A remarkable case report describing the dramatic recovery of a 75-year-old Parkinson’s disease patient after following a 3-month long gluten free diet reveals the need to explore whether there is an increased prevalence of silent or symptomatic celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity both in those afflicted with Parkinson’s disease and the related multi-factorial neurodegenerative condition known as Parkinsonism.
Published in the Journal of Neurology,[i] the report notes that celiac disease often manifests with only neurological symptoms, even in advanced age. This may strike the reader as surprising, 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. You can read our summary of the biological carnage exacted by this ‘king of grains’ here: Wheat: 200 Clinically Confirmed Reasons Not To Eat It. You will notice that harm to the brain figures high on the list. From schizophrenia to mania, autism to peripheral neuropathy, the central nervous system is particularly sensitive to its adverse effects.
There are a wide range of mechanisms driving gluten associated neurotoxicity, such as:
- Gluten Acts Like A ‘Brain Drug’: The presence of pharmacologically active opioid peptides in wheat including four gluten exorphins and gliadorphin, and another is gluten’s ability to restrict blood flow to the frontal cortex. Read More: “Do Hidden Opiates In Our Food Explain Food Addictions?“
- ‘Gluten Brain’ Autoimmunity: Plenty of research now indicates that in susceptible individuals wheat adversely affects the gut-brain axis, increases intestinal permeability, and ultimately leads to the immune system misidentifying self-structures within the brain or neurological tissue as “other,” causing the host immune system to attack its own nervous system. Read More: “2 Popular Foods May Turn the Immune Against the Brain.”
- Wheat’s “Invisible Thorns” Affect The Brain: The defensive carbohydrate-binding protein in wheat known as wheat germ agglutinin (WGA), also know as “wheat lectin,” has been found to cross the blood-brain-barrier and can interfere with neurological function in a number of ways. Read more: “Opening Pandora’s Bread Box: The Critical Role of Wheat Lectin in Human Disease.”
- Grains Metabolically Impair the Brain: The larger context is that grains provide an inappropriate or suboptimal set of nutrients for brain metabolism. Dr. David Perlmutter in his NY Times bestselling book Grain Brain links cognitive impairments endemic to older populations in Western cultures to the over consumption of carbohydrates (from grains and sugar), and the under consumption of fats.
