Qualitaly_105

JUN. JUL 2018 XVI and cohesion, so the amount of gluten, even hidden, that we ingest every day is really excessive and to digest it our body must “spend” more energy resulting in “fatigue” of our system. DANGER OF MISINFORMATION Those with these disorders often do not know how to eat because they are confused, misinformed or badly-informed, and often rely on improvised diets that involve the introduction of the wrong foods which they mistakenly believe to be gluten-free (in my work practice I often hear: I eat wholemeal pasta or kamut because they are gluten-free. Wrong!) or the diet is limited to gluten-free products with a high glycemic index, resulting in overweight. If you are well informed, however, today it is easy to eat gluten-free, because in the market we can find many foods that are without it, and that does not mean that we have to do without the pasta, bread or cakes that we enjoy so much, but only have more knowledge to know how to choose. In nature, in fact, there are cereals and pseudo cereals that do not contain gluten such as amaranth with a low glycemic index, sorghum, teff, quinoa rich in essential amino acids and low glycemic index, corn, rice, buckwheat, which also has a low glycemic index and rich in minerals and antioxidants, but also pulses, and tubers such as potatoes, cassava, Jerusalem artichokes, which are free-from. Also dried fruit, fresh meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, milk and dairy products in general, eggs ... what instead we must always pay attention to are the labels of unsuspecting foods such as cured meats, which can contain gluten as an additive, preserved meat, many ready meals and preparations for sweets, creams, puddings, desserts, yogurt, cheese creams, etc. Another demonised substance in the last few years is lactose, the sugar (disaccharide, formed by galactose and glucose) which represents the 98% of the sugars present in milk and in smaller quantity in its derivatives (ex: 1 l of cow’s milk contains about 50 g of lactose, this quantity decreases in yogurt and fresh cheeses. This can fall to zero in the more mature hard cheeses). In order to be assimilated and digested, this sugar must first be converted to glucose and galactose, this process occurs thanks to an enzyme called lactase, produced by intestinal cells, and that in some individuals is not released in adequate quantities with consequent intolerance to this sugar. With growth this enzyme is physiologically less and less produced because milk is not a necessary food in adulthood. For those who have a real intolerance (to ascertain it you must perform the lactose Breath test) or for adults, the elimination or limitation of milk and dairy products can be useful to improve health conditions, very often congenital or “physiological” intolerance leads to major gastroenteric disorders, joint pain, fatigue, headache, acne / dementia etc. that can limit the quality of life. Even for lactose the problem is that the food industry uses it as an additive, adding it during the preparation of many foods such as cured meats, sauces, puddings, bread, pastries, baked goods, soups, consommés, sweets, tablets, ice cream etc. For this reason, people with real intolerance should pay more attention to labels. Today, there are more and more lactose-free or better still, delactosed products on the market. DELACTOSED Delactosation consists in adding artificial lactase during milk production with the consequent splitting of the lactose in the two monosaccharides that make it up, making the product more digestible but the taste of lactose products is sweeter even if they contain the same amount of total carbohydrates. In conclusion, if an individual complains of the symptoms mentioned above, if after performing diagnostic investigations is found to be celiac, or sensitive to gluten, or lactose intolerance or allergic to milk proteins they must necessarily eliminate these foods from their diet, finding alternatives such as those mentioned above, but if no disorders are found there is no reason to change the diet. It is also true that personally I always advise my patients to abstain, for example from the intake of gluten, for at least three days in a row per week to “relieve” the body from the continuous bombardment of this substance present everywhere as an additive. Even restaurateurs should provide more and more gluten-free dishes using perhaps cereals or interesting pseudo cereals such as quinoa or buckwheat that go well with vegetables and fish or introduce delactosed products to meet the needs of customers increasingly attentive to physical well-being! ______________________________ * Dr. Barbara Panterna is a medical surgeon with Post-graduate specialisation in human nutrition obtained at the State University of Milan. She is active in food education and geriatrics and a teacher/trainer for the Lombardy region in first aid and microbiology courses. She is the author of several articles of medical/ scientific character and novels available on Amazon books. She recently published though Passi Editore: Stories of Ordinary Gynaecology, distributed in Italy by Bayer Pharmaceutical. She carries out her medical activity in Milan as a private practice. ______________________________ MAGAZINE