Gluten is referred to as a substance present in cereal grains, especially wheat, that is responsible for the elastic texture of dough. A mixture of two proteins, it causes illness in people with “Celiac disease”. True gluten is limited to the grains of barley, rye, wheat and oats. Gluten can trigger adverse autoimmune reactions responsible for many disorders that are gluten-related. Gluten-free diets are often practiced by people with gluten-related disorders. Here A. Pawlowski, Today.com, reflects on a study of gluten-related restaurant dining:

“There’s a good chance some of the “gluten-free” dishes you’re ordering at a restaurant actually aren’t.

When restaurant goers armed with portable gluten detection devices checked foods advertised as free of gluten on the menus of eateries across the country, about one-third of the dishes — 32 percent — contained the substance, a new study presented Monday at the American College of Gastroenterology Annual Scientific Meeting found.

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With increased awareness of celiac disease and gluten-free diets in the last few years, there are more gluten-free dining options than ever before, but based on the findings, the expanded menus may give people a false sense of security, said lead author Dr. Benjamin Lerner, an internal medicine resident at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia University Medical Center.

“It’s a big deal,” Lerner told TODAY. “Approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population has celiac disease. For those patients, exposure to gluten in their diet can cause various symptoms — nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain. But also it can cause damage to their intestines.”

Even eating one meal containing the substance — a protein found in wheat, rye and barley — can affect people with the condition, Lerner said.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder that causes damage to the lining of the small intestine when patients consume foods with gluten. It affects about 3 million Americans, though some people go years before getting a diagnosis.

“Eating just made me sicker,” Rachel Carlson, a Pittsburgh woman who was finally diagnosed with the disease last year, told TODAY.

The only treatment is a strict gluten-free diet, but while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rules for products labeled as “gluten-free,” it applies only to packaged foods. A radio show in St. Louis recently caused a stir when an anonymous caller said she worked at a bakery that lied about its gluten-free foods.

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Why did so many restaurants drop the ball?

The study is based on more than 5,600 dishes tested at restaurants across the country over 18 months by 804 people who used portable gluten detection devices.”

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Read More … Article Source: https://www.today.com/health/are-gluten-free-restaurant-dishes-really-gluten-free-study-results-t138963

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