Case Study Indicates Gluten-Free Diet Could Aid in Neurological Disorders
When we think of the symptoms of celiac disease or even non-celiac gluten sensitivity, we mostly think of digestive issues. And it’s true, gastro-intestinal distress is often the first noted symptom of gluten intolerance. But, it’s not the only one, and as a new study published in the Journal of Neurology suggests, gluten could possibly be to blame for neurological disorders commonly thought of as age-related, like Parkinson’s disease.
The study is not available for full public download, however, we do know it is a case study of one 75-year old male, diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Never having been previously diagnosed with celiac or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, the researchers put him on a 3-month gluten-free diet, with dramatic results.
“This may strike the reader as surprising,” reports GreenMedInfo, “considering gastrointestinal complaints are the most commonly noticeable symptom; and yet, when the voluminous published literature on gluten related adverse health effects is taken into account, so-called ‘out of intestine’ expressions of intolerance to gluten-containing grains are far more common than gut-related ones, with no less than 200 distinct adverse health effects implicated.”
So we know this isn’t the first example of neurological symptoms being related to gluten intolerance. On the contrary, there are numerous studies that have tied grain consumption and intolerance to negative effects in the brain.
Dr. David Perlmutter wrote an entire book on the impact grains are having on our collective brains. In “Grain Brain”, he ties gluten consumption to things like ADHD, Alzheimer’s, headaches, depression, and more—far more than the most well-recognized digestive symptoms associated with the issue.
Read: 7 Foods You may Not Know Contain Gluten
Not only is gluten tied to neurological disorders and changes, grains are, by their very nature, addictive. Gluten actually stimulates opiate receptors in the brain—similar to how heroin would. But unlike heroin, death by bread is a slow one.
“Some degree of gluten reactivity is thought to occur in up to 80% of the population and is driven by shared and distinct immune response mechanisms,” explains Dr. Kelly Brogan, indicating you don’t need to be a diagnosed celiac for gluten to affect you negatively.
“Response to gluten free diets in placebo-controlled trials and inflammation in the guts of non-Celiac patients, even without gliadin antibodies (such as in this study of exposed non-Celiac patients) argues for the universal effects of this food, and the individuality of our immune responses accounting the variations in severity and presentation.”
Is it possible that the diseases we see now more than ever—Alzheimer’s, ADHD, Parkinson’s, depression, and more—are caused by the very food we eat? There’s a good chance they are and an equally good chance grains have something to do with it.
More from the Church of Gluten Fears. Gluten is the canary in the coal mine. Gluten is a symptom of a larger problem. That larger problems a digestive disorder.
Under normal circumstances, a person wouldn’t have a problem with gluten. Why now? It’s because of two things. People are damaging their digestive systems by consuming GMO and reducing salt intake. GMO damages the gut and by reducing or eliminating salt from the diet, the digestive acids are weakened. These two together leave a person unable to process the tougher things like gluten.
Keep in mind that if a person is gluten intolerant (as a result of what I mentioned above) they are intolerant of other things. This also means they are having difficulties absorbing other essential nutrients. There are many other problems associated with digestive disorders. Celiac problems, included.
What do we solve by going gluten free? Well, there’s temporary relieve. However, that doesn’t solve the problem. If you’ve read this far, you know the solution is to get your gut back in order. That means cut out the GMO and add salt back to your diet. It’s a no brainer.
One of these days, Ms. Renter will figure this out and get off this gluten diatribe.
You are right Undecider, the digestive disorder you speak of comes from gm cellulose in processed food and medicine. If you eliminate gluten from your diet, you probably eliminate about 70% of gm corn,soy, wheat with it, as they are usually found in the same products. The pulp Cellulose from plants is saturated with weed and pest killers and is being used as fillers in food,drugs, and supplements. It in turn kills the beneficial bacteria in your gut. That is why they are pushing pro-bio-tics on us, to replace what they have killed. The term hydro in our food and oil means it is one molecule away from being plastic, so you should not be surprised to find that BigAg is also making vinyl siding and artificial turf as well as the yoga mat and shoe foam material the is in your bread, tacos and hamburgers, and you wonder why you can’t lose weight. You hear the TV Docs speaking of good fat (white) and bad fat (yellow), the yellow is near plastic. So, do want fries with that?
I have a friend who works with autistic children and she says several parents are putting their kids on a gluten-free diet and seeing great results. Granted, this is hearsay, but it certainly warrants more investigation. I believe gluten is having a larger impact on our society than most people realize.
Removing dairy may also be necessary as well as junky fats (soy, corn, canola, safflower and sunflower) for virgin coconut and palm for cooking and virgin olive oil for salads and no sugar.
Read the books on this subject. “Grain Brain” and “Wheat Belly”. Each is written by experts who do not lean toward Big Pharma at all. Grain Brain is written by a very respected neurologist and he took extra time in school to become a nutrition expert with a degree. His name is Dr David Perlmutter.