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Kansas Wheat Commission Sets Aside $200K For Gluten-Free Wheat Research

Brian McGuirk, flickr Creative Commons

    

Kansas farmers are funding research to learn how to grow gluten-free wheat. KMUW’s Abigail Wilson has more…

The Kansas Wheat Commission is putting $200,000 towards two years of research to understand all the parts of wheat DNA that cause problems for people with gluten sensitivities. Researchers are focusing on various proteins in wheat that may be tolerable for a wider population.

Gluten is a substance in wheat that gives dough elasticity. For people with celiac disease, eating gluten can result in intestinal problems. While only about 1 percent of the world’s population is believed to have celiac disease, the gluten-free diet has become widely adopted by people who look for such products as a healthier alternative.

The research, still in the very early stages, began in July at the Wheat Innovation Center in Manhattan, Kansas.