Latest Celiac Disease News & Research:: Journal of Gluten Sensitivity

Gluten and Psychiatric Symptoms

Fri, 29 Oct 2021 18:32:02 +0000

Celiac.com 10/29/2021 - Ron Hoggan's book Dangerous Grains has been an enormous help toward understanding something bizarre that happened to my 19 year old son, Lee, in the past year.

Lee suddenly began acting psychotic one day last October and eventually had what appeared to be some kind of seizure. He lay on the couch, tensed up, and started shaking violently. His eyes were rolling back into his head and he was vocalizing loudly. After a period of time he came out of it and was somewhat lucid but seemed dazed, and very confused.

We took him to the emergency room where he underwent a battery of tests that revealed nothing out of the ordinary. During the wait, he had two more of the seizure-like episodes. A psychiatrist was phoned and he was given neuroleptic drugs. He went to the epilepsy ward for further testing -EEG, CT scans and MRI's that did not reveal anything obviously wrong. Fortunately, we were able to stay with him.

On the morning of the second day he seemed better and we talked while he ate breakfast. Thirty minutes later he was having an episode- again shaking and vocalizing, and after a couple of hours started to come out of it. We noticed this pattern- eating, followed shortly afterward by seizure-like episodes and psychosis which gradually cleared enough to converse. I started to notice what he was eating and the common denominator was wheat. I gave him some rice and vegetables from home and there was no reaction, but bagels, bread, muffins and gravy all seemed to bring about the same violent reaction. I have food allergies and am aware that wheat is a common allergen (I learned to avoid it years ago), but I couldn't understand how he could be affected in such an extreme manner, so quickly after eating.

He was moved to a locked psychiatric ward, diagnosed with possible bipolar disorder or non-specific schizophrenia, and the neuroleptics were continued. Of course, his psychiatrist didn't want to hear about my observations regarding Lee's apparent reaction to wheat. (My wife and daughter also witnessed it on several occasions.) I told the psychiatrist that Lee hadn't been having any mental changes lately but had been complaining about digestive problems and I requested a biopsy to confirm celiac disease. It was promptly denied, but I was able to get the hospital dietitian to put him on a gluten-free diet (unknown to the psychiatrist who rarely saw him, but was happy to prescribe ever increasing doses of neuroleptics). The seizures stopped the very next day- the staff no doubt assumed the drugs were having an effect in spite of my revelation about the gluten-free diet.

Over the next several weeks Lee became more psychotic and suffered terrible side-effects from the drugs. The county brought him to court and had him committed. He was ordered to continue the neuroleptics, and there seemed to be little we could do. Eventually he was sent to a halfway house, but a couple of weeks after arriving he started to become catatonic. (I had told the staff about the wheat reaction but they were unable to provide a gluten-free diet). We took him to the emergency room where we learned that he was extremely dehydrated. He had lost the urge to eat or drink and was becoming very psychotic. The hospital was full, so he was sent to a sister hospital. By the time the ambulance arrived, he was completely catatonic - unable to speak and incontinent.

At the new hospital, he had a new psychiatrist. She was alarmed at the dosages of drugs he was receiving and felt he was probably experiencing the beginning of ‘neuroleptic malignant syndrome,' a potentially fatal reaction to neuroleptics. The drugs were discontinued but he remained catatonic and was given Electro Convulsive Treatment several times a week. (I also spoke with the dietician when he was admitted and had Lee placed on a gluten-free diet - which was halfheartedly followed). After a few ECT treatments (and a mostly gluten-free diet) he started to come out of it. His new doctor began to realize that he didn't seem to have any mental illness at all (now that the neuroleptics had been discontinued, the catatonia was lifting and diet was improving) and called in several specialists for a more thorough evaluation.

I told her about the reaction to wheat but she refused to believe there could be a connection. Finally, another neurologist was brought in and he had the insight to give him a gliadan antibody test and found that he was extremely reactive. He was finally "officially" put on a gluten-free diet (we had been bringing him food from home and doing everything we could behind the scenes to keep gluten from him). He continued to improve, in spite of the side effects of the ECT.

His psychiatrist couldn't really understand what was going on with him but began to trust us enough to release him, drug-free, into our care. Three months after the ordeal began, he finally came home and is clearer now than he's been in years. He's always been kind of quiet and we realize now that gluten has probably been affecting him for years. He has done an excellent job of following the gluten-free diet, is working full time, and starts college in a few weeks.

Shortly after he came home, my mother came across Dangerous Grains and bought it for me. It all finally makes sense and I plan to send copies to Lee's psychiatrist and neurologist. We saw countless people in the locked psychiatric wards who were suffering and, with the exception of the chemical dependencies everyone was on some type of drug or drugs. Many were receiving ECT on a routine basis. I know my son is not unique - testing and gluten-free diets could save many of these poor souls from a lifetime of drugs and suffering. I want to do everything I can to increase the knowledge of these professionals and Dangerous Grains seems the perfect vehicle.

So great thanks to Ron Hoggan (and Dr. Braly and the rest) for doing what you're doing. I know it's only a matter of time before the people that control the mental health system become enlightened enough to stop doing harm and truly begin to heal these patients. It was a close call for us and I realize Lee is a living example.

Dr. Rodney Ford is not Full of it!

Sat, 23 Oct 2021 19:35:01 +0000

Celiac.com 10/23/2021 - A compelling new idea has dawned on the medical/scientific horizon. Dr. Rodney Ford, a pediatric gastroenterologist in New Zealand who calls himself "doctorgluten" on the Internet, has come up with a startling hypothesis that synthesizes and makes sense out of a wide range of otherwise confounding findings in the celiac and gluten sensitivity literature. For instance, why have Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou and his group found that some people with neurological disease with anti-gliadin antibodies but without celiac disease, recover on a gluten-free diet? And why do other neurology patients sometimes recover from their neurological problems after treatment of their coexisting celiac disease? (Sadly, as Dr. Ford points out, by the time neurological disease develops the prognosis is often very poor.) Further, why do so many celiac patients present with such a wide range of symptoms, most of which are not obviously or usually associated with gut disease? And why are so many individuals who suffer from psychiatric, autoimmune, and even some infectious diseases, helped by a gluten-free diet?

The answer to all these questions, according to Dr. Ford's hypothesis, is that the gluten-driven disease is primarily an affliction of the brain. Gluten proteins and/or derivative peptides reach the brain and cause neurological damage along with hormonal and neurotransmitter abnormalities. The nerves in the gut, about as voluminous as the brain, are also damaged by these proteins and peptides. The net result is a cacophony of signs, symptoms, and manifestations across a broad range of organs and body systems. From epilepsy to abdominal distress to schizophrenia, gluten induced damage to the brain and connected nerve fibers can and does disrupt virtually any and every part of the body.

Dr. Ford marshals a large body of evidence in his new book, Full of it!, to support this radical departure from conventional wisdom in the celiac/gluten-sensitivity research field. Step by step he explains very simply how the enormous complex of nerves in the brain, spine, and abdomen interact to control all our body systems. He avoids technical terminology as much as possible by using terms such as "tummy brain" which are both clear and instructive even to those who are unfamiliar with medical terminology.

The implications of this hypothesis are startling and extensive. If, as Dr. Ford suggests, gluten actually damages the brain in most of us who are gluten sensitive, then celiac disease is just one result of that damage. Instead of occupying the center of the research stage it should be viewed as just one of many gluten mediated illnesses, and that is exactly what Dr. Ford articulates. His hypothesis highlights the need to test for anti-gliadin antibodies frequently and recommend a gluten-free diet whenever these positive test results are found, whether or not celiac disease is present.

Dr. Ford credits a number of research heroes of gluten-related medical research, including Dr. Curtis Dohan, Dr. Marios Hadjivassiliou, Dr. Michael N. Marsh, Dr. Alessio Fasano, Dr. W.T. Cooke, Dr. A De Sanctis, Dr. Kenneth Fine, Dr. G.K.T. Holmes, Dr. A-M Knivsberg, Dr. Kalle Reichelt, and a host of others too numerous to list. Without doubt, Dr. Ford has ‘seen further because he was standing on the shoulders of these giants,' (to paraphrase Sir Isacc Newton's famous statement). Nonetheless, Dr. Ford's novel view of this mass of research findings has led to his well supported hypothesis - one that threatens to overturn the current conception of gluten mediated disease. The symmetry and beauty of Ford's insight comes, in part, from its simplicity. It explains why there are so many and such varied manifestations of gluten sensitivity while making a minimal number of assumptions. And that, according to the long-standing principle of science called Occam's Razor, is the best possible explanation for a particular phenomenon.

Food Intolerance—Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn or How We Won the Battle of "Helm's Deep" (Part 2 of 2)

Fri, 22 Oct 2021 18:31:00 +0000

Celiac.com 10/22/2021 - The iceberg starts by scratching the hull. The captain and crew had early warning signs but it all happened so quickly from there. The destruction continues on and the hull is breached, allowing water to rush in. We are seeing this happen now. People are starting to perish aren‘t they? Next, the boat starts to list to starboard. Passengers are abandoning ship while the crew goes into emergency status. The pumps are started and priorities set. It's a bit chaotic but many are still being hopeful and thinking positively. Those with vision imagine the worst-case scenario and act accordingly. "I think we can patch this thing up if we back away now and try not to drive this rock any deeper."

Unfortunately, this is man's ‘M.O.", isn't it? We do have to hit the iceberg before we learn many of the important things in life. Well, we have hit them and hit them hard. As I stated so melodramatically in the opening, you are alive to see the paradigm shift that has resulted from hitting this iceberg. The ship is going down. One drug after another has been placed under "the microscope" and failed the acid test. The cans are all falling off the shelf. For those in medicine, the colon contents have hit the fan. Pick a metaphor and run with it.

Thank God there are lifeboats! And there are lots of them—enough to rescue the entire compliment of passengers and crew. It's just that they are small, spread out, and there doesn't appear to be enough of them. But there are adequate provisions if we stay calm, work together, pool our resources, and WANT to survive. We have to want to get better and we have to believe that there are lifeboats that can get us to safety. The lifeboats are people who understand nutrition and how the body works. They are wise doctors who listen to their patients before prescribing medication, whether they are conventional or holistic preparations. I look at the Internet as a set of lifeboats, although some of them have holes in them.

What's the expression? Oh yeah "Knowledge is power." That is partly right, for sure. Faith is extremely important, as is courage. You must believe and act upon what you think is true. You must be confident, strong, and persistent. So, we need to cover a few more things to build up your faith in the idea that we are in charge of our health destiny more than we have ever been led to believe. It's not hard to imagine now that you know about the extremely common malabsorption syndrome being induced by the staples of our diet, right? There is more, though—much more.

The two biggest killers of human beings are atherosclerosis and cancer. A person every 3.5 seconds dies of a stroke or heart attack in this country. And yet, the dog does not suffer from this as a lethal, clinical entity—yet! Veterinary pathologists are seeing atherosclerotic changes in the vessels of dogs on necropsy. And this is very important for us to understand. Dogs can have atherosclerosis but they don't have it badly enough to cause clinical disease. They develop so many of the conditions that take human life, including a higher incidence of cancer, but dogs don't suffer from this deadly disease process. Why is that? Simply put, they don't get "enough" hydrogenated oils in their diet. I believe down to my socks that trans fats are the single-most important factor in the development of atherosclerosis—the "solvents" that allow things into the walls of the arteries of those that consume them and set the stage for the inflammatory process that follows. Dogs do get some trans fats in their diet, as they are fed French fries, snack foods and bits of human desserts that are loaded with these culprits. But, they clearly do not get enough to lead to a clinical syndrome. (Please read Hydrogenated Oils-The Silent Killers, by David Dewey on the Internet. Whoa! You will clearly see how and why the first recorded myocardial infarction took place only ten years after hydrogenated oils hit the shelves in the form of margarine. You will also see how and why another plague—type 2 diabetes—"adult-onset" diabetes—followed ten years after that. Hey, dogs don‘t get that one either—yet! "20:20".)

But cancer??? Oh yeah, dogs have lots and lots of cancer. Why is that? Because they have plenty of the viruses that cause cancer and experience the same immune suppression as humans stemming from their diet, the environment, and the drugs they receive. "Back up for minute. That's the second time you've said viruses cause cancer." Yes, once again, there are medical researchers who have believed for over thirty years that all cancer is viral in origin—not just some, not even most, but all. I personally believe that this is true, especially after spending as much time studying about these guys as I have. And this belief positions all other "carcinogens" where I think they belong: as secondary factors, facilitating the action of the virus by causing immune suppression, chronic tissue damage, and/or damage to our actual DNA, where I believe many of these culprits reside.

The "four horsemen" fit right into the clinical picture here by inducing at least two of the three factors- causing immune suppression and inciting chronic tissue inflammation and damage. The immunosuppressive effects of the big four should be easily imagined. Back to the coral reef covered with oil. How can those villi that are coated with the problem glycoproteins manage to absorb optimal levels of B complex, vitamin C, and other nutrients critical to the health of the immune system? How can they do it when they are leveled by the immune response to the glue foods in true celiac disease or the related conditions of true casein, soy, or corn intolerance? This should be a no-brainer—and it is—literally. The brain suffers tremendously from the lack of these nutrients along with a concurrent deficiency in calcium, zinc, iron, iodine, and the pandemic omega three fatty acid deficiencies that exist in humans and pets.

Therefore, it shouldn't be a mystery that cancer is rampant among the three species. The fact that viruses cause cancer is a done deal in veterinary medicine and has been for quite some time. I won't bore you with the list of examples. And yet, it was not until March of this year—2005—that the American Cancer Society put viruses on their list of carcinogens. How can that be? Are you as baffled by that as I am? Remember those landers on Mars?

Wherever you have immune suppression and chronic inflammation come together then you should look for cancer. Estrogens fit the bill here and therefore should not surprise anyone as leading carcinogens in breast (mammary) cancer. The good news is that the ovaries of the female do not make enough estrogen by themselves to create this dilemma. It is what the individual is consuming (including hormone replacement therapy) or exposed to in the environment (pesticides, environmental toxins, food animal additives, etc) that tips the scales in favor of the cancer (or endometriosis, polycystic ovaries, PMS, catamenial seizures, or other estrogen-related disorders). The "big four" foods fit right in here because the gluten grains, dairy, and soy are loaded with estrogens. Dairy is a huge factor here as it also provides cholesterol precursors to the formation of these hormones. Seeing a pattern here? Yes, the foods that are bad for us are so in a number of ways. So, we should not be surprised to see that Asians have a 15 times lower rate of breast cancer and a 5 times lower rate of prostate cancer—on their native diets. It is NOT because they eat soy. The truth is that they eat very little soy. But they do NOT eat dairy, wheat, or corn in their traditional diets. Just go to any authentic Japanese or Chinese restaurant and look for cheese, bread, or corn chips.

Which brings us to "lectins", something I mentioned a while back. Lectin is the term that has been given to the antibody-sized glycoprotein that is derived from the consumption of foods that are part carbohydrate and part protein (thus the term glyco-protein). Once again, the big four foods are glycoproteins by structure. Our antibodies are also glycoproteins, a protein core with a sticky carbohydrate outer covering to facilitate adherence to foreign proteins such a viruses, bacteria, and the like. In fact, viruses have glycoprotein receptors on them. Normally, our antibodies attach to these sites. Hmmm—I wonder if dietary lectins ever do? Could one plausible explanation for food-induced immune-mediated disease episodes be that the chronic latent viruses in situ in our tissue become coated with dietary glycoproteins rather than our antibodies and that when we develop IgE, IgG, and other antibodies to these foods that our immune system starts to react to these "food-coated" viruses in the host tissue and attack that tissue just as it would if it were a viral infection coated with our own antibodies? Could that be how food lectins such as those from wheat, dairy, soy, or corn auto-agglutinate red blood cells. Maybe it is just the glycoprotein itself that does it in most cases but it sure would help to explain why some "autoimmune diseases" are triggered by foods while others follow viral infections, either naturally acquired or through vaccination. It would also help to explain why avoidance of the trouble foods could greatly reduce the incidence or recurrence of these attacks. (For a well-written discussion on lectins, please look up The Lectin Report on the Internet. It goes into great detail about how these tiny glycoproteins "unlock" the cell and allow things to enter it, inciting inflammation and causing cell death. It's all about the same guys. The four horsemen ride again.)

The fantastic news is that sooooo much starts going right once the big four are avoided completely and for a long enough time. By avoiding the casein, gluten, soy, and corn, the gut starts to heal and the malabsorption syndrome begins to reverse. How long does it take for the intestine to heal once the offending foods are withdrawn? Well, according to the celiac literature, it takes anywhere from 6 months to 2 years for the duodenum to return to normal. Does that make sense? Not to me, unless you consider the fact that gluten is not the only thing doing the harm to those duodenal villi. This was my first quest, to get on celiac forums and make sure they knew the truth about casein, soy, and corn. I hated reading about celiacs that had struggled so valiantly to be gluten-free only to find that they were shooting themselves in the foot big time by the continued consumption of the other three culprits. Statistically, celiacs have a 50% chance of also being casein intolerant. I have to believe that it is much more common than that. But soy and corn are looming larger and larger as we fall for the myth that soy is a health food, we turn to vegetarianism for various reasons, and we continue to genetically modify corn to death.

Assuming that we do enough right, the gut does heal and probably much more quickly than we currently believe. After all, it is one of the fastest healing tissues in the body. Once healed, it starts to take in all of the calcium, iron, iodine, B complex, vitamin C, and trace minerals that it has been starving for over the past years, often from the moment the individual started consuming the big four. The thyroid becomes healthy, the iron deficiency resolves, enzyme systems start operating at peak efficiency, tissue repairs, and the immune system gets back to normal. And that last item is critical. That's when many of the long-term symptoms finally resolve—the allergies, GI signs, skin problems, and in the best case scenario, the immune-mediated diseases. I would love to think that the risk of cancer then plummets, as well. What couldn't our immune system accomplish if it were in optimal condition? I can no longer put limitations of what our body is capable of doing in the way of healing or prevention when I think about that last statement. However, I know that our environment—with its staggering levels of serious pollution—is a HUGE limiting factor. I would love to dive into that topic but time constraints prevent that.

The really cool thing is that some "completely unexpected" things can happen when individuals go GFCFSFCF (gluten-free, casein-free, soy-free, corn-free). In retrospect, they were "unexpected" only because we had not fully grasped the impact of what we had learned. The most notable—the most amazing—the coolest of the cool—the "hook" as I now call it—was the response of epileptics to this elimination diet. I find it just so utterly fascinating that something we stumble upon can wind up being the glaring example of everything we know—AND end up leading us into realms that we could only dream about in the past. Epilepsy is just that condition.

Man, I could talk about epilepsy for the full two hours- how it all comes about and what the study of this condition has done to my knowledge base. Thankfully, I have chronicled the entire journey on my Website (www.dogtorj.com), starting with how I read the captivating fact that celiac children with epilepsy who went gluten-free often had major reductions in—if not total cessation of—their seizures. "Wow. I wonder why that happens?" I asked myself. "Epilepsy is considered idiopathic in veterinary medicine. There has to be something about wheat that leads to seizures." Elementary thinking, I know. But, this was novel stuff to me. How about you?

It did not take long at all to find that MSG (monosodium glutamate) could trigger seizures and that wheat gluten was an incredible 25% glutamic acid by weight. "Eureka! Is it that simple? I then found that soy had even more glutamate, almost twice as much as wheat. "Oh, oh." Casein is 20% glutamic acid by structure. Yep, three of the four horsemen are packing glutamate in their saddlebags. Do the food sources of these neurostimulating—potentially neurotoxic—non-essential amino acids (glutamate and aspartate), really do the same thing to our brain that the "crack cocaine" versions (MSG and aspartame, respectively) do?" I assumed so and started putting my epileptic canine patients on gluten-free diets and, son-of-a-gun, they became vastly improved. Some stopped having seizures completely within 24 hours of the diet change and never seized again. We were onto something—and it was big—really big.

As the significance of these findings sunk in, I threw myself into the study of neurological, psychiatric, and other "idiopathic" neurodegenerative conditions that affect us all. The "excitotoxins" ( MSG and aspartame), as Dr. Russell Blaylock termed them, were well-known culprits and played roles in epilepsy, ADHD, bipolar disease, and more. It wasn't until later that I would finally start reading about their involvement in the other "big 4": MS, ALS, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But still, no one was talking about the FOOD sources of these non-essential amino acids. But it was so simple, and a little something called "insomnia" illustrated the point I was trying to make. These neuroactive amino acids were clearly responsible for waking people up like a shot at 1-2 AM, 5-6 hours after eating dinner and dessert and I was a living example. And that was the exact time interval I was finding between meals and seizures in my un-medicated dogs. Once I published my work on the Web and contacted over 500 breeders in the process (oh, how I love the passion of breeders), the testimonies to these finding were flowing in on a regular basis. And, the pieces to this puzzle started fitting together—phenomenally well.

And here is where it all comes together. I had written a totally different summary for the end of this discussion, but upon proofreading the pages, I realized that the discussion of epilepsy—the condition that grabbed my attention and pulled me into this epic battle at Helm's Deep—would serve that purpose. It would illustrate all of the principles that I "preach" every day in the exam room and will attempt to enlighten people with (hopefully not bore to death) in lectures like this for the rest of my days.

Principle number one: The foods that are bad for us are bad in numerous ways. The "four horsemen"—gluten (from the grains wheat, barley, rye), casein, soy, and corn terrorize us in more ways than simply inducing villous atrophy, which results in the chronic malabsorption of the essential nutrients that we have covered. These foods provide staggering levels of glutamate (and aspartate), estrogens, allergens, and lectins, and when prepared for consumption, act as carriers of many of man's worst creations in the form of GMO's, hormones, and chemical additives. So these foods damage our gut, cause malnutrition of our entire body, and provide many of the ingredients necessary to generate symptoms including pain, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, behavioral disturbances, and seizures.

Applying this to epilepsy, the brain suffers from the malnutrition, the immune system going down, and the rise of chronic latent viruses. The war begins. Add the vaccination with modified live virus vaccines made with viruses that love the central nervous system. These viruses naturally take up residence in the glial cells of the brain, those cells that control the level of the normal neurotransmitter—our friend glutamate—at the synapse. We have seen vaccine-induced disease in the past, right? How hard is it to believe that this is happening "sub-clinically"? These top allergy-producing foods are also stimulating histamine production, the release of which causes the blood brain barrier to become more permeable to glutamate, a normal occurrence that serves to counteract the depressing effects of histamine. These same foods contain estrogens, both naturally occurring and those from pesticide residues, which are neurostimulating, irritating, and immunosuppressive. P.M.S. anyone? How about catamenial seizures? I hear about them all of the time. The malnutrition that we have discussed then starts to compromise enzyme systems in the liver, kidneys, and elsewhere in the body, some of which are responsible for controlling the blood levels of the evil twins, glutamate and aspartate. No wonder some of us have seizures. The way I see things now, it's a bigger wonder that more of us don't have epilepsy.

Are you seeing "Pandora's Box" opening yet? Have you grasped what these foods- the damage they do and the ingredients they contain- are capable of? Thank Goodness our body knows what to do with all of this mess we put it through, eh? And it does.

Therefore, principle number two: Our body never makes mistakes—ever. Only we make bad choices about what we do to this vessel of ours. "What about birth defects?" is always the first challenge. Certainly, this degenerative process sometimes begins prenatally, leading to premature births and birth defects, but we are ultimately responsible for these occurrences. The more you learn about this topic (and study celiac disease as a model), the less you will simply write off to "genetics" or Providence.

Fevers, heartburn, sore throats, nasal congestion, bronchoconstriction, diarrhea, hives, headaches, and even "autoimmune" attacks have a purpose. Some clinical signs are warning signs that we have made a mistake while others are therapeutic measures on our body's part. Others are both. "But autoimmune disorders?" you might question. Yes, I believe down to my socks that viruses are vitally involved in most (if not all) immune-mediated diseases. I believe that the immune-mediated diseases are our immune system's valiant attempt to wipe out these viruses before they have the opportunity to do what they really "want" to do—cause cancer. This would help to explain why people with chronic active hepatitis have such a high incidence of liver cancer. But it might also help to explain why the same breeds of dogs that develop panosteitis—the ones with all of the allergies and other juvenile bone diseases—are the guys that go on to develop bone cancer at age six and a half. So, is eosinophilic panosteitis our body's attempt to rid the bone of viruses that might later go on to cause cancer? What are eosinophils involved in other than allergic reactions?

"But get back to seizures. I can't wait to hear how a seizure is a good thing", the skeptics are saying. Yes, I am convinced that even seizures serve a vital purpose; that being to burn up the excessive glutamate in the brain. As you may know, no matter what the cause of our bodily death may be, the brain dies as a result of the "glutamate cascade"—the sudden rise of glutamate in the brain resulting from the dying glial cells and increased permeability of the blood brain barrier. Glutamate is potentially—and eventually—neurolethal. How hard is it to believe that seizures are designed to keep the death of vital neurons from happening? The sufferers of ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) sure wish a peripheral neuron could have a seizure. But because they can't, the neurons eventually die as a result of the excess glutamate in the synapse. But guess what. ALS sufferers have also reported benefits from what I now call "The G.A.R.D"—.the glutamate-aspartate restricted diet. So have people with ADHD, chronic pain, insomnia, MS, and other conditions that have the "excitotoxins" as part of their pathophysiology. This is all on my site.

Seizures may even serve to limit viral infections, if through no other mode of action other than to encourage a rise in body temperature, something that viruses hate. We know that viral infections of the central nervous system are usually accompanied by high fever, right? Remember: That's a good thing. (I wonder how many people who died of West Nile Virus might have survived if we didn't treat them so aggressively? Its a parallel to that cancer thing we talked about earlier.)

So, do you see why I got so excited about the role epilepsy would play in bringing people into the fold? It has all of the elements we have discussed—all of the necessary cast, plot, and scenery to make a great and epic tale of how the four horsemen rode into town and stole our health. But we really did it to ourselves, didn't we? We made these bad choices. The fact is man created the wheat we now eat in about 400 AD, introducing lethal quantities of gluten into our diet. A millennium later, we changed milk sources from goats to cows, adding casein to the mix. Now, five hundred years later, we want to start eating soy—"the third plague"—something that has been previously relegated to the lowly positions of a nitrogen-fixing, rotational crop and a mere condiment on the table of our Oriental restaurants. Did we really just get smart enough to see the health benefits of consuming the soybeans themselves? Do we really think that loading our bodies up with plant estrogens, goitrogens, anti-nutrients, villous atrophy inducing "glues", and staggering levels of the non-essential, epileptogenic amino acid glutamate is going to improve our health. How many trips to Mars are we gonna take, anyway?

We do reap what we sow. Through the eyes of food intolerance, medicine becomes so simple that even* the layperson can understand it. (* I say "even" because I know a growing number of lay people who understand these things much more than the doctors who look down their noses at the "untrained".) Isn't that the way it should be? Shouldn't we all be able to comprehend our medical lives? It is, after all, one of the most important aspects of our existence, isn‘t it?

The way I look at it now, our medical lives are divided into three phases: the acquisition of viruses, the progressive malfunction of our body and immune system, and the failure of our immune system. I think you now have a very good idea why that occurs - In a word, malnutrition. Symptomatically, it usually also breaks down into three phases: allergies, immune-mediated diseases, and cancer. We see this so clearly in certain breeds of dogs but I have also heard this sort of history from many, many people I have interviewed about their own health. Hopefully how and why these three phases occur is much clearer now. The allergies—phase one.. are the warning signs that you are making mistakes. The immune system is throwing warning signs at us while closing the doors to further invasion.

Phase two—the immune-mediated diseases—is the first set of conditions that these allergies were warning you of. They are also a second set of warning signs of increased severity because we didn't act upon the first set. We usually still have time to get things right owing to the fact that our organs can take a beating and still survive and repair—usually we still have time. Unfortunately, some are lost in phase two due to overwhelming lupus, glomerulonephritis, or the chronic active hepatitis that finally raised its ugly head. As I have mentioned, the last condition in that list is a glaring example of the type of condition that has led me to make some bold statements concerning the role of viruses in immune-mediated diseases AND why phase three—immune failure—often manifests as cancer.

I spoke of bone cancer occurring in problem breeds at 6.5 years of age. What else happens at six to seven years of age in the dog? Better put, what doesn't happen at that age: tons of immune-mediated diseases, cruciate ruptures, spinal disorders, heart murmurs, worsening allergies, numerous benign skin tumors, and more. It's a crisis period, isn't it? Just like 40-50 years of age is in the person. If these conditions are all "genetic", why do they wait so long to show up? Hmmm—great question. Something is waiting, right? What??? Can we think of anything that we have in our bodies that might be "waiting"? I can. They're called viruses. We have been acquiring them our entire lives. Our parents even gave some to us. "What?" Can't viruses be transmitted vertically? How about genetically? Others we acquired "naturally" during our lifetime and still others we acquired through vaccination. (Most of our pets and us are too unhealthy to take on any more modified live vaccines, aren't we?) And as I have mentioned , we invited many in to stay by killing the fever that was designed to limit the infection. We have become walking virus hotels—"mobile homes" for these guys, if you will. The startling fact is that we are riddled with ‘em. And they are waiting for their chance. They are the ultimate opportunist—the consummate terrorist. Sure, there are others: bacteria, mycoplasms, fungi, and more. But the virus is the guy who incorporates his genetic material into our cells and then bosses them around. He's the guy who our immune system hates enough to risk killing our own tissue to root him out. He's the guy that can go anywhere in our body and do anything he wants ONCE we get to that point of immune suppression that we are destined to reach once we have done enough wrong to this body of ours. In my mind, he wasn't designed to be. Viruses are ubiquitous in nature and critical to its development, variety, and adaptation. So why did they turn on us? "Shoot—look at the time. We'll have to go down that rabbit hole after this presentation." I think you can figure it out, anyway.

Yes, we DO have our health destiny more in our own hands than we ever believed. Yes, we DO reap what we sow. We just didn't realize that we were sowing such bad seed all of these years did we? We have had glimpses of our wrongdoing and our conscience has told us not to overindulge and to try to eat properly. That's just common sense, right? But whodathunk that the staples of our diet were killing us? Who would believe that cow's milk, wheat, and the "newest health food"—soy (errrrrh)—were plagues on mankind, brought on by our own doing? And who would believe that the "simple" elimination of the big four would lead to the vast improvements in our health that I have personally experienced. (I cannot overstate the phenomenal changes that have taken place in my body over the past 5 years)

I'll tell you who would believe such things: those that know that our body does not make mistakes—ever. (Only we make mistakes in our choices of what to put into our bodies.); those that can still remember why our body does what it does instead of just covering up the symptoms should believe this (Who would believe that heartburn might be a symptom that we ate something wrong? Wow!); and those that have eyes to see and ears to hear and can still be taught something. They are fewer in number than I ever thought existed.

BUT, there have been enough wise people over the years to carry this torch. There have been a select number of doctors, researchers, and lay people that have been beating this drum for years and years and stood their ground against the onslaught of drugs and misinformation—the "magic" (pharmakeia) and slight of hand—that has taken away the motivation of the masses to find real answers to their health problems. Is the white tiger really gone or does he lurk off stage, sometimes even attacking his master? Yes, celiac researchers, holistic health advocates, naturopaths, and the like have finally been vindicated. They rode out to meet the enemy years ago and are finally being joined by an ever-growing cavalry. Against seemingly insurmountable odds, the message has survived—"We are what we eat. You do have control of your health's destiny." It is through the valiant efforts of this Brotherhood—and the prevailing nature of Truth—that we have won at Helm's Deep.

Now, it's on to the final battle.

Go to Part 1: Food Intolerance—Man and Animals versus Gluten, Casein, Soy, and Corn or How We Won the Battle of “Helm’s Deep” (Part 1 of 2)

A Look at Essential Fatty Acids

Fri, 15 Oct 2021 18:33:00 +0000

Celiac.com 10/15/2021 - Two infants born with short bowel syndrome and being sustained intravenously with parenteral nutrition develop life-threatening liver disease. Cholestasis (blockage of bile secretion in the liver) places one infant on the liver transplantation list and threatens the other infant. Miraculously, the liver disease is completely reversed in one infant and the other infant is taken off the transplantation list when the conventional soy-based intravenous fat emulsion formula is switched to a European formula containing mainly omega-3 essential fatty acids from fish oil(1).

A 10-year-old girl suffering from cholestasis, fat malabsorption, growth failure, and essential fatty acid deficiency is treated by long-term administration of essential fatty acids, mostly by the application of sunflower seed oil to the skin. A remarkable growth catch-up occurs over several years and her essential fatty acid serum levels improve(2).

A 31-year old man suffering from schizophrenia since his early teenage years experiences delusions, auditory hallucinations, social anxiety and withdrawal. He refuses and remains free of antipsychotic medication. In a research study, he consents to treatment with a daily dose of 2 grams of the omega-3 fatty acid eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Over the course of just 6 months, he experiences a dramatic and sustained remission of symptoms. Earlier nonpharmacological treatment had produced no benefit. EPA, being the sole treatment he receives at the time, offers the only explanation for the remission(3).

In South Australia, an Adelaide study sets out to determine whether a combination of omega-3 fatty acids and regular exercise can reduce cardiovascular and metabolic risk factors better than either treatment alone in overweight people. Participants are randomly given daily doses of either tuna fish oil, containing omega-3 fatty acids, or sunflower oil, containing no omega-3, without otherwise altering their diets and with or without exercise consisting of 45 minute walks 3 times a week. After 3 months, the researchers are surprised to find the group receiving both exercise and fish oil and no change in diet unexpectedly loses an average of 5% body fat or 2kg. All other groups lose no weight at all(4).

Studies and stories of the benefits of essential fatty acids, especially omega-3 fatty acids, seem to make the news almost daily. There is a long and growing list of health conditions for which omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may play a role in preventing or reducing symptoms. These conditions include cardiovascular disease, cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease, eczema, psoriasis, asthma, lupus erythematosus, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, schizophrenia, depression, autism, ADHD, Alzheimer's disease, retinitis pigmentosa, macular degeneration, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, and more. Often, though, reviews of such research studies find the data is inconclusive and that the studies need to be larger and better designed. There is little profit incentive for pharmaceutical companies to fund well designed studies of essential fatty acids which are readily available from diet, so the data is likely to remain inconclusive for quite some time barring government and foundation funding. Still, no one can deny the preponderance of evidence continually being added demonstrating health benefits from essential fatty acids. The bottom line is, omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are, indeed, essential.

Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are "essential" by definition because they cannot be produced by the human body and must be obtained from dietary sources. The typical modern Western diet is usually high in omega-6 and low in omega-3 fatty acids. Hence, scientists are most concerned about low levels of omega-3 fatty acids. Deficiencies of omega-6 can also exist and cause problems. Many vegetable oils, such as soy, are rich in omega-6. A few vegetable oils, such as flaxseed and canola oils, have a high omega-3 content, but the most usable forms of omega-3 fatty acids come from cold water fish such as salmon.

Essential fatty acids combine with phosphate and glycerol to form phospholipids, a major component of all cell membranes, and, thus, play a prominent role in the activities and functions of cell membranes everywhere in the body(5). Much of the health benefit of essential fatty acids comes from their role as precursors of an important group of bioactive regulatory compounds called prostaglandins. Prostaglandins regulate numerous body states and functions. An important role is played by prostaglandins in healing and protecting the body and its organs in response to injury from wounds, infection, and harmful chemicals. Prostaglandins both promote and reduce inflammation. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are converted into 3 different series of prostaglandins, PG1, PG2 and PG3. Within each series, prostaglandins are designated by the letters A currently through K according to chemical structure. The E prostaglandins, PGE1, PGE2, PGE3, are of special interest. PGE1 and PGE3 are anti-inflammatory. PGE2 is pro-inflammatory. PGE1 and PGE2 are formed from omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids, in addition to forming PGE3, inhibit PGE2 production and encourage PGE1 production, and, therefore, omega-3 fatty acids are important in reducing inflammation.

Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2), produced from omega-6 fatty acids, is secreted by mast cells along with histamine in response to allergens and may be involved in allergic inflammation in allergic diseases and food allergy. Omega-3 fatty acids inhibit generation of PGD2 as well as PGE2. Therefore, a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids may reduce the severity of allergic reactions(6-8).

Significant amounts of lipids including fatty acids are found in the structure of hair, nails, and skin(9-12). Thus, it is not surprising that an extreme deficiency of essential fatty acids can lead to scaly, blood oozing, dermatitis and inflammation of the hair follicles in the scalp as well as growth retardation and impaired wound healing(13-15). An excessive amount of prostaglandin, PGE2, in the kidneys can lead to excessive urination and excretion of sodium. A deficiency of omega-3 fatty acids may allow overproduction of PGE2 in the kidneys, thus, causing excessive urination(16-19). Seven signs of fatty acid or lipid deficiency have been established. These are:

Dry skin
Dry hair
Dandruff
Brittle nails
Excessive thirst
Frequent urination
Permanent goose bumps

When levels of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are plentiful, they are readily stored in adipose or fatty tissue along with other fatty acids(20).

Fatty Acids and Celiac Disease

Celiac disease is a malabsorption disease which prominently includes fat malabsorption likely inhibiting intake of essential fatty acids. Steatorrhea, the formation of floating, oily, bulky, grey or light colored stools with a high fat content, is one of the most common symptoms of active celiac disease. Yet there is almost no research concerning low or deficient levels of essential fatty acids associated with celiac disease. What is more, sufficient supplies of vitamins C, E, B3, B6, B12, folic acid, iron, zinc and magnesium are required to maintain the process of converting essential fatty acids to prostaglandins and phospholipids(21-29). A deficiency of these nutrients resulting from celiac disease, as well as essential fatty acid deficiency, could compromise or alter prostaglandin and phospholipid production and could contribute to growth retardation symptomatic of celiac disease in children in addition to numerous other medical conditions and immune disorders. Celiac disease studies have looked at fecal fat content, cholesterol levels, and serum concentrations of plant sterols(30-31). More interesting is that studies have found increased levels of PGE2 in the small intestinal mucosa of both children and adults with active celiac disease(32-33).

A very recent and limited study looked at essential fatty acid levels in the serum and intestinal mucosa of pediatric patients. The study included 7 pediatric patients with active celiac disease, 6 with celiac disease in remission, and 11 healthy controls. Serum levels of fatty acids were similar between celiac disease patients and control patients, but abnormal omega-6 fatty acid levels were found in intestinal mucosa tissue samples from active celiac disease patients. The results suggested an omega-6 fatty acid deficiency. Omega-3 levels did not significantly differ. This is not too surprising since PGE2 production from omega-6 fatty acids is increased in the intestines of active CD patients depleting available omega-6. It should be noted that fatty acid profiles may prove to be different in adult celiac disease patients. Also while omega-6 fatty acids may be deficient, increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids may help reduce inflammatory processes in celiac disease(34).

Prostaglandins enhance mucosal repair and have a role in maintaining the paracellular pathway of the intestinal barrier. The paracellular pathway involves the movement of ions and nutrients through the intercellular spaces between epithelial cells. The gatekeeper of the paracellular pathway is the tight junction which permits the passage of ions and nutrients while restricting the movement of large molecules. PGE2 in combination with PGI2 acts to increase tight junction closure, reducing intestinal permeability(35-36). PGE1 has been shown to be active in healing the intestinal mucosa and reducing inflammation after damage occurs(37-41). In Crohn's disease, an inflammatory bowel condition, omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to inhibit an increase of pro-inflammatory cytokines and are effective in maintaining remission of the disease(42-45). Essential fatty acids might have similar beneficial effects in celiac disease.

There is some experimental evidence suggesting prostaglandins may have a role in preventing villous atrophy due to food sensitivity, and that may include gluten. Mice genetically engineered to be T cell responsive to a specific peptide of a hen egg protein displayed little reaction when fed the hen egg protein alone. However, when the mice were treated with a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, indomethacin, and then fed the hen egg protein, villous atrophy very similar to that experienced in celiac disease developed(46). COX is an enzyme which converts omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids to prostaglandins. Inhibiting COX blocks prostaglandin production. In another study, researchers found a positive expression of COX-2 in intestinal epithelial cells of active celiac disease patients(47). COX-2 is a form of cyclooxygenase that generally only appears in tissues experiencing inflammation. The exact role of COX-2 in celiac disease is unknown, but prostaglandin production resulting from COX-2 expression could have a protective or healing function. This implies a role for essential fatty acids in celiac disease. Could an inadequate diet, i.e. a dietary deficiency or imbalance of essential fatty acids, initially cause a breakdown of intestinal integrity and contribute to the onset of celiac disease itself?

Various lymphomas and cancers have been associated with celiac disease(48). COX-2 is found to be expressed in lymphomas(49). In a study, the omega-3 fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), was added to a human lung cancer cell culture. EPA inhibited PGE2 formation from COX-2 enzyme activity, instead using up COX-2 to form PGE3. In turn, PGE3 inhibited the proliferation of the human lung cancer cells(50). Another experiment with omega-3 fatty acids showed a similar supression of proliferation in mouse myeloma cells(51). Hence, celiac disease caused omega-3 fatty acid deficiency might be associated with an increased lymphoma risk.

Liver damage is highly prevalent in celiac disease(52). The liver damage may be the result of increased intestinal permeability in celiac disease which allows an increased amount of bacterial endotoxins from the gut to reach the liver. The endotoxins initiate a cascade of inflammation in the liver resulting in liver damage(53). Prostaglandins play roles in both protecting and regenerating the liver. PGE1 has been demonstrated to be protective in cases of hepatitis and other chronic liver conditions(54). Another study has shown PGE2 must be present for liver regeneration to proceed(55). Thus, prostaglandins produced from essential fatty acids may ameliorate both the liver damage and the increased intestinal permeability which causes liver damage in celiac disease.

If essential fatty acids are so important to maintain health and intestinal integrity in celiac disease, then fat malabsorption presents a bit of a paradox by preventing absorption of the very nutrients needed to remedy the malabsorption. Once a gluten-free diet is commenced, it would seem prudent to include in the diet plenty of essential fatty acids or fatty acid supplements, especially omega-3 fatty acids, to speed recovery. Hopefully, the intestinal mucosa is sufficiently undamaged so that fat absorption is adequate. But what if the mucosal damage is so severe that insufficient levels of fatty acids are absorbed compromising the ability of the intestine to heal itself due to inadequate prostaglandin production and resulting inflammation? Could this be a factor in refractory sprue? Does the intestine fail to heal because it can never absorb the essential fatty acids it needs to heal? Could intravenous administration of a proper mix of emulsified omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids help to alleviate refractory sprue? There are a number of documented case studies in which external application of vegetable oils to the skin has been successful in raising levels of essential fatty acids in cases where deficiency has resulted from fat malabsorption or parenteral nutrition(56-59). Could external application of oils containing essential fatty acids be useful to raise levels in refractory sprue or in severe cases of celiac disease? These are intriguing questions.

The Chemistry of Fatty Acids

Essential fatty acids exist in omega-3 and omega-6 families of short to long chain fatty acids which vary in number of carbon and hydrogen atoms represented by a chemical nomenclature. Familiarity with this chemical nomenclature is necessary for looking up fat content in foods by searching the USDA National Nutrient Database. Humans must at least include alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid in their diet. These 2 fatty acids are, respectively, converted to all the other longer chain omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Prostaglandins are members of the eicosanoid family. Eicosanoids are molecules generated from the 20-carbon-atom fatty acids (DGLA, AA, EPA) .

A full description of the omega-3, omega-6, and eicosanoidal conversion pathways and a link to the USDA database is provided in the Appendix below.

Mediators of Inflammation

While inflammatory responses are important for our bodies to fight infections and help to heal injuries, too much and inappropriate inflammation is damaging to our health. Eicosanoids derived from omega-6 fatty acid, arachidonic acid (AA), generally promote inflammation. Eicosanoids derived from omega-6 fatty acid, dihomogamma-linolenic acid (DGLA), and from omega-3 fatty acid, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), counter inflammation. Therefore, to reduce inflammation, it is desirable to inhibit the AA series 2 pathway and encourage the DGLA and EPA series 1 and 3 pathways. Since DGLA can either be converted to AA or to series 1 prostaglandins, we want to prevent DGLA conversion to AA. It just so happens that increasing intake of EPA has the ability to accomplish exactly what we want. EPA inhibits the delta-5-desaturase conversion of DGLA to AA. Additionally, increased EPA competes with AA for use of available cyclooxygenase (COX) to form series 3 prostaglandins, such as PGE3, thereby decreasing the COX formation of series 2 prostaglandins from AA, such as PGD2 and PGE2. Hence, increased consumption of EPA has the potential to reduce inflammation in inflammatory diseases and health conditions(66-67).

Pain relieving drugs known as NSAIDS (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) are COX inhibitors, relieving pain by inhibiting production of PGE2 to reduce inflammation. Examples include aspirin, indomethacin (Indocin), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), naproxen (Aleve), piroxicam (Feldene), and naburnetone (Relafen). COX exists in two forms, COX-1 and COX-2. COX-1 is generally always present in all tissues throughout the body. COX-2 is generally only expressed in tissues experiencing injury and inflammation. The NSAIDs listed above block both COX-1 and COX-2. This obviously interferes with eicosanoidal pathways. As mentioned earlier, prostaglandins are necessary to maintain the integrity of the intestinal mucosa. In normal tissues not experiencing inflammation, COX-1 maintains prostaglandin production. If both COX-1 and COX-2 are inhibited in long term use of NSAIDs, the intestinal mucosa begins to suffer damage. Newer NSAIDs such as celecoxib (Celebrex) and the now banned Vioxx and Bextra only inhibit COX-2, thereby blocking prostaglandin production only in inflamed tissues and reducing possible gastrointestinal injury. (Celebrex still has cardiovascular and side-effect risk.) Increasing consumption of EPA, over time (generally after at least several weeks of daily supplementation), can replace or complement the anti-inflammatory activity of NSAIDs. EPA has no side-effects and is a much healthier option for relief of chronic pain due to inflammation. NSAIDs could certainly aggravate the intestinal inflammation and damage already present in active celiac disease(68-71).

Trans fats have been a health issue of recent interest. Trans fats are partially hydrogenated fats. Commercial partially hydrogenated vegetable oils manufactured under pressure form semi-solid trans fats used to create margarine and shortening with long shelf-life replacing animal fats used in baked goods, fried foods, and snack foods. Trans fats also occur naturally in small amounts in meat and dairy products. Evidence suggests trans fats raise "bad" LDL cholesterol levels and lower "good" HDL levels leading to cardiovascular disease. The FDA recently required food labels to list trans fat content. Trans fat has still another detrimental health effect. Trans fats interfere with and inhibit delta-4-, delta-5-, delta-6-desaturase conversion of short-chain essential fatty acids to beneficial longer-chain fatty acids(72-75). So, in addition to avoiding NSAIDs, think twice about eating that gluten-free donut along with your deep fried chicken and french fries.

Getting Essential Fatty Acids into Your Diet

Understanding the fatty acid pathways is critical. Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) appear to be the most important and useful forms of omega-3 fatty acids to maintain health. Conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to EPA in adult men is only about 8% and to DHA it is less than 0.1%. In women, conversion to DHA is greater than 9%76. Therefore, supplementation with or consumption of foods containing EPA and DHA has greater health benefit than intake of alpha-linolenic acid alone. The richest and primary dietary source of EPA and DHA is consumption of oily fish. Relying on this ecologically sensitive and limited food source to supply the entire world population with omega-3 essential fatty acids is problematic. A thorough understanding of the fatty acid pathways could lead to large-scale EPA and DHA production from oilseed crops. Alternately, corporations such as DuPont and BASF are engaged in research and development of genetically modified crops to produce EPA and DHA. But there is consumer resistance to and concern about genetically modified crops. Another potential new source of EPA and DHA is marine algae. Commercial supplements containing DHA derived from marine algae are already being marketed to vegetarians. Research to find suitable algae sources of EPA is ongoing with one Swiss company already claiming to have found such an algae.

Certain medical conditions and autoimmune disorders such as diabetes and atopic eczema as well as old age can cause deficencies of delta-6-desaturase, impeding not only conversion of alpha-linolenic acid to EPA, but conversion of linolenic acid to gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). And if GLA is in short supply, so are DGLA and series 1 prostaglandins to reduce inflammation. Therefore, if delta-6-desaturase levels are inadequate, GLA supplementation, in addition to EPA and DHA supplementation, may be useful. Borage seed oil is the best source of GLA(77-78).

Food sources rich in the omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid (LA), include safflower, sunflower, soybean, corn, and sesame oils and seeds, as well as pecans, brazil and pine nuts. Borage seed oil, evening primrose oil and black currant seed oil are rich in gamma-linolenic acid (GLA). Oils rich in the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), are flaxseed, walnut, canola, soybean, and mustard as well as flaxseeds and walnuts themselves. Since soybeans are much higher in LA than ALA, soybeans alone are not a good way to increase the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. In fact, with soybean products finding their way into almost every type of processed food, including so-called "health" foods, too much soy is a part of the problem of essential fatty acid imbalance in the modern Western diet. Servings of herring, salmon, sardines, oysters, crab, trout, tuna and other fish provide EPA and DHA. Soft-gel capsule fish oil supplements are readily available to provide EPA and DHA, but uncoated capsules can cause gastric upset and fishy aftertaste and odor in some individuals. Enteric coated fish oil capsules, which delay the release of fish oil until it reaches the intestine, avoids this problem and may also improve absorption of EPA and DHA by up to 3 times45. Independent testing has found essentially all major and reputable brands of fish oil supplements use purified fish oils containing extremely low and safe levels of mercury and other contaminants. Check the label or the manufacturer's website for a statement of purity. More detailed information concerning essential fatty acids, food sources, recommended daily doses, health warnings and contraindications can be found at the website:

The Linus Pauling Institute Micronutrient Information Center
Essential Fatty Acids
https://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/other-nutrients/essential-fatty-acids

Maintaining adequate levels of essential fatty acids is crucial to good health. Fat malabsorption due to celiac disease may result in deficiencies of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, contributing to the wide range of symptoms associated with celiac disease. There exist almost no studies of essential fatty acid levels in celiac disease patients. An inadequate diet low in essential fatty acids could possibly even be a factor in the onset of celiac disease. Supplementation with essential fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA omega-3 fatty acids, should strongly be considered when commencing a gluten-free diet after being diagnosed with celiac disease.

The Chemistry of Fatty Acids

Fatty acids are composed hydrogen and oxygen atoms bound to a long chain of carbon atoms. The carbon atoms in the chain may be bound to each other by a single or a double bond. This forms the basis for a chemical nomenclature used to identify the various fatty acids. For example, the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid, is designated as 18:3n-3. There are 18 carbon atoms in the alpha-linolenic acid chain. The total number of double bonds between carbon atoms in the chain is 3 (the first 3 in the formula.) Finally, n-3 designates the position of the first double bond in the carbon chain, occurring 3 carbon atoms from the "omega" end of the chain. The n-3 is also what classifies alpha-linolenic acid as an omega-3 fatty acid. Linoleic acid is designated as 18:2n-6, and, hence, is an omega-6 fatty acid. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are also commonly referred to as n-3 and n-6 fatty acids in scientific papers.

Alpha-Linolenic Acid (LNA) 18:3n-3

Omega End Position 1

The carbon atoms along the chain each have 4 bonds available. Where a carbon atom has a single bond between its 2 neighboring carbon atoms in the chain, 2 bonds per carbon atom remain free to join with 2 hydrogen atoms. Wherever a double bond between 2 carbon atoms occurs, each of the 2 carbon atoms loses one free bond, and there are 2 less bonds available for hydrogen atoms. When hydrogen atoms are lost in a fatty acid conversion from a single carbon atom bond to a double bond, the fatty acid is said to be desaturated. When there are no double bonds at all between carbon atoms in a fatty acid chain and all spaces are filled with hydrogen atoms, the fatty acid is said to be saturated. Food manufacturers create hydrogenated fats by completely filling the chains with hydrogen atoms and partially hydrogenated fats by only partially filling the chains with hydrogen. Essential fatty acid chains contain multiple carbon atom double bonds and are, thus, classified as polyunsaturated fatty acids.

You need to be familiar with this chemical nomenclature if you ever want to look up fat content in foods by searching the USDA National Nutrient Database. The USDA database does not use the names of fatty acids, only their numerical designation. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/

Essential fatty acids exist in omega-3 and omega-6 families of short to long chain fatty acids which vary in number of carbon and hydrogen atoms. Humans must at least include alpha-linolenic acid and linoleic acid in their diet. In a process involving the enzymes delta-4-, delta-5-, delta-6-desaturase to remove hydrogen atoms, elongase enzymes to lengthen the carbon chain, and beta-oxidation to shorten the carbon chain, the human body can synthesize all the other important longer chain fatty acids needed from the short chain alpha-linolenic and linoleic acids. The pathways for this synthesis are shown below. The biochemistry of fatty acid synthesis is still not completely understood. It was first proposed that an enzyme, delta-4-desaturase, existed and was needed for the synthesis of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). However, when delta-4-desaturase could not be found in or isolated from rat tissues, researchers proposed an alternate beta-oxidation pathway to replace the delta-4-desaturase pathway(60). More recent research has been able to isolate delta-4-desaturase from single-cell organisms thereby supporting the original delta-4-desaturase concept(61). Delta-4-, delta-5-, delta-6-desaturases remove hydrogen atoms by inserting double bonds between carbon atoms at positions 4, 5, and 6 counting carbons atoms in the carbon chain from the end opposite the "omega" end.

The Omega-3 Pathway

Alpha-Linolenic Acid (LNA) 18:3n-3 → [delta-6-desaturase] →
Stearidonic (Octadecatetraenoic) Acid (SDA) 18:4n-3 → [elongase] →
Eicosatetraenoic Acid 20:4n-3 → [delta-5-desaturase] →
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) 20:5n-3 ↔ [elongase] ↔
Docosapentaenoic Acid 22:5n-3 ↔ [elongase] ↔ 24:5n-3 → [delta-6-desaturase] → 24:6n-3 → [beta-oxidation] → ( Alternate Pathway - Docosapentaenoic Acid 22:5n-3 ↔ [delta-4-desaturase] ↔ )
Docosahexaenoic Acid (DHA) 22:6n-3 → [beta-oxidation] →
Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) 20:5n-3

The Omega-6 Pathway

Linoleic Acid (LA) 18:2n-6 → [delta-6-desaturase] →
Gamma-Linolenic Acid (GLA) 18:3n-6 → [elongase] →
Dihomogamma-Linolenic Acid (DGLA) 20:3n-6 → [delta-5-desaturase] →
Arachidonic Acid (AA) 20:4n-6 → [elongase] →
Adrenic Acid 22:4n-6 ↔ [elongase] ↔ 24:5n-6 → [delta-6-desaturase] → 24:6n-6 → [beta-oxidation] → ( Alternate Pathway - Adrenic Acid 22:4n-6 → [delta-4-desaturase] → )
Docosapentaenoic Acid 22:5n-6

As mentioned earlier, the pro- and anti-inflammatory properties of prostaglandins produced from essential fatty acids are key to the benefits of consuming an adequate diet of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in the proper ratio. Prostaglandins are members of the eicosanoid family. Eicosanoids are molecules generated from 20-carbon-atom fatty acids (DGLA, AA, EPA) and include prostaglandins, prostacyclins thromboxanes, leukotrienes, and lipoxins. Prostacyclin prevents platelet formation and clumping involved in blood clotting and is an effective vasodilator. Thromboxane encourages platelet and clot formation and is a vasoconstrictor, in contrast to prostacyclin. Leukotrienes are inflammatory compounds involved in allergic and chronic inflammatory diseases, inducing bronchoconstriction in asthma. Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) chemically attracts white blood cells to sites of bacterial infection or to foreign bodies including plaque in arteries, where the white blood cell activity increases the propensity of the plaques to rupture. The series 4 leukotrienes derived from arachidonic acid (AA) are on the order of 5 times more potentially damaging than the series 5 leukotrienes derived from eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Lipoxins are anti-inflammatory mediators inhibiting release of various inflammatory cytokines and leukotriene B4. In addition to these compounds, recently identified anti-inflammatory and protective mediators called resolvins, docosatrienes, and neuroprotectins are derived from EPA and DHA. The production of eicosanoids is summarized below(62-65).

Eicosanoidal Pathways

Series 1 (Anti-inflammatory):

Dihomogamma-Linolenic Acid (DGLA) 20:3n-6
→ [cyclooxygenase (COX-1, COX-2)] → PGH1 → [various synthases] → PGE1, Thromboxane (TXA1)

Series 2 (Pro-inflammatory):

Arachidonic Acid (AA) 20:4n-6
   → [cyclooxygenase (COX-1, COX-2)] → PGG2 → [peroxidase] → PGH2 →
       [various synthases] → PGD2, PGE2, PGF2, Prostacyclin (PGI2),
       Thromboxane (TXA2)
   → [Lipooxygenase (LOX)] → HPETE (Hydroperoxyeicosatetaenoic Acid) →
       [LOX] → Series 4 Leukotrienes (LTA4, LTB4, LTC4, LTD4, LTE4, LTF4),
       Lipoxins (LXA4, LXB4)

Series 3 (Anti-inflammatory):

Eicosapentaenoic Acid (EPA) 20:5n-3
   → [cyclooxygenase (COX-1, COX-2)] → PGG3 → [peroxidase] → PGH3 →
       [various synthases] → PGD3, PGE3, PGF3, Prostacyclin (PGI3),
       Thromboxane (TXA3)
   → [Lipooxygenase (LOX)] → HPEPE (Hydroperoxyeicosapentaenoic Acid) →
       [LOX] → Series 5 Leukotrienes (LTA5, LTB5, LTC5, LTD5)

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Gluten Causes Brain Disease!

Mon, 11 Dec 2006 00:00:00 +0000

Celiac.com 12/11/2006 - Yes, that's 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.

Is gluten a neurotoxin?
I felt excited. I reviewed my patients in this new light—I began looking for a brain-grain connection. I began to see gluten as a neurotoxin—this could provide a universal model of gluten-sensitivity. This toxicity might act through inflammatory mechanisms or cross-reactivity with neurons. I began accumulating the evidence for my proposal that gluten-sensitivity is a brain and nerve disease.

"Full Of It!"
The concept of "Full of it" developed from the stories from my patients. I wrote my hypothesis down in a book now called Full of it! It refers to our diets being full of gluten; to the world being full of gluten-sensitive people; to the medical practitioners who are so skeptical of adverse reactions to gluten; to the enthusiasm of people who are feeling vibrant again on a gluten-free diet; and to those who are brimming with hope that the problem of gluten has now been recognized.

Food allergy skeptics
As a junior doctor I decided to formally research the food allergy phenomenon. I was awarded a research post and carried out the first comprehensive food allergy studies in New Zealand. I triumphantly demonstrated that food allergy was both a real entity and that it was common. But, to my disappointment, my colleagues were reluctant to believe me or my data. They professed a "disbelief" in food allergy. This surprised me as I had the research data.

My next step was to conduct four more years of investigation of food allergy in Australia (at the Royal Childrens Hospital, Melbourne). This was a bigger and more elaborate study. My Doctoral Thesis (1982) based on this work is called: Food hypersensitivity in children: diagnostic approaches to milk and egg hypersensitivity. Since then I have continued my investigations into food allergy—but still today (25 years later) medical skepticism abounds. This "disbelief" is held despite the vast body of research describing food allergy. There seems to be an underlying unwillingness for doctors to consider food allergy as a possibility. Unfortunately, this also applies to gluten reactions.

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.

Medics turn a blind eye
Gluten is sapping the energy and wellbeing of countless millions. To date, the medical profession has turned a blind eye to glutens wider problems whilst focusing all of their attention on the narrow problem of celiac disease.

A typical story
I received emails like this every day:

"Dr Ford, I have emailed you a number of times regarding our two children.

I thought I should let you know that since going gluten free for the last three months, at last our son and daughter have put on some weight.

If I had kept them on a normal gluten diet (which they recommended at the hospital) we would be still be having the headaches and sore tummies as well as the bad moods which our son would have. People just thought he was a naughty child, but now he is so different - we can talk to him without getting into any fights.

I congratulate you for all your efforts on bringing gluten intolerance to the media and medical profession. More children and their families may find long awaited help. We have had to put up with this for seven years! At long last there is light at the end of the tunnel. Kind regards, Sue and Garry."

Can gluten damage your brain?
I believe that gluten was actually causing these two children to be sick. That is the explanation for their "naughty" behavior, their moods and their headaches.

I postulate that gluten can damage your brain. I have come to this conclusion by the abundant circumstantial evidence from my observations of my patients who are gluten-sensitive. I have pondered the next questions: "Why do they have such an array of symptoms from gluten?" "Why do they recover so quickly when gluten is removed?" And "Why do they deteriorate so rapidly when only tiny amounts of gluten are eaten?" The concept of a brain/nerve disease can explain everything.

The brain/nerve hypothesis
"The symptoms from gluten occur through its action on the nervous system".

I propose that gluten-sensitivity is a brain condition. Each and every organ in your body has some form of brain/nerve control. I propose that gluten can injure the delicate nervous networks that control your guts functions. A malfunction will subsequently lead to all of the gut symptoms that have so well been described. In addition, gluten can also directly affect brain function, which leads to the primary neurological symptoms that are so commonly seen with gluten-sensitivity.

What is new?
There are a number of new ideas that I put forward. These are based on circumstantial evidence. They produce a unifying theory of the symptoms that are attributed to gluten toxicity.

A brain disease
I consider that gluten-sensitivity is mostly a neurological problem. A major contribution to this debate is the realization that the brain has a central role in the expression of the symptoms that have, until now, been attributed to the local toxicity of gluten in the gut.
A nerve disease
I propose that gluten-sensitivity is a nerve disease. There is a gigantic network of nerves that controls every function that your gut is programmed to do. There are as many nerve cells in your gut as there are in your head! (about 25 billion nerve cells). I call it your tummy brain (or gut brain). Your tummy brain can be directly damaged by gluten reactions. This is the cause of so many sore tummies and bowel troubles.
A wide spectrum of neurological manifestations
For decades, there have been reports of unexplained brain and nerve symptoms which are associated with celiac disease. Although these associations have been described, there has been no universal mechanism proposed. However, if gluten is seen as a neurotoxin, then the explanation has been found.
A very common disease
Reactions to gluten have recently been documented to be extremely common. About one-in-ten people (as ascertained by blood donor studies) have high levels of gluten antibodies in their blood. My clinical studies have arrived at this same high number of gluten-sensitive people. Others have data to show that it is even more prevalent.

Am I full if it?
You might ask, "Is he full of it?" Yes, I am full of excitement and hope for the future. So many people can now be helped, if only this information can be widely distributed. I am full of ideas and full of enthusiasm. I hope that you are full of hope for your healthy and vibrant future.

Tariq's story:

"Dear Rodney,

Thank you for your care and support of my family in regard to our allergies, gluten sensitivity and celiac disease that exists within that framework.

My son Tariq, who is nearly 12 years old, has been a patient of yours over a number of years for his multiple food allergies. Tariq also suffers from dyslexia. Over the last several years Tariq has been becoming increasingly tired, lacking in energy and motivation, struggling with school work and constantly scratching due to his eczema and rashes covering all of his body.

During this time, even though he has attended soccer training up to four times a week he somehow gained a lot of weight. Tariq was constantly grumpy and had low mood levels.

Two months ago you diagnosed Tariq with gluten-sensitivity (his tTG 4; IgG-gliadin 86; IgA-gliadin 9).

Tariq was extremely reluctant to go on a gluten free diet. But as the rest of the family had gone gluten-free—so he was forced also to become gluten-free.

The changes that a gluten-free diet has evoked in Tariq have been astounding. His energy levels have increased, his skin has vastly improved, he has lost a lot of his excess weight (even though his appetite has increased) and he has shown improvement in his dyslexia.

Tariq is not as grumpy as he was and his mood levels have improved. Tariq is now vigilant about gluten and can see the differences it has made to his life and the quality of it.

Also, the other soccer parents have noticed a vast improvement in Tariq's energy levels and speed. His teacher has also noticed a big difference.

Thanks again.

Regards, Rosemary"

Are you affected?
The shocking truth is that gluten can damage your brain and that so many people are being encouraged to eat gluten-foods that might be steadily eroding their health and energy. If you have any lingering doubt about your own health, then I suggest that you check out the possibility of gluten-sensitivity.