Gluten has always been a huge part of diet so how come people are now intolerant? Is it just a trend? Were people always intolerant but there was no other option? Or has gluten changed though breeding?
Is it possible that people have made themselves more intolerant by excluding gluten from their diet thus losing the ability to digest it?
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Source: am a baker.
I don’t believe that *all* the gluten free hype is legit, but I do know that some things have actually changed.
Wheat genetics have changed drastically. Wheat has been bred for a lot of things, including a shorter stalk, higher protein (gluten is a protein), and higher yield.
Milling has changed drastically. Stone ground wheat is ground with the bran and germ, and while some of that may be sifted out afterwards, it is more nutritious than wheat milled on steel rollers.
Baking has also changed. Fermentation has been pushed faster and faster by ever increasing amounts of added yeast, giving the dough less time to develop. Some baking processes don’t use yeast at all, relying on chemical leveners that raise the bread but do nothing to make it more digestible.
I personally know people who can digest sourdough bread made with stone ground flour, but have a hard time with factory-made American sandwich bread. These people wouldn’t call themselves ‘gluten intolerant’ since they can clearly digest gluten in some forms, but *something* is going on for real.
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