“Reverse neurological damage? It can’t be. Marketing people always come up with unfounded catchy titles.”

No marketing here. The marketing guys scold me for being 100% science and 0% marketing.

Stay with me; don’t glaze at the word “study.” This isn’t your typical“the latest study says…” One-time hit wonders don’t make their way into my column. I want consistent, unmistakable results, just like you.

In studies (1) (2) with schizophrenic patientslocked up in psyche wards… (stop squirmingand consider the fact that it’s the easiest place to truly control what the patient eats) …patients that were put on a dairy-free / gluten-free diet (DF/GF) either completely recovered and were released, or they showed significant improvement and went from being bound to an open ward.Allimproved.

Repeat: ALL improvedjust going DF/GF. Some completely recovered and were released.

Once dairy and gluten were re-introducedto their diet, the patients reverted back to their old state. Important to note: 1) Double blind studies, even from the physicians implementing. 2) They didn’t feed them bread; they put gluten in their drinks to avoid placebo effect.

You would think test results like these, done in separate studies with consistent results, would be big news. Of course not. Who would sponsor billions of dollars of ads to advertise the effects of going DF/GF? No company advertises “un-consuming.”

There have been hundreds of credible studies connecting neurological disorders to gluten since the 1960’s. This isn’t new information.

Autism, Dairy, and Gluten. It’s actuallyallneurological disorders that gluten has been shown to cause, from depression to schizophrenia. But in the next 2 studies, the focus was autism.

These studies (3) (4) again show improvement in the majority of patients. Up to 80% of Autistic patients improved going DF/GF for just 90 days. We see even better stats with ADHD kids and in shorter time.

If you have a patient suffering from dementiaand see an unbiased study (5) that shows 30 out of 39 schizophrenic patients improved DF/GF, would you think it was worth a try? Those same patients worsened again when grains were re-introduced… improved yet again when grains were taken away a second time. Exactly like the first studies cited (done by different scientists in different years and places …same results).

Caution: elimination and re-introduction is a game you don’t want to playtoo often because everything has its limits. When you play with an elastic band and pull too hard one time too many, it snaps permanently. Don’t let my simple elastic analogy fool you, we have the science (6) (7) showing permanent damagedoesoccur when a gluten sensitive person yo-yo’s on and off the gluten-free diet.

Bottom Line: eliminate gluten and dairy from your client’s life if they’re suffering from any kind of neurological disorder. Ideally we all eliminate them before damage occurs and symptoms appear. We don’t need to wait decades for depression to graduate to dementia.

We knowdairy and gluten cause damage (particularly gluten to brain, and it’s usually the only symptom (8), no gastro symptoms).

We knowneither is nutritionally needed.

We know life’s too short to make it even shorter because of bad food.And it’s definitely too short to live in a psyche ward for bad food. To kick start, see a knowledgeable person at your health or supplements store and get an all organic cleanse going.

 

REFERENCES:

(1)Dohan F. C., Grasberger J. C., Lowell F. M., Johnston H. T., Jr., Arbegast A. W. (1969). Relapsed schizophrenics: more rapid improvement on a milk- and cereal-free diet. Br. J. Psychiatry 115, 595–596. 10.1192/bjp.115.522.595

(2)Dohan F. C., Grasberger J. C. (1973). Relapsed schizophrenics: earlier discharge from the hospital after cereal-free, milk-free diet. Am. J. Psychiatry 130, 685–688. 10.1176/ajp.130.6.685

(3)Whiteley P., Shattock P., et al. . (2013). Gluten- and casein-free dietary intervention for autism spectrum conditions. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 6:344. 10.3389/fnhum.2012.00344

(4)Cade R., Privette M., et al. (2000). Autism and schizophrenia: intestinal disorders. Nutr. Neurosci. 3, 57–72. 10.3109/10284150009163451

(5)Singh M. M., Kay S. R. (1976). Wheat gluten as a pathogenic factor in schizophrenia. Science 191, 401–402. 10.1126/science.1246624

(6)Kalaydjian A. E., Eaton W., et al. (2006). The gluten connection: the association between schizophrenia and celiac disease. Acta Psychiatr. Scand. 113, 82–90. 10.1111/j.1600-0447.2005.00687.x

(7)Hadjivassiliou M., Sanders D. S., et al. (2010). Gluten sensitivity: from gut to brain. Lancet Neurol. 9, 318–330. 10.1016/S1474-4422(09)70290-X

(8)Neurology, Vol. 56/No. 3, February 13, 2001




 Jaqui Karr, CGP, CSN, CVD, is a best-selling author, speaker, and corporate consultantJaqui Karr who specializes in educating about gluten, celiac disease, specialty diets, and health through nutrition. Her popular “NakedFood” brand has helped thousands include more power raw and healing greens in their diet. Ms. Karr is a certified gluten practitioner, certified sports nutritionist, and certified vegan/vegetarian educator to dietitians. http://jaquikarr.com

Note: The statements presented in this column should not be considered medical advice or a way to diagnose or treat any disease or illness. Dietary supplements do not treat, cure or prevent any disease. Always feel the advice of a medical professional before altering your daily dietary regimen. The opinions presented here are those of the writer. 

Published in WholeFoods Magazine Online, 4/3/2017