Gluten is a complex protein made up of glutenin and gliadin molecules, which in the presence of water form an elastic bond. Gluten can be found in grains including wheat, rye, barley and oats. 

Gluten can also hide in processed foods under a variety of names, including malts, starches, hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP), texturized vegetable protein (TVP) and natural flavouring.

Gluten-containing grains have been linked to more than 200 adverse health effects, with 20 adverse modes of toxicity, including neurotoxicity.

According to Dr.Alessio Fasano, director for Celiac research and chief of pediatric gastroenterology and nutrition at Massachusetts general hospital, gluten sensitivity may be far more prevalent than previously suspected. He estimates virtually all of us are affected to some degree, because we all create something called zonulin in the intestine in response to gluten.

Zonulin makes your gut more permeable, which allows proteins to get into your blood stream. This may cause inflammation.

Diarrhea or constipation, bloating, headache, anxiety and fatigue may be common symptoms of gluten intolerance.

Studies are now confirming that many people do indeed experience adverse reactions to gluten even if they test negative for celiac disease.  This suggests gluten-sensitivity is a real problem, and that gluten-free diets may benefit all — not just those with celiac.

Most of the ancient foods are gluten free except for few varieties of wheat and rice.

Take a breath.. All the millet varieties found are naturally gluten free.

Wheat is one of the most widely grown crops in the world. But the wheat of today is vastly different from the wheat our ancestors grew and ate, and these differences help explain the rise in gluten intolerance:

Hybridization has increased the proportion of gluten protein in wheat. Until the 19th century, wheat was also typically mixed with other grains, beans and nuts. Pure wheat flour has been milled into refined white flour only during the last 200 years. The resulting high-gluten, refined grain diet most of you have eaten since infancy was simply not part of the diet of previous generations.

Glyphosate contamination may also play a distinct role in the development of celiac disease, wheat allergies and wheat sensitivity. The use of glyphosate, the active ingredient in the broad-spectrum herbicide Roundup, has dramatically risen over the past 20 years. Most of the modern day farmers spray the chemical Roundup to grow their wheat crops.

Wheat proteins may cause leaky gut and associated problems. Glutinous proteins called prolamines may increase the permeability of your intestinal tract, thereby sensitizing your system.

At a global scale, agricultural output is increasingly homogeneous. Fewer than 30 plant species account for more than 95% of humankind’s food needs and just three major grains - wheat, maize and rice, are the main source of our food supply.

The cultivation of millets and their incorporation into the diets of humans and livestock have a number of potential benefits, including:

- Access to better nutrition through millet based and other ancient foods.

- Providing a greater range of options to address climate change. Millets are drought tolerant and can grow in varied climatic conditions.

- Improved food security by reducing our dependency on only major crops for food. Optimizing land resources by cultivating soils that are unsuitable for the world's major crops

- Diversifying income generating opportunities for small scale farmers