Gluten is a mix of two proteins found in barley, rye, wheat and triticale (a wheat-rye hybrid). Wonderfully elastic, gluten makes it possible for dough to stretch and rise in the oven, creating crusty, delicious loaves of bread.
For thousands of years, bread has been considered the staff of life – until now, when misunderstandings about gluten have caused many people to mistrust even the heartiest loaf of artisan bread, as this illustration from Parade Magazine shows. (In the article, which was about "moral panics," Parade suggested people should be afraid of not getting enough fiber if they skip whole grains, rather than fearing gluten.)
Other pushback came this week from NPR's show On the Media, which examined diet fads, with gluten as the prime example. One of their conclusions: "Going gluten-free is celebrity-induced folly. Unless, of course, you have actually been diagnosed with celiac disease."
To read the rest of the story, please go to: Oldways Preservation Trust/Whole Grains Council
