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Last Updated: Jun 10, 2024
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Wine and gluten

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Dt. Khyati RupaniDietitian/Nutritionist • 15 Years Exp.Bsc - Applied Nutrition, Clinical Nutrition Diet & Food Service Management
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Many  grain plants in the world such as wheat, barley, and rye have a type of protein (which acts as storage) called prolamins. Gluten is a large family of these prolamins.

Many prolamins commonly are called with a name Gluten but some have specific names in which grains they are found.

  • Wheat has gluten called glutenins and gliadins.
  • Rye have prolamins named secalins.
  • Barley have prolamins named hordeins. 

Gluten has functional properties to hold its other macromolecules. It gives many foods that are made from grains its soft chewy texture. 

Gluten proteins have holding properties as well as elastic properties, for example in bread these proteins structure form a network  in which gas gets trapped and it also helps to retain the moisture needed in bread.

This gluten’s properties are used by food industries to give moisture to food needed and also helps  in fermentation.

Gluten on health and benefits

People around the world are eating processed food which contains gluten.  For some people gluten has side effects. Gluten in their body reacts differently, it is sensed by the body as a toxin which alerts the immune system. Immune cell tries to kill it. High consumption by sensitive people can make this attack a battle causing inflammation.  

  • Food is made with texture and aid in its processing.
  • People who take whole grain gluten have a lower rate of heart attack, type 2 diabetes and other heart diseases.
  •  Good bacteria such as bifidobacteria found in the human gut(colon), which are responsible for lowering gastrointestinal diseases such as inflammatory, irritable bowel syndrome, feed on gluten in whole grain. It acts as prebiotic.

Medical Problem caused by gluten

  • Celiac disease is a type of autoimmune condition. When gluten is processed in the colon after eating  for sensitive people their immune systems cells attack their colon cells causing inflammation. In this people are advised to have a gluten free diet. It is one cause of gluten intolerance.
  • Some sensitive people have an inability to break the gluten protein from wheat and other grains. This is called gluten intolerance. This causes celiac disease and immune defense causes damage to the small intestine. 
  • Irritable bowel syndrome: Guten in the body causes the gastrointestinal tract to irritate and to have  diarrhea, constipation, and bloating

Note

Wheat allergy

This allergy is not from gluten but from eating wheat. It is a gluten disorder but people in this condition can have gluten from other sources. People should notice this and avoid wheat not gluten though they are related in common people sense

Gluten free label means: as many people try to get gluten free food but processed food has gluten in small amounts. Food factories have reduced gluten to its  threshold level of gluten reaction in people.

Wine

Wine is made from natural fruits like grapes, berries and  plum which are free of gluten. But the process used by winemakers eventually adds gluten to wine.

  • Crushing and pressing: From grapes 2 wine are prepared- 
  • White wine-juice extracted is quickly removed from the rest of debris.
  • Red wine-  Juice extracted is mixed with debris of grapes for color and flavor.
  • Fermentation-  Yeast added in this process converts the juice extracted into alcohol. It is gluten free. 
  • Clarification.-  The cloudy color of wine is made clear by the process of finding. Using fining agents which bind itself with other unwanted elements it is made clear of alcohol.
  • Aging and storage- It is aged in oak barrels, steel tanks etc. Before bottling it. For making it stabilized, agents are used. Preservatives such as sulfur dioxide are used.  
  • Substances used are mostly gluten free but processing and storage may contaminate it. oak barrels are used to store it and  wheat paste is used to seal the top for aging. As wheat contains gluten it may contaminate the wine.
  • Bentonite clay  is a fining agent, so do egg white and fish proteins as well as gluten. They are used to doing fining and after binding with other unwanted elements they go to the bottom. We can filter it out. Some fining agents contain gluten which contaminates the wine.

Note: all alcohol made from barley, malt, and rice are gluten alcohol. People with gluten intolerance should avoid drinking.

Gluten free food and wine

  •  Wine that are gluten free are:
  • Frey Vineyards
  • Dogfish Head Tweason’ale
  • Badger Mt. Vineyard

Fruits and vegetables: They do not contain any gluten. People who are gluten intolerant can have this in high amounts.

Dairy products: Milk, paneer, ghee do not have any gluten. We can have it easily.

Protein, fats, oil that can be derived from fish, and groundnuts can be consumed without fear.

Conclusion

People who are gluten intolerant do not consume gluten containing substances. Food from markets labeled gluten free should be eaten on doctor advice because each person's threshold level of gluten in the body is different. Have fruits and veggies, avoid gluten(wheat, bread etc. for more information please visit doctor.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult a specialist & get answers to your questions!
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