Gluten the Enemy

Comparing a Gluten Free Diet and a Yeast Free Diet

By Steve Q Smith  

I often give advice and information on anything and everything gluten free. Also, I am frequently asked what the relationship is between a gluten free diet and a yeast free diet. Since these topics come up frequently, I would like to address the differences and similarities between these two diets. Before we discuss the differences between the two, let's start by explaining what exactly the two different diets are and why someone would want to begin one of them.

A gluten-free diet is a diet that removes all gluten containing foods from a person's diet and thus prevents gluten from being ingested by the body. Gluten can be primarily found in wheat, barley and rye based foods. There are a few other grains that contain gluten; however they are not commonly used and are less important to focus on. There are many reasons why a person would want to eat a gluten free diet. The primary reason for doing so is if a person is diagnosed with celiac disease or is found to be gluten intolerant. Celiac disease is an autoimmune response to eating gluten containing foods and gluten intolerance is the general inability to process the protein gluten as it enters the body's intestines. If a person has either of these conditions, it is vital to their health that they stick to a strict gluten free diet and to ensure that they do not digest any gluten.

A diet that eliminates yeast is a completely different entity. Yeast is a microorganism that lives in all of our bodies, and in breads it is used to make dough's rise and be fluffy. A yeast free diet is one that eliminates all foods that have a lot of carbohydrates or uses yeast as a baking agent. Sugar, flour, milk, and rice are just a few of the foods that need to be avoided while on a yeast free diet. Instead, a person would want to eat many fruits, vegetables, nuts and meats as their primary diet. if you are asking yourself why would a person need to eliminate yeast from their diet, the answer is simple: infection. Basically, a person will exclude yeast from their diet in order to cure infection from bacteria called Candida. Candida naturally occurs in the body, but an imbalance can lead to many irritable symptoms and a need to cleanse the body. This is done by eating foods that 1; do not contain any yeast in them and 2; by eating foods that do not stimulate the growth of yeast in the body.

So what is the difference between the two? Well a diet removing gluten is the elimination of a specific protein from the body in order to accommodate dietary restrictions, and a diet removing yeast is primarily used to treat a yeast infection.

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