans spend money on processed foods.  When you choose foods like this, and you have celiac disease, you are putting yourself at risk to eating hiden gluten.  You really are doing yourself a disservice if you don't eat whole foods. Some examples of gluten hiding places are ready-made soups, soy sauce, candies, cold cuts, and various low and no fat products such as malts, starches, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, texturized vegetable protein, natural flavoring.
 
I would like to refer you to celiac.com for their list of label ingredients that typically contain hidden gluten.  There's a good article as well there. 

 

Good luck!
 

Lorna Sophocleous, HHC, Pilates Expert