Gluten in Your Child’s Diet : Here’s What You Need to Know

Gluten is one of those compounds that has become quite notorious beginning in the late 20^th century till now. Once upon a time, bread, and consequently gluten, seemed to be the primary staple of many diets from around the world. Now people are living in concern that they may develop one of the many dreaded gluten intolerances that seems to have cropped out of nowhere.

It may seem like these diseases, such as celiac disease, came from out of the blue, but that isn’t the case. These conditions were probably always there, we are just now more aware of them and able to perceive them more clearly. But with greater awareness has come a greater increase in public worry about preventing the development of gluten intolerances. This has caused some parents to even go so far as putting their children on gluten free diets in hopes that the lack of early exposure to gluten will prevent an intolerance from forming. This worry is understandable, because people with true gluten intolerances can suffer extremely if they do consume gluten.

But removing gluten from your child’s diet unnecessarily is not a good thing. The human body actually needs gluten. If your developing child fails to get enough gluten they can suffer some from it.

A gluten free diet can lead to malnutrition. A gluten free diet may not have enough calories. Foods that naturally contain gluten also happen to be one of the bet sources of healthy calories for a growing child. Children tend to have lots of energy, and you don’t want to see them suffer an energy deficiency.

Also Read: Gluten Consumption in Kids: How it Can be a Cause for Celiac Disease Later On.