What is gluten?
Gluten in the food industry refers to storage proteins found in all grains. These storage proteins are beneficial in food production.Gluten-free, to the medical community refers only to the storage proteins known to damage the small intestine for persons with gluten sensitive enteropathy (celiac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis). Gluten-free diets avoid the storage proteins found in wheat, rye, and barley.
Gluten is a protein contained in the grains wheat, barley, rye, and oats. It is a unique protein based on its structure that lends a doughy/elastic consistency to flours derived from these grains. This is why over the centuries, gluten-containing grains have come to be used so extensively in breads and other baked goods.
