What is Gluten?
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It is important to understand exactly what gluten is in order to deal with the full extent of celiac disease. Foods with a “gluten-free” claim are a big and growing business these days. If you’ve watched this whirlwind of gluten-free activity unfold without fully understanding what, in fact, gluten actually is, fear not. You’re probably not alone.
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Gluten is shorthand for a family of storage proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. These are found in the mature seed of these cereal grasses, which is what we refer to as the grain. It both nourishes plant embryos during germination and later affects the elasticity of dough, which in turn affects the chewiness of baked wheat products. Gluten is actually composed of two different proteins: gliadin (a prolamin protein) and glutenin (a glutelin protein). Though “true gluten” is sometimes defined as being specific to wheat, gluten has often been said to be part of other cereal grains (which include rye, barley and various crossbreeds) because these grains also contain protein composites that are made from prolamins and glutelins.
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Endosperm Gluten
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