Everything you need to know about gluten — and why it isn't as bad as you think

• Gluten has become a hot topic in weight loss communities, but many people don't know exactly what gluten is.
• Essentially, gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. It gives dough its characteristic stretch and helps give breads structure. 
• INSIDER spoke with registered dietitian Rachel Hartley to clear up confusion about the protein and its role in a nutritious diet. 

When you think of gluten, foods like pizza, pasta, and bread probably come to mind. But aside from knowing its vague connection to carbs, you may not understand exactly what gluten is.

Despite its steadfast role in our food-related vocabulary, many people tend to confuse gluten with wheat or remain unsure about its role in a nutritious diet. INSIDER turned to registered dietitian Rachel Hartley for a crash course on the basic substance. 

Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye.

It's also found in ancient wheats, like spelt and einkorn, and ingredients made from these types of grain, like malt. So although connecting gluten with carbohydrates makes sense, it's important to remember that gluten is more than just pasta and bread.

"Gluten is the protein that gives dough its characteristic stretch and helps give bread its structure," Hartley told INSIDER. "Wheat is a grain, while gluten is a protein that's found in wheat, and other grains related to wheat."

Celiac disease is a severe autoimmune reaction in response to eating gluten. It is very different from a wheat allergy or intolerance.

While people who suffer from a wheat allergy would likely experience typical allergic reactions — symptoms like swelling, hives, and difficulty breathing — celiac disease is largely gastrointestinal. It can cause diarrhea, bloating, fatigue, malnutrition, and damage to the lining of the gut, with the potential to damage the small intestine if left untreated. Going gluten-free is imperative for the health of the disease's sufferers. 

"People with celiac disease may experience severe reactions from just a dusting of wheat flour contaminating their food," Hartley said. "Celiac disease can be diagnosed with a blood test or biopsy."

While it is possible to simply be intolerant to gluten, those sensitivities are less widely understood and far less serious, according to Hartley.

Very few people cannot eat gluten — and cutting it out unnecessarily may cause additional problems. 

Although less than 1% of Americans need to avoid gluten, gluten-free fad diets have been rising in popularity over the years as part of a weight loss and health craze. But plenty of evidence suggests that this may be an unrewarding decision.

Explore BI Games

Take a smarter break in your day - and see how far you get.

Play now

Want more Business Insider in your news feed?

Add BI in Google so our reporting is easier to find when you’re searching for what matters.

Add to Preferred Sources

"Gluten is only bad for you if you have celiac disease, a wheat allergy, or a gluten intolerance, which is a small minority of people," Hartley told INSIDER. "If you're not sure, it's helpful to work with a dietitian or gastroenterologist to get definitively diagnosed. Needlessly going gluten-free can be harmful, and has been linked to a higher risk of certain chronic diseases, like type 2 diabetes."

A recent study by Harvard Medical School also indicated that an unnecessary gluten-free diet can cause heart problems.

Hartley noted that many gluten-free foods are highly processed and contain fewer nutrients than their gluten counterparts. In fact, the complex carbohydrates found in food containing gluten are vital to the body. They provide fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals that the body craves to stay full and satisfied.

Eliminating gluten can even slow down the metabolism, burning off fewer calories, according to a previous INSIDER article. 

"While there aren't any benefits to going gluten free if you don't need to, if you need to follow a gluten-free diet, use it as an excuse to try lots of different grains and flours ... like almond meal, teff, chickpea flour and millet," Hartley said.

Ultimately, it's most important to resist diet trends and demonizing certain foods and proteins without fully understanding them.

Sign up here to get INSIDER's favorite stories straight to your inbox.