What’s The Difference Between Wheat And Gluten?

People who don't tolerate wheat in the United States here, but then they go over to Europe and they're like eating fresh, baguettes, and they're not having gut issues. Welcome back to our channel/blog, the place for all things nutrition and gut health-related. And today we're talking about the difference between wheat and gluten, and this is a really common point of confusion.

And so I'm going to make it as simple as possible. So you're gonna have a good understanding by the end of this topic. And then I'm also going to share something in wheat that's not gluten that more likely is contributing to excessive gas and bloating. So stay until the end. And I'll talk about that. So let's go a little bit high picture so that you have context and can better understand what the differences between wheat and gluten are.

So at the top here, you're going to see the macronutrients carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. And today we're going to be talking about everything under the carbohydrate category, which subcategories include fruits, vegetables, grains, sugars, dairy, and legumes. And certainly, some of these categories do have healthy fats and they do have some protein, but for the most part, they're mostly carbohydrates. And that's why they're under our carbohydrate category.

And a lot of people think, you know, carbs are bad. You should not eat carbs. But as you see under this category, we have fruits. We have vegetables, which we know have a lot of great micronutrients supportive of overall health.

And most people, do need some grains in their eating plan to help them feel their best. That's just what it is. And so we are going to hone in and talk about the grains category, which is where wheat and gluten fall under.

Gluten-containing and Gluten-free containing grains

And so under the grains, we can have this subcategory of gluten-containing grains and gluten-free containing grains and under gluten-containing brands, we have wheat we have, rye, we have barley, and oats fall under that too, because so often oats are cross-contaminated, but you can find gluten-free oats. It's just, that if you're following a gluten-free eating plan, if you have celiac disease, then you're going to want to read labels closely and make sure you're buying a certified gluten-free oat.

So the difference between gluten and wheat is that wheat is just a subcategory of gluten-containing grains. And then under the grains category, we have gluten-free grains, which include things like rice.

That's one of the most popular gluten-free grains you can have in there, quinoa too, that was really in the spotlight back in like 2015, and 2014, still pretty popular. Some of these ancient grants have come and gone like teff and amaranth.

Now they're even creating coconut wraps instead of the gluten wheat-containing wraps, which is pretty creative. Or you can do lettuce wraps instead, or there are a lot of rice products. I would say the majority of gluten-free products now are made with rice.

And an interesting fact about that is if somebody gets diagnosed with celiac disease in Italy, the government actually helps to cover some of their gluten-free products. And then I've heard that the gluten-free products in Italy are like really, really good. So if you ever travel there, report back and let us know how they taste. I'm really curious.

So anyway, let's go back over to the gluten side of things. And so we have the wheat under the gluten-containing grains, and certainly, there are different types. And varieties of wheat.

You can buy more of those ancient grain wheat you can buy organic and non-organic, and that's something that we can really play around with when somebody is struggling with wheat tolerance, because you've maybe all heard of stories of people who don't tolerate wheat in the United States here, but then they go over to Europe and they're like eating fresh baguettes and they're not having gut issues.

And so there's a lot more to the picture than what we're talking about today. For example, it's not uncommon for wheat that's grown in our country now to be heavily sprayed with Roundup. And there's suspicion that this is what could be contributing to people having gut issues when they're eating some of these newer types of wheat, that are coming out on our market and, you know, poor quality wheat that is on our market.

So I promised you that I wanted to share something else about wheat, which is, might be largely well likely largely affecting your excessive gas and bloat. So before we get into that, I want to share about our FREE GUIDE: 5 ways to improve gut health that you can download.

And in this guide, you're going to learn five secret steps that many people don't know of, that you can take to improve your gut health five often surprising factors that can harm or improve gut health, and how to determine if you're making these mistakes. And by easy copy-based actions, you can take today to start your healing journey.

So now in wheat is something called fructans, and this is a fermentable carb. It falls under the category of oligosaccharides for fermentable carbohydrates. And if people are eating too many fermentable carbs, it could be contributing to this excessive gas and bloating diarrhea constipation.

Now, there are things that we can do to improve the overall gut environment to help improve the tolerance of fermentable carbs. I did it myself actually I used to avoid all of these foods because they would cause me to have gut issues. And now I can tolerate them all so.

One case study, but we've done it with many clients as well. So just know that, but for some people, you know, cutting it out to get some symptom relief can be helpful and decreasing wheat, instead of going gluten-free could help to give some relief from that like excessive gas and bloat, until you can kind of dig deeper and figure out what more you can do so that you could improve your tolerance.

Maybe switching to a better quality of wheat maybe it's something else going on. Two people could have the same symptoms, but the cause of those symptoms could be different if you're having gut issues. You don't necessarily have to go a hundred percent gluten-free, but by doing some simple swaps and overall just starting with decreasing the wheat and the bread that you're consuming, you might start to feel better and then you can kind of go from there.

So I hope this is helpful for you. I hope you have a better understanding of the difference between wheat and gluten. If you haven't already please subscribe to our youtube channel, and hit the bell next to the subscribe button so that you get notified of our new videos every Tuesday at 3:00 PM central time.

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