-
Related
You may have heard the word gluten and may even know someone who can't tolerate it in their diet, but what does it actually mean? What is gluten? And why is a natural protein so harmful to some people?
Gluten is a natural protein found in wheat, barley and rye and humans have been ingesting gluten for centuries, but it is only getting a bad rap of late.
Dr Rodney Ford is known as doctor gluten and from his Christchurch clinic he diagnoses gluten-sensitive sufferers around the world.
"As the grains become more and more specialised they contain more and more gluten and over the last 50 years we have been eating more and more bread, pasta, rolls, takeaways, and so gluten is now much more predominant part of our diet than it used to be long time ago," Ford told Close Up.
He says around one in 100 people suffer from coeliac disease - a medically recognised bowel condition where sufferers are warned off gluten for good. But there is also gluten sensitivity, which according to Ford affects one in 10 people.
There is a specific test for coeliac disease, but some doctors don't test for gluten intolerance as they don't believe there is such a thing.
However Ford is not fazed and the former associate professor of paediatrics at the Christchurch School of Medicine is about to publish his fourth book on gluten.
"I definitely don't feel like a lone ranger, I've got hundreds and hundreds of patients who can see the fantastic benefits of a gluten free diet...and there are lots of colleagues who are also of the opinion that gluten sensitivity is a very important diagnosis...they are the minority at the moment but they will be in the majority," says Ford, who is also a fellow in gastroenterology at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital for children in London.
Manufacturers and retailers have been quick to catch on to the growing gluten free fan base and some supermarkets even have gluten free aisles.
"The community finds that gluten free suits them and unfortunately it's going to take a while for the medical fraternity to catch up with them," says Ford.
Speciality gluten-free foods are more expensive. A food subsidy is available on prescription for sufferers of coeliac disease, but not for those diagnosed gluten-sensitive.
