Ugh, now I'm all paranoid about gluten

A change in lifestyle (better nutrition and exercise) can improve symptoms of mild or situational depression. However, to make a blanket statement that the elimination of gluten was the only factor in symptom improvement is not correct. (if it is a true diagnosis) In addition, severe mental illness (such as schizophrenia) cannot be "cured" with a simple elimination of grains from his or her diet.

Well, for me the removal of gluten was the *only* thing that changed before and after. I put up with my symptoms for more than 6 months and they vanished within 3 days of eliminating gluten. If I eat gluten now, they come back. In fact, if I eat gluten now I get an upset stomach and a rash within half an hour. That's not a coincidence.

The research begs to differ. Some schizophrenic patients have improved upon grain or gluten elimination from the diet. Some of the studies report *zero* occurences of a schizophrenic attack over the trial period, which is effectively a cure, only for the patient to suffer from the problem again once grains are re-introduced. Here's just a few for you to read:
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=156964
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/191/4225/401.short
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/18/1/7.long

The first article is from 1978.
The second article is from 1976.
The third article is from 1966.

If you are using the words "schizophrenic attack", you clearly have no knowledge of mental health or severe mental illness. I stand by my original statement.

I posted those because they're full links so you can read the entire article. There's plenty of newer ones but you have to pay to read them in their entirety. I bet you didn't even bother reading the ones I posted!

OMG I used the word 'attack.' A poor choice of my words doesn't diminish the research. That's like, 'Hey, you got your spelling and grammar wrong so you know nothing' sort of argument. So don't believe me, I'm not bothered. I'll stick to my lovely gluten-free diet!

Your father has celiacs, not gluten intolerance. So it's not a good comparison. I don't know of any link between depression and gluten intolerance, except that one HAS to feel better mentally when they aren't sick all the time.

All I know is that When I switched to atkins and cut out all gluten, sugar and all carbs that arent fruits and veggies, I started to feel better and I don't need as high of a dose for my depression meds. For someone like me who is chronically depressed, it has made a big difference. After two weeks I barely crave carbs. When I do crave carbs I eat some sort of nuts or seeds and feel better.

Edit: I have a gluten intolerance

10 signs you are gluten intolerant.

It is also estimated that as much as 15% of the US population is gluten intolerant. Could you be one of them?

If you have any of the following symptoms it could be a sign that you have gluten intolerance:

1. Digestive issues such as gas, bloating, diarrhea and even constipation. I see the constipation particularly in children after eating gluten.

2. Keratosis Pilaris, (also known as ‘chicken skin’ on the back of your arms). This tends be as a result of a fatty acid deficiency and vitamin A deficiency secondary to fat-malabsorption caused by gluten damaging the gut.

3. Fatigue, brain fog or feeling tired after eating a meal that contains gluten.

4. Diagnosis of an autoimmune disease such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Rheumatoid arthritis, Ulcerative colitis, Lupus, Psoriasis, Scleroderma or Multiple sclerosis.

5. Neurologic symptoms such as dizziness or feeling of being off balance.

6. Hormone imbalances such as PMS, PCOS or unexplained infertility.

7. Migraine headaches.

8. Diagnosis of chronic fatigue or fibromyalgia. These diagnoses simply indicate your conventional doctor cannot pin point the cause of your fatigue or pain.

9. Inflammation, swelling or pain in your joints such as fingers, knees or hips.

10. Mood issues such as anxiety, depression, mood swings and ADD.

Your father has celiacs, not gluten intolerance. So it's not a good comparison. I don't know of any link between depression and gluten intolerance, except that one HAS to feel better mentally when they aren't sick all the time.

Actually, that's one of the biggest misconceptions. It's a very fair comparison because gluten intolerance and clinically-diagnosed celiac disease have MANY of the same symptoms.

There is a lot of ongoing, medical research, but this interview with Dr. Alession Fasano (one of the most respected experts/researchers on gluten issues) is a good overview/starting point: http://www.livingwithout.com/issues/4_15/qa_augsep11-2554-1.html

I would point you to this part of the Q&A specifically...

Yet many of the symptoms of gluten sensitivity and celiac disease are the same?

That’s right. While there’s a clear distinction on the immunological side, there’s tremendous overlap on the clinical side. If you came to my clinic complaining of tingling in your fingers or depression or headaches from eating gluten, these symptoms (and many others) are associated with celiac disease. If your celiac tests are negative, these same symptoms could point to gluten sensitivity. There’s no question about that.

I would expect that they have similar symptoms. However, as the doctor said, there is a clear distinction between the two. One is an intolerance, and one is a disease state - completely different animals. At any rate, no link has been found between Celiac's and depression, except (as I suspected) that chronic illness makes people feel bad mentally as well as physically.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22128768

And honestly, I don't see why my dietary choices affect you so much that you feel the need to effectively say my issues are all psychosomatic.

We have one case of Alzheimer's in the family. Like you we have done lots of research. We keep coming back to Lifelong learning as the best prevention along with diet and exercise. The only person that got it retired young and settled into a rather stultifying weekly routine. Basically for the next 30 years she didn't do or learn anything new. At this point everyone in the family is still working well into their 70's and 80's. Classes and lecture trips are encouraged all around. Since turning 40 I have learned to play chess, clog dance, crochet baby layettes and sing. I think I might try to learn how to paint illuminated manuscripts next. If wheat bothers you just remove it from your diet. I love bananas but they don't love me. So I just don't eat them. Good luck.

By all means, eat whatever you think makes you feel better, but if a doctor found nothing wrong with you and you "just know" that you have issues with gluten anyway...that's the placebo effect.

It's NOT a placebo effect. If I eat gluten, I get an upset stomach and a rash within half an hour. The thing is, sometimes I accidentally ingest gluten and only realise I had it when these symptoms appear and I check the label. The more recent example? I had a hot chocolate, checked the label first and all was good so I drank it. About half an hour later, I'm going crazy scratching at my chest with a warning rumble in my intestines thinking, 'How is this happening? I checked the label!' so I check it again and realise that I missed *wheat flour* in the ingredients. That's not a placebo effect or psychosomatic.

Secondly, the doctor found nothing wrong with me because I'd already eliminated wheat and other gluten ingredients from my diet. The blood tests are known to be inaccurate under those conditions. For an accurate test, you're supposed to be consuming wheat regularly beforehand. Since the blood test was sprung on me, I wasn't able to do this. Perhaps you should read up on it. Even the blood tests show up false negatives. The *only* reliable test is an intestinal biopsy. Since my dietary changes have removed the symptoms, I don't need to put myself through an unnecessary procedure.

And honestly, I don't see why my dietary choices affect you so much that you feel the need to effectively say my issues are all psychosomatic.

At this point, it doesn't matter if it's true or not. It's in your brain. Gluten was no biggie a decade or so ago, but magically all these stories show up and now EVERYONE is gluten intolerant. It's the nocebo effect plain and simple.

There are people that have legit issues with gluten, unfortunately due to media hype and the whole gluten is bad for you subculture many people are just having effects due to the nocebo effect.

( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2hO4_UEe-4 )