Saturday, September 18, 2010

Gluten causes brain disease!

The name of the blog, Celiac Brain can mean different things such as the state of denial one gets when one is first presented with the possibility of being gluten sensitivity and of starting a gluten free way of eating.

Or it can refer to the serious negative effects of gluten on the brain and nerves. There will be more to come on this subject.

This is an excerpt of Dr Fords article but see the full article here. 

Gluten Causes Brain Disease! By Prof. Rodney Ford M.B., B.S., M.D., F.R.A.C.P.

This article appeared in the Autumn 2006 edition of Celiac.coms Scott-Free Newsletter.
Celiac.com 12/11/2006 - Yes, thats what I think. Gluten-sensitivity is a disease of your brain and nerves.
The gluten puzzle
I have come to this conclusion after studying the effects of gluten on my patients for over a decade. I am a pediatric gastroenterologist and allergist. I run a busy clinic for children and their parents. I have been increasingly concerned by the large numbers of my patients who are affected by gluten. I was perplexed by their wide-ranging symptoms. The puzzle was to explain how gluten could cause so much ill health to so many people in so many different ways, including celiac disease.
Faulty brain control
Eureka! The solution came when deep in discussion with my friend and colleague, Ron Harper, Professor of Neurobiology, UCLA. We were both struggling with the concept of multiple symptoms that needed to be explained. The answer appeared absurdly simple: disturbed "brain control". It suddenly seemed obvious—gluten could disturb the neural pathways of the body. Gluten was gradually damaging the brain and the nerves of susceptible people. It was the brain that was the common pathway for the manifestations of all of the gluten symptoms. So I set out to research what the world medical literature had to say. ....

The shocking truth
The shocking truth about gluten is that gluten foods are causing tremendous damage—but currently this is going mostly unrecognized. Unfortunately, gluten grains have become our staple diet. The quantity of gluten in our food supply has been steadily increasing. Yet worse, official Health Policies endorse gluten grains as the foundation of our food pyramid....

Links for more info on celiac/gluten sensitivity

The link I find most useful is to Scott Adam's Celiac.com. One can subscribe to their newsletter free of charge and to The Journal of Gluten Sensitivity (fee involved). It covers scientific findings, articles on managing a gluten free lifestyle and recipes.

Dr. Rodney Ford, MD and Professor of Pediatrics writes that he thinks gluten causes brain disease. The brain is significantly affected and gluten is a neurotoxin. I will be writing on this in the near future but in the mean time read this article.