Origins

I don't know why, but in the year I have been diagnosed, I have never really thought about what gluten actually means. I had thrown myself so rigorously into eliminating gluten from my diet on a per-food basis, and following my rule book from Coeliac UK of what I could and could not eat, that I came to view it as some nasty entity all to itself which manufacturers like to put in all sorts of foods (roast chicken? coleslaw?) just to taunt me.

So I was using a new reference source at work and decided to look up gluten and see if it returned anything interesting. And who would have thought it? (Probably everybody except me), the word actually comes directly from Latin:

Collins Latin Dictionary


Which makes sense when considering the definition of gluten in the Collins Dictionary of Medicine:

"...insoluble, glue-like protein constituent of wheat that causes stickiness in dough"

Additionally (I am shamed to say that I hadn't bothered to find out what exactly contained gluten, just what I could eat to avoid it, but "Gluten consists of two proteins - gliadin and glutenin. Some people are sensitive to gluten and in these it causes the intestinal malabsorption disorder coeliac disease. Gluten is found in wheat, oats, barley, rye and similar grain cereals"

If only that glue didn't make bread and cakes so ridiculously tasty! But once settled in a GF diet and feeling the relief of eating without tension and bloating, I for one would find it impossible to go back. Not even for a little nibble of sticky cookie dough!

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Additional info:

Many medicinal products contain gluten as part of their inert ingredients.
Pharmaceutical Medicine Dictionary

(Gluten) is used in gluten bread for diabetics, and as an additive to chocolate and coffee.
Philip's Encyclopedia

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Coffee? I shall be checking my information, but I've always been led to believe that all coffees and teas are gluten free. And gluten bread for diabetics? Pah, never heard of it!