What is vital wheat gluten?

(Karla Sykes) #1

Have anybody ever heard of vital wheat gluten? What is it? Is it safe for keto? I always thought wheat and gluten was definitely a No-No on keto. I’m in the grocery store right now so if you can respond quickly that would be fantastic

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(less is more, more or less) #2

I don’t know, I never heard of it. The name makes me think “snake oil.” I’d avoid it, regardless. There is no such thing as an essential carbohydrate.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #3

Vital wheat gluten is the protein portion of wheat with the starch, bran and germ removed. It’s what stretches in bread dough and traps CO2 from the yeast creating the air bubbles in bread. You can bake low carb bread from it with oat bran and flax meal. Gluten is only partially digestible and causes issues in the gut whether you have celiacs disease or just believe gluten is bad for you, hence all the gluten free products. My personal belief is that even if you aren’t showing symptoms gluten damages the digestive track. The famous book “Wheat Belly” is all about the effects of gluten. Some people here eat these low carb diet breads but I avoid them because of the ingredients which may fit your macros but are not good for your health.

(Jack Bennett) #4

Is that the same as Seitan which is used in Asian fake meats?

(Full Metal KETO AF) #5

@ajbennett Yes it is, I have made my own before, I just used white bread flour and water. You mix a dough and kneed it well. Then put the dough ball in a big thing of water. You work the dough in the water till it’s really cloudy, dump it and repeat a few more times. You end up with a rubbery grayish blob. That’s the gluten (seitan). You can shape it and boil it or braise it in a sauce. Or you can dry it out and grind it back into flour, Vital Wheat Gluten flour. It’s mostly used to give bread a higher protein content, chewier texture and bigger rise. You can use it to turn AP flour into Bread flour. I bought some flour when I used to make bread.

(Dan Dan) #6

One of it’s many uses…

(Karla Sykes) #7

Yes

(Karla Sykes) #8

I kind of feel like I wasted $8. I didn’t know you were not supposed to eat wheat gluten. I always avoided it through to the carbohydrates but not so much of the health manifestations of eating it. I’ve already called and they told me I could not return it because it was an open product. Oh well it just sucks I guess

(Full Metal KETO AF) #9

It’s up to you, the bread recipe above is popular recently. I guess it depends on why you’re eating keto, how clean are you trying to be with your diet, and how you tolerated wheat before you quit eating it. You only use a little of the flour in a bread recipe. Maybe that quarter cup serving size. The rest will be fiber and seed meal. Some people really miss bread and others find substitutes or just eat without it. Occasionally I make a keto quick bread with almond or coconut flour but I am fine without bread.

It’s not that gluten isn’t keto but most here believe we’re best off without it. Like sugar, vegetable or seed oil and root vegetables and almost all fruits. If you can eat them and be in ketosis then they are keto food. Much of that will be determined by how much you eat. And some of those things have negative impacts on your body even in small amounts regardless of your state of ketosis.

(Karla Sykes) #10

Okay that makes a lot more sense thanks for the information. I think I’ll just avoid it but I got to tell you I’m awfully sad about wasting eight bucks

(Full Metal KETO AF) #11

We all make grocery store errors along the way, myself included. I recently bought breakfast sausage in a chub. I looked at the carb content and tossed it in the cart. When I was cooking some I read the ingredients and it said “vegetable oil added for ease of processing”. After more than a year it can still slip by if you aren’t careful.

(Ken) #12

Vital wheat gluten is a filler. It is in lots of foods, and IMO it is very unhealthy. It is also used in the protein count, so is misleading as it is not healthy animal protein. People, especially kids with gluten intolerance really have to watch for it since it’s in products kids like such as chicken nuggets etc. Its part of the legacy of unhealthy processed foods.

(Doing a Mediterranean Keto) #13

A very basic question, @David_Stilley: how do you know that gluten is “bad” (for non-celiac people)? There are two possible ways gluten is “bad”: one, if gluten is “bad” for itself. Two, if gluten is “bad” due to the fact that it is usually eaten together with wheat (starch, bran, germ and gluten together), but the real “badness” is in wheat as a whole, not in gluten itself.

I ask this question since many people bake keto bread using gluten. I do not, but maybe I will start trying at some point in time.

I am scared about wheat, because I know that wheat is bad for me. I am 100% convinced of that. But I am not sure if I also have a problem with gluten or not.

So, my question is: are there studies analyzing the effects of gluten (and not wheat!) on non-celiacs?

(Karla Sykes) #14

I’m at the same point with you. I don’t know if gluten is bad or not but I don’t want to mess up over 55 lb loss. So until then it will just sit in my cabinet

(Full Metal KETO AF) #15

Gluten itself is bad. It causes gut inflammation. Plenty of info out there on that, I don’t have any specific studies to post. There’s a famous book, “Wheat Belly” or just search the net. Gluten intolerance is a well known issue.

(Full Metal KETO AF) #16

That’s fantastic Karla. Was that all on KETO?

#17

That used to happen to me ALL the time. I try to focus more on ingredients and quality of the product now than carbohydrate content, and also preparing things properly with fermentation, soaking, sprouting, etc. but I’m young and don’t need to track carbs religiously like a lot of people with more severe health problems on here.

(Bob M) #18

Here’s one:

People with non-celiac wheat sensitivity appear to suffer from a weakened intestinal barrier, which leads to an immune response after they eat foods that contain the gluten protein – typically wheat, rye or barley.

Their symptoms involve bloating, abdominal pain and diarrhea, but also include fatigue, headache, anxiety, and problems with memory and thinking skills, the study showed.

(Dirty Lazy Keto'er, Sucralose freak ;)) #19

Karla, wheat gluten would probably be perfectly okay for you, just as it has been for me. I absolutely promise you, your not going to eat a little wheat gluten (like in that bread recipe) wake up with severe stomach issues, and have put on that 55lbs overnight.
Just try it for yourself. If it causes problems for you, which it will likely not, don’t worry about it.
I guarantee you that every single bite of everything you put in your mouth, will cause problems for somebody somewhere.
Name a food item, ANY food item, and I bet I can find a study that says why it can be bad for you… Or a report of somebody getting really sick from it.
I’m still eating some almost everyday (along with plenty of Sucralose) and doing great… And I totally do not believe I am the exception.

Honestly, I hadn’t weighed in a long time, then last evening (I’m always heavier in the evening) with my new, smaller cloths feeling looser, I decided to jump on the scale… And holy $#@# ! I was only 201 ! Almost surely sometime in the last week or two, in the morning, I’ve dropped below 200 ! And that kind of sucks. Im not trying to be skinny. 205 is perfectly fine for me. Hmmmm. Maybe I need more keto pizza and desserts :wink:

(Karla Sykes) #20

Yes keto saved my life