A person does not have to have Celiac Disease to experience the negative effects of eating gluten. Non-Celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is when people experience an array of symptoms after eating gluten, but without the intestinal damage that is seen in those with Celiac. It is thought that 18 million Americans have gluten sensitivity, six times greater than the number of Americans with Celiac Disease.
How Does Eating Gluten Trigger Brain Changes?
The most common symptoms of gluten sensitivity are related to the digestive tract and include constipation, diarrhea, and bloating. However, gluten sensitivity can also affect the brain and mental health. The connection between the digestive tract and the nervous system is called the gut-brain axis. In essence, our diets affect our microbiome, whether positively or negatively. Eating gluten, for those who are sensitive, alters the ecosystem of our “gut bugs,” thus causing inflammation in the gut, affecting our enteric nervous system (the nervous system in our digestive tract). The gut-brain axis communicates changes from the enteric nervous system to our central nervous system (our brain and spinal cord). In this way, inflammation in our gut can cause inflammation in our brains. This is called neuroinflammation.
What Neuroinflammation Can do to Your Brain
Neuroinflammation plays a role in cognitive impairment and the development of ADHD, depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and even autism. It also increases our risk of developing neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.
How to Decrease Neuroinflammation and Manage Neurologic Symptoms
In order to reduce the effects of neuroinflammation, or if a person is experiencing any of these mental and cognitive disorders, it is important to restore the health of the gut-brain axis:
— Follow a strict gluten-free diet:
— Restore the microbiome (gut bacteria) by taking probiotics and prebiotics
— Reduce inflammation by eating anti-inflammatory foods (see a recent post about which foods are anti-inflammatory)