There is a very close relationship between your brain and your gut. Both have to be working properly to be in good health. If one fails, it will affect the other. The intestinal tract produces serotonin which directs the operations in your brain (specifically in your hypothalamus). If your gut is not making the right amount of serotonin, then there is no direction given to your hypothalamus to activate other hormones needed for routine daily health.
If the hypothalamus doesn’t give directions for hormone production, for instance, to your thyroid, then many functions in your body are degraded, and you suffer depression, mood swings, fatigue, etc. These ‘mental’ feelings are caused by your intestinal tract not being able to do its job. Gluten is a major cause of that disruption for many people.
It should be noted that many people who have gluten sensitivities also have dairy problems also. It is because the structure of the gluten molecule looks almost identical to the casein molecule in dairy products.
The Journal of American Medical Association performed a study of almost 30,000 patients over forty years starting in the late 60s. They looked at deaths in three groups. Specifically, those with:
● Full-blown celiac disease
● Inflammation of their intestine, but not full-blown celiac disease
● Latent celiac disease or gluten sensitivity
The results of that study showed:
● A 40 percent increase in risk of death with the full-blown celiac
● Over 70 percent increased risk with gut inflammation related to gluten
● A 35 percent increased risk of death with latent gluten sensitivity
Over 90 percent of all people have some level of allergy to gluten and don’t know it. Celiac disease is a digestive and autoimmune condition that can damage the lining of your intestinal tract. It can be very painful. There is also a silent celiac disease. Its symptoms are not felt in our intestines or bowels. Silent celiac disease affects your:
● Brain
● Thyroid
● Nervous system
There has been a 400 percent increase in full-blown celiac disease over the past fifty years. This would be considered an epidemic in any other type of disease. In the United States, about one percent of the population has full-blown celiac disease. About one-third of all Americans have milder forms of gluten sensitivity. Gluten sensitivity is responsible for many diseases other than celiac disease. There are over one hundred autoimmune diseases that are thought to have links to gluten.
The New England Journal of Medicine listed fifty-five diseases that can be caused by eating gluten:
● Osteoporosis
● Irritable bowel disease
● Inflammatory bowel disease
● Anemia
● Fatigue
● Canker sores
● Rheumatoid arthritis
● Lupus
● Multiple sclerosis
● Most autoimmune diseases
The report also linked gluten to many psychiatric and neurological disorders:
● Anxiety
● Depression
● Schizophrenia
● Dementia
● Migraines
● Epilepsy
● Neuropathy
● Autism
Gluten is responsible for inflammation throughout the entire body. Yet, the ‘cure’ is simple – stop eating anything with gluten in it. We do not need gluten for a healthy body. It takes a minimum of two weeks to rid your body of the gluten impact on your intestinal tract. It is called an elimination diet.
Eliminate foods that you have allergies or sensitivities to. Eat a nutritionally balanced diet daily. Allow your gut, and your immune system, to recover from constantly fighting to protect you.
