The Magical World of Gluten Christina Chang April Dela Fuente Joshua Herskovitz Morgan Rease

History of Bread 12,000 years ago, during the neolithic period, people began making flat bread by mixing flour and water. The “cake” was then baked in the sun. Egyptians first used “wild” yeast from the air in their breads. “Legend has it that a slave in a royal Egyptian household forgot about some dough he had set aside. When he returned, it had doubled in size. Trying to hide the mistake, the dough was punched down furiously and baked. The result was a lighter bread than anyone had ever tasted.”5

Flour Processing Grains are taken and ground into flour via large rollers. Flours are usually milled a couple of times before being packaged and sold.

Gluten Gluten proteins are present in dry kernels but are not activated. Gluten matrixes are formed by mixing gluten (glutenin and gliadin) proteins with water and kneading. Gluten is important in creating a matrix to capture CO2 produced by yeast. 85-90% of the proteins found in wheat flour are gluten Glutenin Gliadin Gluten

Gliadins Gliadins provide the viscosity Has high amounts of glutamine and proline Glutamine is a hydrophilic amino acid which leads to large amounts of hydrogen bonds between polypeptide chains with water causing increased viscosity Most disulfide bridges are intramolecular causing increased viscosity Main issue in Celiac disease

Glutenin Glutenin provides elasticity Also has high amounts of proline and glutamine Prolines ruin secondary structure aiding water integration Presence of 8 cysteines confers intermolecular disulfide bridges allows for high molecular weight and aids elasticity

Flours

Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease autoimmune disorder can develop at any point in life genetically predisposed caused by gliadins damages lining of small intestine prevents absorbing important parts of food Other names for celiac’s disease includes celiac sprue and non-tropical sprue it’s considered non-tropical sprue because there is something else known as tropical sprue and what this is is a malabsorption disease commonly found in tropical regions in which abnormal flattening of the villi and an inflamed small intestine can be seen. celiac disease in not a malabsorption disease. it is an autoimmune disease attacking the small intesting

Welcome to the small intestine. Further research in the process Gluten is consumed body has response to gliadin Immune system attacks small intestine Inhibits absorption of nutrients 1. When gliadin combines with these antibodies, it causes damage to the wall and interferes with absorption - especially targeting the absorption of fats, starches, and sugars.

Symptoms Include: symptoms vary from person to person symptoms in digestive system and/or in other parts of body digestive symptoms more common in infants and young children affects child growth and development

Symptoms in Adults depression or anxiety tingling numbness in hands and feet missed menstrual periods canker sores in mouth dermatitis herpetiformis seizures unexplained iron-deficiency anemia fatigue bone of joint pain arthritis bone loss or osteoporosis

Celiac Disease Around the World [explain the graph] goes to show who has a higher risk for celiac disease 1. shown are these ethnicities with a low risk 2. highest prevalence is seen when your mother or father has it 3. next highest prevalence when there is a second degrees - patten showing higher prevalence if it runs in your family compared to developing it

Celiac Disease : Prevalence

Effects of Celiac Disease 3 million people in our country are living with celiac disease. 83% are undiagnosed. Type 1 Diabetes affects 3 million people. 6% (180,000) of those diagnosed also have CD. 610,000 women in the US experience unexplained infertility. 6% (26,000) don’t know it’s from CD.

Risk and Prevalence importance of diagnosis the longer one waits, the higher the risk undiagnosed or untreated celiac disease = other autoimmune disorders blood tests presence of antibodies specific to celiac disease endomysial, anti-tissue transglutaminase, anti-gliadin intestinal biopsy use of an EGD esophagogastroduodenoscopy

Gluten-Free in the Market

Less than 1% of US citizens have Celiac Disease 1,2 An estimated 6% of the population is gluten intolerant. 1 15% of the population is consuming gluten-free foods 2 30% report wanting to cut back on gluten 1

Do you think gluten-free foods are healthier than their gluten containing counterparts?

What’s a gluten?!

Do you know what gluten is? 30% did not know 70% did know (supposedly)

“complex carbohydrate in wheat based products, right?” “a wheat byproduct???” “A certain protein sometimes present in food (often contained in wheat)” “complex carbohydrate in wheat based products, right?” “something in lots of breads” “A molecule found in wheat, oat, malt, rye, and barley.”

Why do people think gluten-free is healthier? Those with Celiac disease and gluten intolerance will not suffer from the intestinal irritation caused by gluten if they do not consume it. A lot of junk food is based on wheat products. Cutting out gluten often results in cutting down on these foods

Why are so many foods labeled (unnecessarily?) gluten-free? 24% of restaurant customers claim they are more likely to purchase foods and beverages if they are described as being gluten-free. 3 The average gluten-free grocery basket costs about $100 compared to $33 for the ‘regular’ basket. 1 Some people have a legitimate health concern and being able to see ‘Gluten-free’ on a product makes life easier!

Retail sales of gluten free products 2011-2013 the market grew ~44% 7.3 billion dollars in sales to 10.5 billion in just three years Largest segment of gluten free products being sold - bread products, cookies, and snacks. Also beverages, even though many never contained gluten in the first place

Largest amount of gluten-free products sold were baked goods

Why Are Consumers Buying Gluten-Free Products digestive health nutritional value help lose weight healthier skin joint pain improve concentration lessen stress cleansing regimen alleviate depression ease asthma treat celiac disease

Problem? Removing gluten from the diet has not been proven to help some of these issues.

Gluten Sensitivity Symptoms abdominal pain eczema, rash headache “foggy mind” fatigue diarrhea depression Numbness in limbs joint pains New, controversial, not way to test for it, symptoms are broad and not specific Many people have been self diagnosing, some people on gluten free diets may not actually have gluten sensitivity/intolerance, celiacs, or wheat allergy.

Gluten-Free Diets & Weight Loss No clinical evidence that gluten-free diets help with weight loss Most dietitians say that gluten-free diets not necessary for people without celiac disease or gluten sensitivity

Nutritional Impact of a Gluten-Free Diet Many gluten-free foods are actually higher in carbs and calories and lower in nutrients Eliminates a major source of nutrients (whole wheat) A gluten-free can lead to nutrient deficiencies if consumer is not careful B Vitamins iron zinc fiber

Why do Gluten-free Diets seem to work for weight loss? Eliminating gluten and wheat can mean eliminating many processed foods (for many people) similar to no/low carb diets