Can Gluten and Dairy Cause Neurologic Symptoms?
A new study examines the role, in a population of 400 screened donors, of wheat and milk proteins in triggering of a brain-based immune response.
- Vojdani et al published their results in Nutrients, describing a significant clustering of immune reactions in these healthy subjects to both wheat and dairy as well as to brain target tissues.
- Both celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity can result in autoimmune conditions including diabetes, arthritis, thyroiditis, and neurological conditions such as multiple sclerosis and gluten ataxia. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying the neurologic manifestations of potentially undiagnosed sensitivity.
- Approximately half of those who reacted to wheat also reacted to brain-based peptides, and the same was found in the subgroup reacting to dairy. This process of cross-reactivity is termed molecular mimicry and refers to the immune system's response to a perceived foreign protein or to the inflammation it causes locally (for example, lectin-induced tissue destruction).
- I've previously discussed the literature supporting gluten-brain clinical significance and highly recommend that anyone suffering from psychiatric or neurologic symptoms consider a month-long (at least) elimination of these two categories of foods, gluten and dairy.
Read the Nutrients study yourself: The Prevalence of Antibodies against Wheat and Milk Proteins in Blood Donors and Their Contribution to Neuroimmune Reactivities.
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