Wheat Gluten: what is Seitan and is it a healthier option for vegans?
If you have already decided not to eat animal products, you may have already tried Seitan or at least heard of it. Seitan, sometimes called fake meat, originates from China and Japan and, it was used to substitute meat by vegetarian Buddhist monks. We can find it in vegan burgers, vegan sausages, looking like vegan steaks.
What is Wheat Gluten?
Wheat Gluten is not just flour extracted from wheat. It’s produced by hydrating wheat flour to activate the protein in wheat, then processed to remove everything but the gluten. The gluten is dried and grounded into powder and then flavoured with herbs and spices.
Wheat Gluten can be used to make fake meat and help raise dough when making bread, helping to improve the crumb, chewiness, and texture.
Benefits of Wheat Gluten: PRO’s
Unless you suffer from celiac disease, have an allergy or have gluten sensitivity, wheat gluten can be somehow beneficial in your diet.
- It’s rich in protein
- Low in carbohydrates
- Low in fat
- It’s a good source of some minerals like selenium and iron
- It’s keto-friendly
- It can be a good option for vegans allergic to soy
Highly processed product: CON’s
Products made from Wheat Gluten like Seitan may be nutritious, but is are still highly processed food. It’s basically gluten and water, and many of these pre-packaged Seitan have high levels of added sodium.
Personally, I discovered years ago that gluten was hurting my gut when I started eating Seitan, and although it took a while and I had to remove all gluten from my diet, I have learnt to introduce gluten in my diet through sourdough, but that is another story.
It’s Wheat Gluten healthy for our gut?
If you are already a frequent reader of my page, you already know how much I care for our gut health. If you are new to my page or IG, here is a little explanation: Our gut feeds from fibre, both soluble and insoluble, and Wheat Gluten has almost no fibre ( 1/4 c WG has 0.1g fibre when 1/4 c rolled oats has 4g of fibre), so the answer to that is NO, it’s not a healthy food for our gut but eating it sporadically it should not harm us unless we can’t tolerate gluten.
My personal opinion of Wheat Gluten is like any other processed food, is to avoid it and chose other high protein whole foods like chickpeas, beans and lentils, nuts and seeds. If you are not allergic to soy, consume edamame, tofu and tempeh (fermented soy).
Another option is to make your own Seitan.
