This post centers around an article published by The New York Times called “Who Has the Guts for Gluten?” by Moises Velazquez-Manoff. Published on February 23, 2013
If you were to go out today, select any random person, and ask them if they have ever heard the terms “gluten” or “celiac disease,” chances are they will have heard the terms used quite frequently. It seems that gluten is everywhere these days. There’s gluten-free this and gluten-free that, but if you were to ask that same person if they know the scientific definition of gluten or what celiac disease can do to one’s body, you will probably receive a puzzled, blank stare.
In an article published by The New York Times, titled “Who Has the Guts for Gluten?,” author Moises Velasquez-Manoff explains what gluten is, the effects gluten can have on those with celiac, the discussed causes of celiac disease, and why the disease is affecting so many people in the US. Manoff explains that celiac disease is considered an autoimmune disorder, or a condition that occurs when the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys healthy body tissue. The effects of this disease range from diarrhea and anemia, to osteoporosis, and in severe cases, lymphoma.
Manoff explains that “Nearly everyone with celiac disease has one of two versions of a cellular receptor called the human leukocyte antigen, or H.L.A. These receptors, the thinking goes, naturally increase carriers’ immune response to gluten.” thus making them unable to tolerate the protein that is found in wheat, rye, and barley called gluten. If ingested, the immune system reacts by damaging or destroying the villi of the small intestine. Villi allow nutrients from food to be absorbed into the bloodstream, so if that villi is destroyed the person will become malnourished no matter how much he/she eats.This particular article investigates why the prevalence of celiac disease has quadrupled in just 50 years.
I found this article very interesting because, like most people, I really did not know anything about gluten or celiac disease. While reading I was able to make many connections to both what i have learned in school and my life outside of the biology classroom. For example, my boyfriend’s father, grandfather, and sister all have celiac disease. The article mentioned that roughly 30% of people with European ancestry carry the genes responsible for celiac and my boyfriends father is of Swedish descent, and his grandfather is 100% Italian.
I also connected this article to what we’ve been learning about in biology. We recently learned about cell receptors and we found out what their function is. Cellular receptors receive chemical messages and send those messages to the inside of the cell. The quote stated above talks about the receptor called human leukocyte antigen. The more of these receptors the body has, the more sensitive it will be to gluten.
I thought the article was interesting, but I did think it dragged on a lot. I felt as if there was almost too much information that it got overwhelming at times. For example, it got quite hard to continue when it began talking about the study comparing Russia and Finland. I did, however, find it fascinating to read all the different theories as to what causes or can help prevent the disease. For example, it was mentioned that breast feeding may help prevent the disease and how the abundance of gluten in processed food may be a leading cause of the disease. As of right now, there is no cure for celiac disease but scientists are still searching.
Pictography:
http://gastro.ucla.edu/body.cfm?id=20
Started off great. The title caught my attention immediately because one it was a witty title and two my sister is allergic to gluten projects. And a lot of the stuff that is in our house now says gluten free. You really explained throughly the topic with out getting boring. I liked how you related to real life using Kelvin's family as an example. The picture you included was cool too. Keep bloggin'.
ReplyDeleteI like how you chose a topic that you have a personal connection with, and was surprised to see how many people have Celiac disease. I have seen people talking about gluten more in the past few years, and even have a few family members who have cut gluten from their diet for health reasons. It would be interesting to see if they have Celiac disease or not.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your blog post! I personally found this post interesting because I used to have a gluten allergy, which is similar to celiac disease. This is a terrible disease to have because it can limit you from eating so many foods. I liked how you made a personal connection to the topic, because it helped the it become a more relatable topic for readers. It is unfortunate for the victims of celiac disease for there to be no cure, yet, but it is great scientists are already trying to find one. You wrote an interesting post that uncovered new information on this topic for me. Great job!
ReplyDeleteI liked this topic, because my cousin has celiac disease, but I never really understood it. I agree with Matt that you really explained the topic while still keeping the reader's interest. The pictures also really added to the article. I do think that there was a lot to read and understand and it could have maybe been summarized a little more, but overall really nice job!
ReplyDeleteGreat job! Just like you, I didn't really understand a lot about gluten and celiac disease. I really liked how you made a personal connection. I know so many people who can't eat gluten and I always wondered why and your blog helps me understand it more. Your title definitely drew me in to reading your blog! Nice work!
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I had no clue what your title meant before reading your post. After reading I felt like I knew the basics about gluten and celiac disease. One of my cousins girlfriends decided to go on a gluten free diet last summer so see how her body reacted to it. Do you think this could have hurt her?
ReplyDeleteI liked your title because it was eye catching. I knew some people have gluten allergies or can't have gluten but i didn't have any background knowledge or any other knowledge. I like ow you used a real life example because U understood it more. I also think that it was interesting how you connected this to biology because when i saw your title i wasn't sure how you were going to do it, but now i understand how it has to do with cellular receptors. I like how you critiqued the article at the end because it gave me an idea of how the article was before i decided to read it. i thought you did well!
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