Feeding the Bears
August 1, 2013Food Safety Act
August 15, 2013Urban Farming Agriculturalist
Food Chain Radio Host Michael Olson
#931 • August 10, 2013 • Sat 9AM Pacific
Guest: Diane Javelli, Dietician, University of Washington Medical Center
Gluten Free We!
To be, or not to be, gluten-free?
Raise your hand if you think you are gluten-intolerant. Now raise your hand if you know you are gluten-intolerant. From this showing of hands, it is evident there is a lot of difference between our thinking about gluten, and our knowing about gluten.
Gluten is, in the most simple of terms, protein that glues sugars together in the grains of wheat and related grasses.
When we domesticated those grains thousands of years ago, they became our “staff of life,” which is to say, our principal food. Thus the gluten those grains contain became, in a very real sense, the glue that holds our societies together.
Many of us have suddenly become intolerant of gluten. In fact, within a few short years a booming industry has sprouted to sell us gluten-free food, and the Federal government now has rules and regulations governing what may be labeled “Gluten-Free.”
Given the difference between those who think they are intolerant of gluten, and those who know they are intolerant of gluten, perhaps its time to ask some questions:
What role does gluten play in our traditional diet? Why have so many become so gluten-intolerant in such a short period of time? What is celiac disease? And…