Wheat permeates every area of the American diet, from desserts and entrees, to snacks and the best (and worst) breakfast foods. Even that cold drink you knock back with friends on the weekends is basically liquid bread. For some, this isn’t an issue but about 3 million people in the US alone suffer from celiac disease with about 18 million reporting some level of gluten sensitivity. These numbers probably fall short of the truth and most of us likely know at least one person who suffers from a gluten sensitivity. It’s estimated that about 5% of the global population deals with some form of gluten related ailment. Put into perspective, that’s more than the population of both the United States and the UK combined, making it an issue worth noting. While there continues to be a lot of discussion around whether or not this is a real phenomenon, separate from celiac disease, experts seem to agree that the overall impact seems to be much more widespread than celiac disease alone and this phenomenon is just getting worse over time. Wheat is a larger part of the American diet than many may realize and its consumption often correlates with a number of health issues even for those without celiac disease. As we consider the changes in the production of wheat, it's also possible that gluten may not be the only reason wheat has become such a consistent contributor to the rise of gastrointestinal issues in the American population. Let’s take a quick look at how things stand.

First, while wheat has been a major player in the human diet for centuries, recently, we’ve managed to squeeze wheat, or wheat-based proteins generically called gluten, into EVERYTHING. It’s no surprise that gluten is in foods like bread, pasta or even beer but what about salad dressing? What about soup or processed, or even just pre-seasoned, meats? We also have an entire subcategory of meat alternatives that are made from gluten. Gluten is also used as a type of adhesive and might be added to a number of foods (like ice cream) to function as a binder. More than ever before, we’ve cultivated and incorporated gluten into every area of our daily diet.

Second, it’s important to know the type of ailments that have been attributed to gluten sensitivity if for no other reason than if you do suffer from any of these issues, limiting or excluding gluten might improve your quality of life. Including celiac disease, the five major categories of gluten-related disorders are dermatitis herpetiformis, gluten ataxia, wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity. These express in a variety of ways including but not limited to bloating, abdominal discomfort, fatigue, a blistering rash, rhinitis, eczema, and wheezing. Plus, Celiac disease alone is often linked to “chronic and persistent diarrhea, malabsorption, abdominal pain, weight loss, and steatorrhea. Atypical and extra-intestinal manifestations include hepatic hypofunction, iron deficiency anemia, hair loss, osteoporosis, growth retardation, epilepsy, psychiatric disorders, mouth ulcers, muscle weakness, fatigue, arthropathy, delayed onset of puberty in children and infertility in adults.” As you can see, gluten-related disorders cover a wide spectrum of ailments and if you consistently suffer from any combination of these issues, a gluten sensitivity might be worth considering.

Third, you might take a look at the information presented so far and wonder why now? Even with the increased usage of gluten in a greater variety of foods, why are we seeing this explosion of related diseases and disorders rapidly growing in the last couple decades? Simply put, efficiency. As we’ve discussed in previous articles, the larger the agricultural yield and the lower the cost of that yield, the higher the profit. Therefore, changes like using genetically modified seeds, new fertilizers and pesticides (like glyphosate-based Roundup) to increase efficiency and profit margins often don’t stop even when we’ve seen what those changes can do to the consumer’s health. Additionally, the over processing of the wheat post harvest and its susceptibility to adulteration by both addition and substitution further complicate the real source of our current gluten-related challenges. It’s possible that those eliminating gluten from their diet and seeing positive health results might be eliminating an avenue for chemical exposure or cutting off the consumption of dust and fillers as well! In the end, locally sourcing your wheat flour and limiting highly processed foods might be a smart choice for supporting your health whether you have a gluten-related illness or not.

Sources:

Taraghikhah, N., Ashtari, S., Asri, N. et al. An updated overview of spectrum of gluten-related disorders: clinical and diagnostic aspects. BMC Gastroenterol 20, 258 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12876-020-01390-0
Gujral N, Freeman HJ, Thomson ABR. Celiac disease: prevalence, diagnosis, pathogenesis and treatment. World J Gastroenterol. 2012;18(42):6036–59.
This article is not meant for the prescription of any diet or diagnosis of any disease, sensitivity or ailment but for general educational purposes only.

If you’ve been following some of our recent cases, you know that we often investigate products that have been misrepresented or adulterated. What exactly does that mean and why is it important? Misrepresentation and adulteration are two ways in which food fraud can be accomplished. In the case of misrepresentation, a product is presented in a way that is misleading to the consumer in order to induce the purchase of the product. For example, a misrepresentation would be claiming that a meat product has “never been frozen” when it was absolutely frozen somewhere along the supply chain. The misrepresentation might also be paired with mislabeling if the product itself carries this incorrect description. Adulteration usually refers to something being added to a product. It is usually something cheaper than the product itself that allows for a profit because now the original amount of genuine supply can be stretched further. For example, a wine seller takes a line of dessert wine and adds sugar water to it. Now the same amount of wine that would have filled 150,000 bottles might instead fill 200,000. A few methods used in food fraud include substitution, counterfeiting and dilution. All three involved a cheaper ingredient or food being swapped with or added to the product and the product being sold as if it were pure.

Besides the obvious ethical and legal implications, why is food fraud so important? Simply put, it can be incredibly dangerous for the consumer. For example, one of the most common foods in the US that is susceptible to food fraud is olive oil. Think what might happen if something like peanut oil were to be used to dilute and “stretch” the original product? Anyone with a peanut allergy might consume the oil in their own cooking or even in a restaurant and the result could be catastrophic. At that point, the fraudulent behavior might be found out but it would be too little, too late for that consumer. This is why identifying food fraud and holding everyone along that chain of supply and demand accountable BEFORE there is a major health concern is so important!

If you would like to read more about food fraud and its impacts on society, as well as several examples of real food fraud cases, click here.