Gluten-Free

I don’t have any food allergies nor intolerances, so I had to do a lot of research.  All fruit and vegetables are naturally gluten-free and the main ingredients in most jellies are gluten-free (fruit, sugar, and pectin).  Pectin is a starch that occurs naturally in fruit and is used as the setting agent that gives jellies and jams their texture. It, like the other ingredients in jams and jellies, is totally gluten-free.

Cross-contamination issues can happen with any product

Reasons Why Jelly is Gluten-Free

Made from fruit, which is always naturally gluten-free.

Pectin, which gives jelly its texture, also comes from fruit and is gluten-free.

The other main ingredients, sugar, and juice are also naturally gluten-free.

What’s the Difference Between Jelly, Jam, Marmalade, and Lemon Curd?

Jelly is made using only the juice of the fruit and sugar.

Jam is made using the pulp of the fruit (seeds and skins), sugar, and pectin.

Marmalade is like jam, but includes the peel of citrus fruits as well.

Lemon Curd is made with lemons, eggs, and butter.

What is Celiac’s Disease?

Gluten is the protein part of wheat, rye, barley, and other related grains.  Some people cannot tolerate gluten when it comes in contact with the small intestine.  This condition is known as celiac disease (sometimes called non-tropical sprue or gluten enteropathy).  

Celiac disease is a condition that causes inflammation in the lining of part of the gut (called the small intestine).  The lining of the gut contains millions of tiny tube-shaped structures called villi.  These help food and nutrients to be digested more effectively into the body.  But in people with celiac disease, the villi become flattened as a result of the inflammation.  This means that food and nutrients are not so readily digested by the body.

In patients with celiac disease, gluten injures the lining of the small intestine.  This injury can result in weight loss, bloating, diarrhea, gas, abdominal cramps, and/or vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  When patients totally eliminate gluten from their diet, the lining of the intestine has a chance to heal.

Celiac disease is now clearly known to be genetically determined.  In other words, if you or your close relatives have a certain gene, then it is more likely that you will get celiac disease sometime in your life.  Of great concern and interest is the fact that 9 out of 10 people with celiac disease do not know they have it.  A simple blood test can give the physician the first clue about this disease.

What has Gluten?

-Wheat

-Barley

-Rye

-Spelt

-Contaminated oats

-Malt and malted barley

Gut Bacteria

The primary area of injury in celiac disease is the small bowel, but there may be a relationship between what happens in the small bowel and the colon or large bowel.  There are very large numbers of bacteria in the colon.  Most of these are beneficial and actually confer health benefits.  When these good bacteria thrive, they suppress the bad bacteria, which are present in the colon.  What has been found is that celiac patients, in fact, anyone on a gluten-free diet, have an altered makeup of bacteria in the colon which favors the unwanted bacteria.

Prebiotic Plant Fiber

A prebiotic is not a probiotic, which is beneficial bacteria taken by mouth.  These probiotics are present in yogurt, other dairy products, and pills.  Prebiotics, on the other hand, are the necessary plant fibers that contain both oligofructose and inulin.  These two fibers are the main nourishment for the good bacteria that reside in the gut.  These fibers are rich in chicory root, Jerusalem artichoke, leeks, asparagus, and others.  Gluten-containing wheat and barley also contain this prebiotics.

Health Benefits from Prebiotic Fibers

There is now ample information in the medical literature to indicate that a prebiotic-rich diet leads to demonstrable health benefits.  These include:

Increased calcium absorption

Stronger bones and bone density

Enhanced immunity

Reduced allergies and asthma in infants and children

A lower blood triglyceride level

Appetite and weight control

Lower cancer factors in the gut

Other benefits, including an increased sense of well being

The Celiac Wheat-Prebiotic Dilemma

Nature has played a trick on celiac people.  Wheat and wheat products provide over 80% of the prebiotics that North Americans ingest.  Yet, celiac patients must carefully avoid wheat, barley, and rye.  How do they then feed their good colon bacteria and get the health benefits, as outlined above?  They must favor the other vegetables and fruits.  

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25 Celiac Facts

1. May is Celiac Awareness Month

2. Celiac Disease is NOT a food allergy, it is an autoimmune disease. Celiac Disease can never be “outgrown”.

3. Celiac Disease is one of the most common, yet most under-diagnosed autoimmune conditions in this country today.

4. An estimated 2.5 to 3 million people have Celiac Disease.

5. A staggering 83% of the 2.5 to 3 million people with Celiac Disease are undiagnosed.

6. People who have Celiac Disease are permanently intolerant to gluten, a protein found in all forms of wheat, rye, and barley.

7. Celiac Disease is a genetic, autoimmune disease damaging the small intestine & interfering with nutrient absorption.

8. There are NO pharmaceutical cures for celiac disease.

9. Celiac Disease symptoms can include diarrhea, fatty-mucus stool, brain fog, intestinal pain and bloating, migraines, joint pain, anemia, canker sores, constipation, and depression.

10. “Silent” Celiac Disease shows no symptoms such as those mentioned above.

11. For many women, unexplained infertility is a sign of undiagnosed Celiac Disease.

12. Celiac Disease is a hereditary condition, which means it is passed through families.

13. If you have tested positive for Celiac Disease, your family members are at risk for Celiac Disease. It is critical that all first and second-degree relatives get tested for Celiac Disease, even if they are not experiencing any symptoms.

14. 1st-degree relatives of someone with Celiac Disease are: parents, brothers, and sisters, or the children of people who have been diagnosed.

15. 2nd-degree relatives of someone with Celiac Disease are: grandparents, grandchildren, aunts, uncles, nephews, nieces, or half-siblings.

16. About 20 to 25% with Celiac Disease break out in an intensely itchy and painful rash known as Dermatitis Herpetiformis.

17. Dermatitis Herpetiformis is the visible result of the body’s abnormal immunological reaction to gluten.

18. A common belief is gluten is found only in food. Protein is actually used in many products including medication, vitamins, and cosmetics.

19. Gluten is essentially toxic to people with Celiac Disease, Gluten Sensitivity, and Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity.

20. Continuing to consume gluten post-diagnosis puts one at risk for long-term damage to the small intestines.

21. Children are most likely to have the best gluten-free results when the entire family embraces the diet.

22. Depending on a child’s age, peer pressure can lead to “cheating”, so it’s important to work with a healthcare professional to ensure success.

23. For some patients with Celiac Disease, starting a gluten-free diet can improve symptoms in as little as two weeks. For others, it can take close to a year.

24. For those who do not have Celiac Disease, Gluten Sensitivity, and Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, a gluten-free diet does not benefit and can be harmful.

25. Buckwheat, contrary to its name, is not actually wheat and does not contain gluten.