Sleep Disorder And Starches

[btz33]

Since I was diagnosed last July I have notice I will fall asleep but wake up and hour to 2 hours later with night sweats and horrible dreams. After a brief discussion with diabetic friend. It got me to wondering celiac disease patients eat a lot of starch, which in turn turns to Glucose. Are our sleep problems a direct result of the crash and burn effect of too much glucose in you system?

I have noticed I do not wake up 1 to 2 hours later, and less nightmares if I cut back on my rice consuption.

THIS WOULD BE AN INTERESTING STUDY FOR SOMEONE TO CONSIDER.

[caek-is-a-lie]

Someone already has. There is a neuropeptide that we produce normally in the hypothalamus called Hypocretin (or Orexin, depending on whether you're sleep researchers or food researchers...it was discovered by both groups at the same time and given 2 names.) It is a key player in sleep regulation, and the lack of it is thought to cause Narcolepsy.

There was a study that found that glucose binds to the surface of Hypocretin cells, disrupting the way our brains use it. I have a better explanation at my blog, with a link to the original abstract:

Open Original Shared Link

Another thing I've recently discovered is L-Glutamine. I've been reading up on it, and found something interesting. When you drink alcohol, it suppresses glutamine release. After the alcohol is all metabolized, you get a glutamine rebound in your brain, which wakes you up, can make your heart race, and cause anxiety and jitters. I know this probably isn't directly related to your problem, but I found it fascinating. Taking a glutamine supplement doesn't do the same thing to me as the rebound, thank goodness, but it does help with alertness and curbing food cravings. Both awesome results.

[chatycady]

Since I was diagnosed last July I have notice I will fall asleep but wake up and hour to 2 hours later with night sweats and horrible dreams. After a brief discussion with diabetic friend. It got me to wondering celiac disease patients eat a lot of starch, which in turn turns to Glucose. Are our sleep problems a direct result of the crash and burn effect of too much glucose in you system?

I have noticed I do not wake up 1 to 2 hours later, and less nightmares if I cut back on my rice consuption.

THIS WOULD BE AN INTERESTING STUDY FOR SOMEONE TO CONSIDER.

It has been done. The original celiac diet was strictly protein and fat. Celiacs did well on protein and fats, but the diet was too difficult to follow, so certain simple carbs,monosachhrides, were introduced and found to work well.

Starchs, sugar, and grains may cause all sorts of problems (sleep disorders included) for us celiacs. What you describe sounds like reactive hypoglycemia. The original diet was called the Specific Carb. diet. Many of us follow it and are healed. (But we must remain gluten free of course). I used to have severe hypoglycemia, it is improved greatly on this diet. I sleep like a baby now.

[AliB]

I have another theory too.

When I was on gluten and carbs in general I used to get raging restless legs and hot burning feet for years.

Going gluten-free helped some but cutting right back on the starchy, grain, sugar and dairy-based carbs did the trick and I only get it now when my gut can't cope with something (usually carb) I have (and shouldn't have!) eaten.

I am a night-owl and rarely get to sleep much before 2am. If I have eaten what is 'bad' food for me, then not long after that I get the restless legs and can't get to sleep.

A short time before my digestion finally collapsed and I went gluten-free I realised that the restless legs were caused by my digestion and dropping gluten and carbs has proved that to me. I suspect that waking in the night may well be when the food that has been consumed during the day - and possibly the evening meal if it contains food that we can't digest very well reaches a certain point in the colon that impacts on the spinal nerves and aggravates an inflammation.

During the day we wouldn't notice it because we are moving around and are upright. But during the night when we are still and prone it may well have more impact and it may well be that that wakes us in the middle of the night.

My husband and I started taking plant-based (HCL-free) digestive enzymes nearly a week ago. We are both digesting our food and sleeping better and he, for the first time in ages, has not woken in the middle of the night. We are both also having to take our belts in a notch which is very welcome! Weight-loss and weight-gain where needed is a very welcome side effect of finally being able to absorb nutrients better.

Edward Howells (Enzyme Nutrition) said that you can take all the nutrients in the World but without enough of the right enzymes to deal with them its like having all the materials to build a house but no builders! Someone else passed another comment that it just makes for very expensive urine!

In any case, no supplements can compensate for the best form of nutrition - good wholesome fresh organic meat, fish, fruit and veg, etc. There are elements in those that we still know nothing about but which give us benefits that supplements alone cannot do.

[AlwaysLearning]

I'd love to know more about how reactive hyperglycemia is related to gluten problems. Mine has actually gotten much worse since going gluten free.

[mushroom]

This is a four-year old thread and the original posters will not see your post. Why don't you start a new topic?