(806) 324-5402
Downtown Athletic Club Amarillo
  • Home
  • Personal Training
  • Group Fitness
    • DAC Class Schedule
  • Basketball Training
  • The Spa
  • Blog
  • Membership
    • DAC Photo Gallery
  • About/Contact Us
    • Meet The Staff
    • Employment

What Gluten Is Anyway?

10/4/2016

0 Comments

 
By Dominic Zumbrun
food label
One food trend that has emerged in recent years is the move towards gluten-free food products. Ostensibly, this is because of gluten’s effects on the body. In a 2014 Pedestrian Questions segment, Jimmy Kimmel Live made fun of the many people who claim to be on gluten-free diets without being able to answer the question “what is gluten?” As with many trends, people tend to jump onboard without learning about the factors involved. All of this leads to the big question:

What Exactly Is Gluten?

Gluten is a collective name for proteins found in wheat and its derivatives as well as in rye and a few other grains. It can also show up in foods that do not include any grains due to contamination in a kitchen. Gluten works as a kind of glue to help foods hold their shape. It provides the elasticity seen in pasta and allows bread to rise.

Who Needs To Be Concerned About Gluten?

The people who need to avoid gluten include people who have an autoimmune condition called celiac disease. Celiac disease makes it difficult to digest gluten and affects about one percent of the population. People with the condition have difficulty absorbing the nutrients in their food. The symptoms of celiac disease include bloating and fatigue.

Recently, another condition called non-celiac gluten sensitivity has been making the headlines. Relatively little is known about this condition except that people with it do feel better when they stop eating foods that contain gluten. It has contributed to the popularity of the many gluten-free food products on the market. Not much is known about non-celiac gluten sensitivity.  How much gluten is needed to cause its symptoms is still unknown and no one is certain that it is even related to gluten consumption.  In addition, no one knows how many people have the condition though some experts estimate that as much as six percent of the population could be affected. While celiac disease appears to be hereditary, non-celiac gluten sensitivity does not appear to be connected to genetics at all. The conditions do share many of the same symptoms such as bloating and fatigue.

Are There Benefits To A Gluten-free Diet?

For people who have celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, yes. For everyone else, the answer is no. Eating foods without gluten provides no health benefits and is just a waste of money, especially since gluten-free foods are often more expensive.

For help with achieving your fitness goals, contact us today at the Downtown Athletic Club in Amarillo. Our professional trainers are ready to help you on your journey to good health with both exercise and nutritional advice.

Meet our trainers
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Archives

    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013

    Categories

    All
    Amarillo Gym
    Complete Body Workout
    Corporate Fitness
    Events
    Family Health
    Fitness Tips
    Group Classes
    Massage
    Memberships
    Nutrition
    Personal Training

    RSS Feed

This is the background of the Bottom Area shown below. It'll display correctly on published site.
If you don't want background for the bottom area, simply hover over the bottom of this image to delete it. The background of the bottom area will be a solid dark color.

Interested in membership opportunities and specials at the Downtown Athletic Club? Click here to find out more.
​ Join the club today!
More on DAC Membership

Site Map

Home
Personal Training
Group Fitness Classes
The Spa
Membership
Blog
About The Downtown Athletic Club
Contact Us
Meet The DAC Staff

Employment Opportunities

Member Services Attendant
Kids Club Attendant
Licensed Massage Therapist
Personal Trainer

Group Fitness Classes

Bikini Bootcamp
​Barre
DACurves
Flow Yoga
Keiser Cycling
Lift
Roll & Relax
Tabata Bootcamp
Total Body Conditioning
TRX Suspension Training
Zumba
View Class Schedule

Personal Trainers


Shelby Skaggs
Greg Morris
Beth Brestrup
Beverly Walker
​
Jeff Cox

Contact Info

(806) 324-5402


320 S. Polk St., Suite 350
Amarillo, TX 79101
​U.S.


Privacy Policy
Refund Policy