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Gluten Free

What does Gluten-Free mean?

Oregon's Wild Harvest Gluten-FreeOnce considered a rare childhood disease, Celiac Disease is now recognized as a disorder that affects many adults. As many as 1 in 133 Americans have Celiac Disease, making it the most common inherited disease. Unfortunately, Celiac Disease is also the most under-diagnosed common disease today.

Celiac Disease is an auto-immune disorder in which damage occurs to the villi lining the small intestine when exposed to the protein gluten. Symptoms can include frequent bloating and abdominal pain, stomach cramps, chronic diarrhea, fatigue, behavioral changes, and (in children) delayed growth. Long-term damage can interfere with the body's ability to absorb nutrients, which can in turn cause malnutrition and other related conditions, such as osteoporosis and anemia. Unless they follow a gluten-free diet, those with Celiac Disease are more prone to developing certain cancers, including intestinal lymphoma.

Gluten and gluten-like proteins are found in wheat and other grains, including oats, rye, barley, bulgar, durum, kamut and spelt, and foods made from those grains. Gluten is also found in food starches, semolina, couscous, malt, some vinegars, soy sauce, flavorings, artificial colors, and hydrolyzed vegetable proteins.

Current treatment for Celiac Disease is a strict gluten-free diet in which Celiacs must not eat any product or bi-product containing gluten, and must always be careful of cross-contamination of their food.

In addition to being the cause of trouble for Celiacs, gluten is thought to be partially responsible for certain autism behaviors. Gluten and casein are receiving a lot of attention in the autism community and from doctors in the "Defeat Autism Now!" biomedical movement. Some parents, doctors, and researchers say that children with autism have shown mild to dramatic improvements in speech and/or behavior after these substances were removed from their diet. Some also report that their autistic children have experienced fewer bouts of diarrhea and loose stools since starting a gluten-free, casein-free (GFCF) diet.
Casein is a protein found in milk and foods containing milk, such as cheese, butter, yogurt, ice cream, whey and even some brands of margarine. It also may be added to non-milk products such as soy cheese and hot dogs in the form of caseinate.

The theory is that some people with autism and PDD (Pervasive Developmental Disorder) cannot properly digest gluten and casein, which form substances that act like opiates in their bodies. According to this theory, the improperly digested gluten that becomes a "drug-like (opiate)" substance in the body alters the person's behavior, perceptions, and responses to his environment. Research in the U.S. and Europe has found substances with opiate activity in the urine of a significant number of children with autism. A doctor can order a urinary peptide test that can tell if proteins are not being digested properly.

For these reasons and others (a mere sensitivity to gluten, as well as wheat allergies), gluten-free living is receiving more attention, and becoming a niche that we are more than happy to help fill.

For a complete list of Oregon's Wild Harvest Gluten-Free products, click here.