Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Serotonin Levels


Sugar

Recommended Posts

Sugar Rookie

Hello everyone. I was just wondering, does anyone know about the effect of celiac disease on seratonin levels? I know I've been addicted to wheat and sugar and also suffered from depression. I feel better since going gluten free, but I was just wondering because I know eating things your body rejects can give you a "high." Any thoughts?


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



rock on Apprentice

I do think that having celiac or gluten sensitivities or even only leaky gut syndrome could potentially be a root cause of depression or low serotonin levels. I was actually just looking into how amino acids can help our bodies (because of someone here who mentioned taking l-glutamine to help heal a leaky gut) and came across this article. I thought it was very interesting...it talks about our brain needing certain chemicals & how we can turn to certain drugs, alcohol or even food if we are deficient in these chemicals. If your gut isn't healthy, you might not be getting all the nutrients you need from your food & therefore are lacking in essential amino & fatty acids.

Open Original Shared Link

Sugar Rookie

Hey, thanks a lot for the info!

ravenwoodglass Mentor
Hello everyone. I was just wondering, does anyone know about the effect of celiac disease on seratonin levels? I know I've been addicted to wheat and sugar and also suffered from depression. I feel better since going gluten free, but I was just wondering because I know eating things your body rejects can give you a "high." Any thoughts?

I know that celiac related depression and anxiety issues abound but I am not so sure about their relation to serotonin levels. I suspect that it is a different mechanism that is causing it because of the seriously bad effects many of us have when given drugs like SSRI's and other psychotropics. For some of us the drugs effects on the serotonin levels can make us much worse and lead to suicidal ideation and behaviors like cutting and even actual psychotic episodes. In my family the seizure meds were most effective with depressive and anxiety issues, leading me to be diagnosed with a rare form of epilepsy. In other words it was the misfiring of electrical impulses that was causeing the problem not the serotonin levels. In myself this misfiring also lead to ataxia and progressive paralysis of my legs. All of those type of issues we had were gone when we had been gluten-free for a couple of months and only return when glutened.

Sugar Rookie

That is fascinating! I'm glad you were able to figure it out for yourself. Thank you.

celiacgirls Apprentice

I think gluten was affecting my serotonin levels. I was taking an a/d and feeling better than I had ever felt in my whole life when I started the gluten-free diet. Within 2 days, I could tell the gluten-free diet was making me feel even better with mood/anxiety issues. But I also felt giddy and knew I needed to decrease my a/d. I think I had too much serotonin with the med and the diet. I tapered off the med as fast as I could and haven't needed it since. When I have been glutened, those problems come back.

The One Apprentice

I am not sure how but I do agree that anxiety/depression IS linked to Celiac. After going gluten free my anxiety improved a little, though I've had it for too long as for it to completely go away, I have noticed that when I get glutened [which happened quite a few times at the beginning of the diet] I would have panic attacks much more often.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



  • 1 month later...
UK Cat Newbie

Hi,

saw this online, and thought you might be interested. I'm a psychology student, with suspected coeliac disease, and a history of mood disorders, and thought i'd have a look into any correlations between serotonin levels and coeliac disease/other GI disorders. There is a large amount of serotonin activity in the gastro-intestinal tract- I think the amount of serotonin receptors in the gut are second only to the brain within the human body- hence looking into it. Anyway, found this journal article which suggests a link between mood disorders and gluten intolerance/coeliac in children and young people, copy and paste into your browser.

Open Original Shared Link

cheers

Cat

  • 1 year later...
Sugar Rookie

Wow! I did not know that. Thanx very much for posting!

one more mile Contributor

battled depression my whole life. I tried shrinks and med and dark chocolate and they only worked so far.

It took a few weeks but I became uncomfortably happy when Gluten free. I even asked my doctor if I was getting manic.

He asked me a few questions and said you are not ill you are normal. Seems I had forgotten what normal is.

My whole emotional core has changed. I tend to wake up happy, and laugh at things rather then get mad.

one more mile

larry mac Enthusiast
..........

Open Original Shared Link

...........

This link is very appropriate, "Psychosomatic".

best regards, lm

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      4

      Son's legs shaking

    2. - lizzie42 replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      4

      Son's legs shaking

    3. - Scott Adams replied to Russ H's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Anti-endomysial Antibody (EMA) Testing

    4. - knitty kitty replied to lizzie42's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      4

      Son's legs shaking

    5. - Scott Adams replied to Paulaannefthimiou's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Bob red mill gluten free oats

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):
  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,869
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    MaryannHall
    Newest Member
    MaryannHall
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):
  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Yes, I do think they need a Thiamine supplement at least. Especially since they eat red meat only occasionally. Most fruits and vegetables are not good sources of Thiamine.  Legumes (beans) do contain thiamine.  Fruits and veggies do have some of the other B vitamins, but thiamine B 1 and  Cobalamine B12 are mostly found in meats.  Meat, especially organ meats like liver, are the best sources of Thiamine, B12, and the six other B vitamins and important minerals like iron.   Thiamine has antibacterial and antiviral properties.  Thiamine is important to our immune systems.  We need more thiamine when we're physically ill or injured, when we're under stress emotionally, and when we exercise, especially outside in hot weather.  We need thiamine and other B vitamins like Niacin B 3 to keep our gastrointestinal tract healthy.  We can't store thiamine for very long.  We can get low in thiamine within three days.  Symptoms can appear suddenly when a high carbohydrate diet is consumed.  (Rice and beans are high in carbohydrates.)  A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function, so symptoms can wax and wane depending on what one eats.  The earliest symptoms like fatigue and anxiety are easily contributed to other things or life events and dismissed.   Correcting nutritional deficiencies needs to be done quickly, especially in children, so their growth isn't stunted.  Nutritional deficiencies can affect intelligence.  Vitamin D deficiency can cause short stature and poor bone formation.   Is your son taking anything for the anemia?  Is the anemia caused by B12 or iron deficiency?  
    • lizzie42
      Thank you! That's helpful. My kids eat very little processed food. Tons of fruit, vegetables, cheese, eggs and occasional red meat. We do a lot of rice and bean bowls, stir fry, etc.  Do you think with all the fruits and vegetables they need a vitamin supplement? I feel like their diet is pretty healthy and balanced with very limited processed food. The only processed food they eat regularly is a bowl of Cheerios here and there.  Could shaking legs be a symptom of just a one-time gluten exposure? I guess there's no way to know for sure if they're getting absolutely zero exposure because they do go to school a couple times a week. We do homeschool but my son does a shared school 2x a week and my daughter does a morning Pre-K 3 x a week.  At home our entire house is strictly gluten free and it is extremely rare for us to eat out. If we eat at someone else's house I usually just bring their food. When we have play dates we bring all the snacks, etc. I try to be really careful since they're still growing. They also, of course, catch kids viruses all the time so I  want to make sure I know whether they're just sick or they've had gluten. It can be pretty confusing when they're pretty young to even be explaining their symptoms! 
    • Scott Adams
      That is interesting, and it's the first time I heard about the umbilical cord beings used for that test. Thanks for sharing!
    • knitty kitty
      @lizzie42, You're being a good mom, seeking answers for your son.  Cheers! Subclinical thiamine deficiency commonly occurs with anemia.  An outright Thiamine deficiency can be precipitated by the consumption of a high carbohydrate meal.   Symptoms of Thiamine deficiency include feeling shakey or wobbly in the legs, muscle weakness or cramps, as well as aggression and irritability, confusion, mood swings and behavior changes.  Thiamine is essential to the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine which keep us calm and rational.   @Jsingh, histamine intolerance is also a symptom of Thiamine deficiency.  Thiamine is needed to prevent mast cells from releasing histamine at the slightest provocation as is seen in histamine intolerance.  Thiamine and the other B vitamins and Vitamin C are needed to clear histamine from the body.  Without sufficient thiamine and other B vitamins to clear it, the histamine builds up.  High histamine levels can change behavior, too.  High histamine levels are found in the brains of patients with schizophrenia.  Thiamine deficiency can also cause extreme hunger or conversely anorexia.   High carbohydrate meals can precipitate thiamine deficiency because additional thiamine is required to process carbohydrates for the body to use as fuel.  The more carbohydrates one eats daily, the more one needs additional thiamine above the RDA.  Thiamine is water soluble, safe and nontoxic even in high doses. Keep in mind that gluten-free processed foods like cookies and such are not required to be fortified and enriched with vitamins and minerals like their gluten containing counterparts are.  Limit processed gluten-free foods.  They are often full of empty calories and unhealthy saturated fats and additives, and are high in histamine or histamine release triggers.  It's time you bought your own vitamins to supplement what is not being absorbed due to malabsorption of Celiac disease.  Benfotiamine is a form of Thiamine that has been shown to improve intestinal health as well as brain function. Do talk to your doctors and dieticians about supplementing with the essential vitamins and minerals while your children are growing up gluten free.  Serve nutritionally dense foods.  Meats and liver are great sources of B vitamins and minerals. Hope this helps!  Keep us posted on your progress!
    • Scott Adams
      Oats naturally contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to the gluten proteins found in wheat, barley, and rye. While avenin is generally considered safe for most people with celiac disease, some individuals, around 5-10% of celiacs, may also have sensitivity to avenin, leading to symptoms similar to gluten exposure. You may fall into this category, and eliminating them is the best way to figure this out. Some people substitute gluten-free quinoa flakes for oats if they want a hot cereal substitute. If you are interested in summaries of scientific publications on the topic of oats and celiac disease, we have an entire category dedicated to it which is here: https://www.celiac.com/celiac-disease/oats-and-celiac-disease-are-they-gluten-free/   
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.