Giving away mugs, towels and bobblehead dolls are standard promotions for baseball games across North America.
But later this August, the Seattle Mariners will introduce a new promotion – a special night dedicated to gluten-free food.
On Aug. 31, the Mariners will offer gluten-free buns and beer made from sorghum for fans sitting in and around Section 347.
The campaign is indicative of a dietary movement in North America where millions of consumers are willing to eat anything, as long as it doesn’t contain gluten.
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“It’s quite amazing, the amount of growth in the gluten-free industry,” said Shelley Case, a registered dietitian who lives in Regina and has written four books on gluten-free diets.
In 2009, Packaged Facts, a U.S. market research company, released a report on gluten-free food and beverages. It showed that U.S. sales of such products grew to $1.56 billion in 2008 from $560 million in 2004. The same report predicted sales of gluten-free products would total $2.6 billion annually by 2012.
Case, who has appeared on NBC’s Today Show and speaks across North America on celiac disease and gluten, said the rapid and continued expansion of the gluten-free industry is partly explained by celebrity endorsements.
Last year, Elizabeth Hasselbeck of The View released her book on gluten,The G Free Diet.
Hasselbeck made claims in her book that embellished the work and recommendations of celiac experts.
“She was promoting it for weight loss, speeding up your digestion and improving your memory. Sort of the latest and greatest thing since whatever,” Case said.
Such claims are typical in the gluten-free culture. Diet books and internet sites openly state that gluten is responsible for everything from multiple sclerosis to attention deficit disorder to autism in children.
Although the detrimental effects of gluten are debatable, Case said a study released seven years ago proved that celiac is a relatively common disease.
In 2003, Dr. Alessio Fasano of the University of Maryland determined that one out of 133 people in North America have celiac disease.
The result was surprising and led to subsequent research trying to answer the question: is celiac disease on the rise?
A study by Joseph Murray of the Mayo Clinic, published July 2009 in the journal,Gastroenterology,compared blood samples taken from young adults in the U.S. Army in the 1950s with blood samples from young adults who live in Minnesota.
“What they found was quite amazing,” Case said. “There was a 4.5 fold increase in the rate of celiac disease (from the 1950s till now.)”
Case and other nutritionists have opinions about why celiac disease is becoming more common.
“As a dietician, I can say that when you look at people’s diets in the last 20 or 30 years, certainly people are eating a lot more processed food. And a lot of (those) are processed wheat-based products,” Case said. “People are definitely getting more gluten.”
Celiac may be on the rise, but the number of people who say they are gluten sensitive has exploded in Canada and the United States over the last few years.
“I read something on the internet saying 40 percent of people have (gluten sensitivity). Well, I don’t think that’s true,” Case said.
Based on her research, she believes six to seven percent of people have gluten sensitivity. The distinction between celiac and gluten sensitivity is that the latter isn’t an autoimmune disorder.
“So it (gluten sensitivity) isn’t going to damage the lining of the small intestinal tract. It won’t lead to things like anemia, osteoporosis and infertility.”
Nonetheless, if six to 10 percent of the population decides not to eat gluten, that means 25 to 35 million Canadians and Americans will continue to seek alternatives to wheat.
That may not be great news for wheat growers, but it offers a tremendous opportunity for other producers and food processors on the Prairies, said Margaret Hughes, sales and marketing manager of Best Cooking Pulses in Portage la Prairie, Man.
“We (Canadians) are the largest exporter in the world (of peas) … But if we develop value-added products in North America, that would be a really helpful way to have a homegrown market for these peas.”
Hughes’ company is selling small packages of pea flour at retail stores in Canada because gluten sensitive consumers and other customers are demanding the product.
“It’s giving people the opportunity to change the way they eat,” she said.
Case concurred with the idea that western Canadian farmers and companies can capitalize on the gluten-free market, whether they are producing peas, oats or less familiar crops like quinoa.
Looking ahead, the market will eventually flatten out because a gluten-free diet is expensive, Case said.
And despite claims to the contrary, some gluten-free products aren’t nutritious, she added.
“When you remove gluten and use the gluten-free grains … white rice flour, tapioca, corn and potato starch … they are much higher in starch and carbohydrates, low in fibre, low in iron and B vitamins and they can be grainy and not all that great tasting.”
What is Celiac Disease?
Celiac is an auto-immune disease, meaning the body attacks its own tissue and cells.
•Eating gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley, triggers the auto-immune response that damages fingers of tissue inside the small intestine. If those fingers are inoperative, the intestine can’t absorb vitamins and minerals.
•The best way to diagnose celiac disease is with a biopsy, where a sample of tissue is taken from the small intestine.
•The disease can be inherited and there are genetic markers for celiac. If you don’t have those genetic markers, you cannot get the disease.
Treatments:
Celiac disease has no known cure, but can be treated and controlled through a strict gluten-free diet.
Celiacs must be alert to sources of gluten, including:
•barley
•bulgar
•cereal binding
•couscous
•durum
•filler
•graham flour
•hydrolyzed vegetable/plant protein
•kamut
•malt, also malt extract, flavouring or syrup
•rye
•semolina
•spelt
•triticale
•wheat, also wheat bran, germ or starch
Common symptoms include:
•anemia
•chronic diarrhea
•weight loss
•fatigue
•cramps and bloating
•irritability
In some cases, sufferers from gluten-intolerance develop an intense burning and itching rash called dermatitis herpetiformis. The intestinal symptoms of celiac disease may or may not appear in dermatitis herpetiformis.
These conditions may occur alongside untreated celiac disease:
•Osteoporosis, due to malabsorption prior to diagnosis
•Depression, which may be eliminated with a gluten-free diet and vitamin B6 treatments
•Anemia or deficiencies of iron, folic acid and/or Vitamin B12
Any of these may be substituted for 1 tbsp. (15 mL) of wheat flour:
•1/2 tbsp (7 mL) cornstarch, potato starch / flour, white rice flour or arrowroot starch
•2 tsp (10 mL) quick-cooking tapioca or tapioca starch
•2 tbsp (30 mL) uncooked rice
Substitutions for 1 cup (250 mL) wheat flour:*
Mix two cups each of brown rice flour, sweet rice flour and rice polish. Store in an airtight container and use 7/8 cup (215 mL) of the mixture in place of 1 cup (250 mL) wheat flour.
* A combination of flours/starches gives a better gluten-free product.
Source: Canadian Celiac Assoc., www.celiac.c a
