On store shelves throughout the U.S., one can find Gluten free foods, but some could be in danger of losing that designation.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has stepped in to define what requirements are needed for a food to be gluten free.
New regulations were released by the FDA on Friday giving definition to gluten free labeling on foods, to ensure the products come under a specific standard definition.
People with gluten free diets usually suffer from celiac disease, which is an autoimmune condition in which gluten acts like it is an allergen, which causes inflammation and damage to the small intestine linings over a period of time.
This stops the villi, which are hair like fingers from absorbing any essential nutrients from the foods ingested which result in symptoms such as weight loss, abdominal pain, bloating, fatigue, constipation and migrants of the brain fog type.
Only approximately 1% of the population has celiac disease and of those, only 17% are aware they have the disease. That means more than 80% of suffers of celiac disease might not understand why they have discomfort after eating.
The FDA said it estimated that approximately 3 million people in the U.S. suffered from celiac disease.
The only way to cure the condition is to go on a diet free of gluten and avoid all the foods that contain proteins like rye, wheat, and barley products.
The new standards set forth by the FDA require that to have the term gluten free on the packaging, a food must have fewer than 20 parts per million of gluten.
Other foods that claim they are free of gluten, without gluten and no gluten will be required to meet the same definition.
