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    Croatia Administrator Franny's Avatar
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    Default 'Gluten brain': wheat cuts off blood flow to frontal cortex

    Just came across this report on gluten's effect on the brain.


    Wheat consumption has been linked to psychiatric conditions like schizophrenia for over 60 years, but recent research indicates the mind-altering properties of this popular food are, in part, caused by it cutting off blood flow to the frontal cortex of the brain.

    As far back as 1954, reports of the full or partial resolution of schizophrenia following a gluten free diet began to surface in the medical literature. I explored this remarkable phenomenon in a previous article titled, "60 Years of Research Links Gluten Grains to Schizophrenia." While the explanation for this intriguing connection has remained focused on the disruption of the gut-brain axis and the presence in wheat of a wide range of pharmacologically active and mostly opioid receptor modulating polypeptides with glutathione-depleting properties, a new and possibly more disturbing explanation is beginning to surface: wheat consumption also cuts off blood flow to the brain.

    Starting with a 1997 case study published in the Journal of Internal Medicine involving a 33-year-old patient, with pre-existing diagnosis of 'schizophrenic' disorder, who first came to medical attention for severe diarrhea and weight loss (classical symptoms of gluten intolerance), brain scan technology determined that cerebral hypoperfusion (decreased blood flow to the brain) was occurring within the patient's frontal cortex.[i] A gluten free diet resulted not only in the normalization of intestinal damage and autoantibodies, but also in the return of blood flow to the frontal cortex, and the resolution of schizophrenic symptoms.

    Then, in 2004, a follow up study was performed to verify if the 1997 case study was just a fluke, or perhaps a widespread effect of untreated celiac disease. Published in the American Journal of Medicine, researchers from the Institute of Internal Medicine, Catholic University, Rome, Italy, compared 15 untreated celiac patients without neurological or psychiatric disorders other than anxiety or depression, with 15 celiac patients who were on a gluten-free diet for almost 1 year, and 24 healthy volunteers of similar sex and age. All subjects underwent cerebral single photon emission computed tomography examination.

    The results were remarkable, with dramatically increased incidence of impaired brain blood flow in untreated celiac patients, reported as follows:

    "Of the 15 untreated celiac patients, 11 (73%) had at least one hypoperfused brain region, compared with only 1 (7%) of the 15 celiac patients on a gluten-free diet and none of the controls (P = 0.01). Cerebral perfusion was significantly lower (P <0.05) in untreated celiac patients, compared with healthy controls, in 7 of 26 brain regions. No significant differences in cerebral perfusion were found between celiac patients on a gluten-free diet and healthy controls."

    They concluded: "There is evidence of regional cerebral blood flow alteration in untreated celiac patients."



    Discussion

    So, let's take a closer look at what cerebral (brain) hypoperfusion means.

    Hypoperfusion is simply decreased blood flow through an organ. Whether it is an internal organ like the kidney, a muscle or the brain, the organ will experience lower availability of oxygen (hypoxia) and nutrients, and will therefore function at a suboptimal level. Cerebral hypoperfusion, therefore, is decreased blood flow to the brain – an organ with extremely high energy demands, and upon which our entire consciousness depends.

    Dr. David Perlmutter, author of the #1 New York Times bestselling book Grain Brain, has made great strides in introducing the concept to the world that grains adversely affect brain health. We know that the carbohydrate content of grains alone contribute to disrupting insulin-mediated glucose homeostasis within neurons, ultimately contributing to their suboptimal functioning and in some cases demise, but the discovery that wheat in particular has blood flow disrupting properties to the frontal cortex of the brain, has profound implications.

    For example, it is know that the frontal lobe house the 'executive functions' of the brain, including:

    Recognizing future consequences resulting from current actions
    Choosing between 'good' and 'bad' actions
    Overriding and suppressing socially unacceptable responses
    Retaining longer term memories which are not task-based.
    Determine similarities and differences between things or events.
    If wheat consumption, through some as of yet unknown mechanism, interferes with blood flow to the brain in susceptible individuals, and as a result disrupts the executive functions of the brain, abstaining from it should be considered a reasonable precautionary behavior, assuming we wish to retain these critical functions related to morality, cognizance, and social responsibility. I explore other socio-political implications of the Western world's several thousand year old love affaird with wheat, the 'king of grains,' in my essay The Dark Side of Wheat.

    For additional research on the adverse health effects of wheat, read my article: Wheat: 200 Clinically Confirmed Reasons Not To Eat It or view GreenMedInfo.com's biomedical research database on the topic: Wheat Toxicity.

    Also, for more information on the brain-specific harmful effects of wheat, read the following articles or watch the video:

    The Grain That Damages The Human Brain, by Sayer Ji
    This Is Your Body (and Brain) on Gluten, by Dr. Kelly Brogan, MD
    Additional References

    [i] A De Santis, G Addolorato, A Romito, S Caputo, A Giordano, G Gambassi, C Taranto, R Manna, G Gasbarrini. Schizophrenic symptoms and SPECT abnormalities in a coeliac patient: regression after a gluten-free diet. J Intern Med. 1997 Nov ;242(5):421-3. PMID: 9408073

    Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of GreenMedInfo or its staff.
    A million galaxies are a little foam on that shoreless sea. ~ Rumi

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    Default Re: 'Gluten brain': wheat cuts off blood flow to frontal cortex

    But is it the grain or the glysophate that it's sprayed with and soaked in?
    They often don't specify that in these kinds of studies.
    US citizens who thought they were gluten intolerant who moved to areas in Europe where glysophate isn't sprayed found they didn't react the same way, and concluded they weren't gluten intolerant, they were GMO and glysophate intolerant.
    See:
    https://www.getholistichealth.com/78...nt-glyphosate/
    "Genetically Modified Foods are extremely detrimental as they wreak havoc on our health. According to a report released by the Institute for Responsible Technology (IRT), they are linked to gluten-related disorders.

    Numerous experts agree that the recent increase in gluten-related disorders cannot be explained by genetics alone, so they believe that some environmental trigger is a powerful contributing factor.

    This can be of high importance as gluten sensitivity affects over 18 million Americans. Authors link GMO foods to five conditions that can trigger or worsen gluten-related disorders, based on U.S. Dept. of Agriculture data, Environmental Protection Act records, medical journal reviews, and international research:

    Immune activation and allergic response
    Impaired digestion
    Intestinal permeability
    Imbalanced gut bacteria
    Damage to the intestinal wall
    There are 9 GMO food crops currently being grown for commercial use: soy, corn, cotton (oil), alfalfa, canola (oil), sugar from sugar beets, zucchini, yellow squash, and Hawaiian papaya.

    Most of them are made to tolerate a weed killer called glyphosate (Roundup®), and high levels of this toxin remain in them when harvested. Corn and cotton varieties are also engineered to produce an insecticide called Bt-toxin.

    According to the Executive Director of the Institute for Responsible Technology, Jeffrey Smith, the Bt-toxin is created to puncture holes in insect cells, but it does the same in human cells as well, so it can lead to leaky gut, which is common in gluten-sensitive patients.

    Also, Stephanie Seneff, Senior Research Scientist at MIT, says that glyphosate is a patented antibiotic that kills beneficial bacteria in the gut, and an imbalance of gut flora is common in Celiac Disease and other gluten-related disorders.

    Moreover, researchers have found that Bt toxins found in Monsanto crops can damage blood cells, and potentially cause leukemia.

    Another study showed that GMO animal feed leads to severe stomach inflammation and enlarged uteri in pigs, and numerous others have linked GMOs to cancer, and various other diseases.

    Therefore, scientists urge the ban on GMOs. Also, a growing number of people in North America continue to protest against GMO usage as well, and public figures are also continuing to speak up.

    The former Canadian Government Scientist at Agriculture Canada, Dr. Thierry Vrain is one of them, as the spoke out against GMOs.

    Geneticist David Suzuki is another prominent public figure who has been a long time advocate against GMOs and has been speaking out about the extent to which GMOs can be hazardous to human health as well as the environment. He even declared that the use of these foods makes human beings participants in a massive experiment.

    Dr. Tom O’Bryan, an internationally recognized expert on gluten sensitivity and Celiac Disease, says that GMOs are a potential explanation of the rapid rise in gluten-related disorders over the last few decades.

    Additionally, internist Emily Linder, MD, explains that she agrees that GMOs contribute to the increase of gluten sensitivity in the US population, as when she removes genetically modified foods as part of their treatment, patients recover faster and completely.

    So far, activism is paying off as numerous places around the globe have banned GMO foods, so we can hopefully push forward with this matter. Yet, we are never safe until GMOs no longer exist, so we should all go on fighting.

    Sources:
    theheartysoul.com
    eatlocalgrown.com

    Healthy Food House "
    Each breath a gift...
    _____________

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    Default Re: 'Gluten brain': wheat cuts off blood flow to frontal cortex

    Quote But is it the grain or the glysophate that it's sprayed with and soaked in?
    They often don't specify that in these kinds of studies.
    US citizens who thought they were gluten intolerant who moved to areas in Europe where glysophate isn't sprayed found they didn't react the same way, and concluded they weren't gluten intolerant, they were GMO and glysophate intolerant.
    Both appear to play a role in health conditions, and, no they don't always include that information. Wish they would!

    If, in 1954, wheat gluten was seen as such a health concern as to conduct studies on it's effect on schizophrenia, it would seem that gluten, even then, was recognized as having a specific negative effect on brain health. This was before Roundup and the current US hybridized wheat strain that has caused so many problems on it's own.

    Since I don't live in an area of the planet with safer products I buy Einkorn flour from Italy and make my own bread from time to time. I've never had problems that I can discern. The bread available locally is not, in my estimation, safe to consume, even organic bread due to the strain of wheat that is grown in the US.

    I overheard a conversation a few months ago between two friends about an upcoming trip to Italy. The traveler, on a non-gluten diet, had spoken to her doctor about it and he told her that she could safely eat bread and pasta in Italy.

    Whatever works...
    A million galaxies are a little foam on that shoreless sea. ~ Rumi

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