What Is Gluten?

There are literally thousands of resources on the Internet that cover this topic, so, here, I'm just going to a quick and dirty overview and introduction to the world of gluten and it's sources.

Put simply, gluten is a protein found in grains including wheat, barley, rye and spelt. Therefore, any food that is made using one of the ingredients will also contain gluten, which includes many highly processed foods.

Gluten is what gives many of our grain based products their elasticity such as bread and pizza dough. This is why it is difficult to make gluten free versions of these products because they just don't stick together as well.

For people with celiac disease, gluten causes an autoimmune response which damages the small intestine leading to a whole host of other potential problems since the small intestine loses it's ability to properly digest food and extract necessary nutrients. For these people, a gluten free diet is a must.

For people who are "gluten intolerant", the waters get muddy and there is a lot of controversy as to whether or not the condition really exists or if a gluten free diet is necessary.