Gluten Is Damaging Our Brains

Media Release for immediate use, June 2008

Gluten Is Damaging Our Brains

Gluten is damaging our brains! Paediatrician, gastroenterologist, allergist and author, Doctor Rodney Ford has found a link between gluten and brain damage.

Dr Ford has been researching the effect of gluten for 25 years. In his clinical experience; mood and behavior problems are amongst the most common symptoms of gluten sensitivity in children and adults.

Each and every organ in your body is in some way under the influence of your brain. Gluten reactions can directly interfere with brain function and control by way of nerve damage and inflammation. This leads to the neurological symptoms that are so commonly seen with gluten sensitivity.

Dr Ford has completed a study looking at the results of nearly 1000 children tested for gluten. He has found that many children who had been labeled as “naughty” and “hyper active” had significant behavioral improvements when they went onto a gluten-free diet. Dr Ford believes that a great many children with behavioural disturbances would benefit from a gluten-free diet. Such children should first be tested with the gluten blood tests.

In his clinical research he has linked gluten consumption to depression, anxiety, tiredness, lack of concentration, learning problems, and behavioral issues in children, such as hyperactivity and defiance. The good news is that when these patients go on to a strict gluten-free diet they usually get very much better. However, the older the person is the longer it takes for the diet to show benefit.

Other studies have shown that gluten can cause migraine, muscle weakness, convulsions, depression, and mood and behavior changes. Research groups have tested for gluten reactivity in a wide range of patients with neurological disorders. They have been surprised at how commonly gluten can cause this brain damage.

Depression and mood disorders are endemic in our society. A third of the population has troublesome mood swings, depression, anxiety, and emotional distress. Doctors are exhorted by pharmaceutical companies to use antidepressants and other mood changing drugs. This sits comfortably with most medical practitioners who have very little nutrition or allergy training. However, there is now new evidence that many of these illnesses are caused by gluten. A simple dietary change could make all the difference. Doctor Ford would like to see all patients with a mood disorder tested for gluten sensitivity. He says “Try diet instead of a drug.”

Doctor Ford, who has published many papers and books on gluten is a key note speaker at the Gluten Free Food and Allergy Show in Auckland on July 5th and 6th. He is also an exhibitor and will be available to speak to the public at his booth.
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