Is Depression Really a Chemical Imbalance or Does Gluten Play a Role?

Patients with depression are told they have a chemical imbalance.  If someone else in their family is also

depressed, the “gene card” is played.  “Your depression is genetic”, they are told.

I have been in practice for over 20 years and I find the above data to be false.  Consistently we find patients who are suffering from depression and anxiety to be gluten (and dairy) sensitive.

How could a food cause depression?  Let’s take a look:

After the digestive tract, the most common system to be affected by gluten is the nervous system. It is thought that depression can be caused by gluten in one of two ways. 

First, gluten causes inflammatory changes. The immune system in an individual with glutensensitivity or celiac disease responds in a negative, inflammatory fashion to the protein gliadin.  Unfortunately, that protein is similar in structure to other proteins present in the body, including those of the brain and nerve cells. A cross reactivity can occur whereby the immune system “confuses” proteins in the body for the protein gliadin.  This is called cellular mimicry and the result of this confusion is the body literally attacking it’s own tissues. When inflammation occurs in the brain and nervous system, a variety of symptoms can ensue, including depression.

Research shows us that patients with symptoms involving the nervous system suffer from digestive problems only 13% of the time.  This is significant because mainstream medicine equates gluten sensitivity almost exclusively with digestive complaints, a mistake that causes millions to suffer needlessly.

In a study examining blood flow to the brain, 15 patients with untreated celiac disease were compared to 15 patients treated with a gluten-free diet for a year.  The findings were amazing. In the untreated group, 73% had abnormalities in brain circulation while only 7% in the treated group showed any abnormalities. The patients with the brain circulation problems were frequently suffering from symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

In addition to circulation problems creating symptoms of depression, other research has looked at the association between gluten sensitivity and its interference with protein absorption.  Specifically, the amino acid tryptophan can be deficient. Tryptophan is a protein in the brain responsible for a feeling of well-being and relaxation. A deficiency can be correlated to feelings of depression and anxiety.

Is it worth it to discover if your depression is being causes by something in your diet? Absolutely, in my opinion.

Our society is too willing to accept a “chemical imbalance” as an explanation for their symptoms and instead of getting to the root cause of the condition, simply opt to swallow a pill – a pill that in the case of anti-depressants has very dangerous and sometimes lethal side effects.

The frequency with which we are able to successfully taper patients off their anti-depressants is considered “unbelievable” to many mainstream doctors, yet we do it regularly.  How is that possible?  We actually diagnose the root cause of the depression.  Frequently the culprit is gluten.

I hope you found this informative. If you or someone you know is suffering from depression, consider calling us for a free healthanalysis – 408-733-0400. We are a destination clinic and we treat patients from across the country and internationally. You don’t need to live local to us to receive assistance. We are here to help!

Need Help? We're Here for You! 

If you felt as if I was describing you above, you are not alone. As I mentioned earlier, adrenal fatigue/exhaustion is almost epidemic. If you would like assistance and don’t have a clinician whom you feel can assist you, consider contacting us for a FREE Health Analysis. We are a Destination Clinic and treat patients from across the country and internationally. We would be delighted to help you as we have been doing so for over two decades.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Making “Light” of Gluten Sensitivity Will Harm More than Help

A patient sent me a response from an “As the Doctor” column hosted by Drs. Oz and Roizen entitled “Don’t buy into gluten phobia by cutting grains”. This response was to a reader’s question who asked: “My family consumes a lot of 100 percent whole-grain wheat products, but I've heard so much about gluten problems that I'm worried we're harming our health. Should we cut back? — Anonymous”

Part of their response was as follows: “Because gluten gets more bad press than Lindsay Lohan, gluten-free foods have become a fad. We're going against the grain and suggesting you keep doing exactly what you're doing.”

My patient was irate and I don’t blame her.  She stated that: “Oz and Roizen are showing their ignorance when they did not even ask the gluten concerned person to look at a family history for autoimmune diseases before dismissing the issue.  Personally, I think these men are doing a lot of damage and are missing the mark.” 

She went on to state: “…the general public does not understand gluten sensitivity and the dangers involved.  After reading this little sound bite over their morning coffee and a bagel, people will be less likely to be checked for gluten sensitivity.  The financially strapped person will be more likely to disregard the issue since it is easy and cheap to fill up a hungry family's belly with bread than nutritious fruits and vegetables.”

In the authors’ defense they made a brief attempt to define celiac disease and how it affects the small intestine and they did include that “Some experts feel that gluten sensitivity affects far more people than the 1 percent of Americans who know they have celiac disease“. But when listing symptoms associated with a gluten intolerance that their reader should be on the lookout for, all they could come up with was the following: “itchy, blistery rash, having really awful smelling poop or even vague symptoms, like feeling unusually irritable”.

Hmmm. What about: 

• Depression, anxiety
• Infertility/miscarriages
• Neurological disorders
• Headaches / Migraines
• Memory Loss
• Unexplained chronic fatigue
• Increased liver enzymes
• Iron-deficiency anemia
• Osteoporosis
• Autoimmune disease
• Craving for  gluten
• Obesity
• Diarrhea and/or constipation
• Gas, bloating, abdominal pain
• IBS, colitis
• Frequent canker sores
• Dental problems
• Psoriasis, eczema or unexplained rash

I know it’s a long list but that’s the point isn’t it?  My patient was exactly right, Dr Oz and Roizen’s dismissal of gluten-free as a “fad” and “phobia” will certainly prevent many people who had been considering looking into it from doing so.  And what a terrible shame that is.

Well, I’m not on Oprah but I am committed to getting the word out.  Let’s overcome any negative influence this article may have had by investing some time and effort into enlightening friends, family and co-workers of the TRUTH about gluten. 

Please let me know what I can do to assist.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Depression & Gluten, A reader's success story

I received this uplifting email from a reader today. I thought it might brighten your day and encourage you to share the data with anyone you know suffering from nervous system problems such as depression, anxiety, autism and the like.

The devastation such symptoms cause to not only the patient but their family is difficult to measure. Yet the dramatic results when the correct solution is implemented are a joy to behold!

Enjoy this success story:

Hi there,

I have been gluten-free for two weeks.

Within the first few days, I no longer suffered from depression, panic attacks, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder.

In the past my thoughts raced constantly and I found it impossible to withstand noise of any kind - even a radio.

Now my mind is clear, I can tolerate noise more easily, my spots are decreasing. (I cut out both sugar and milk from my diet last year, but the spots still stayed).
I had no abdominal pains or issues - only mental health issues.

To go from deeply unhappy to very well within a matter of days is truly remarkable.

My friend's son has autism and she has him on a gluten-free diet. Within two weeks, his headbanging stopped completely and his emotional outbursts decreased.

You probably hear anecdotal evidence on a regular basis, but I wanted to share with you, just how remarkable 'the freedom of being gluten-free' truly is.


I am excited about your blog - because it articulates the problem with gluten so well, which makes it easier for me to understand and to describe to others.
I would love to find ways of encouraging and promoting the awareness of the link between gluten and depression - if you have any ideas, please let me know.

In deepest appreciation for the work you do, with your words of confidence, passion and hope in your articles.
Thank you for your common sense!


Best wishes,
M.R.

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”

Is There Really an Asymptomatic Celiac?

Below is a follow-up response from the same reader with celiac disease who was concerned about his family. They didn’t want to find out if they were gluten sensitive or not, despite having a multitude of health issues.

I post it here because it brings up a very good point that I see mentioned in the literature, and that is a person called an “asymptomatic celiac”. I always wondered if they were truly asymptomatic or if they were labeled as such because they didn’t present with the “classic” celiac symptoms of weight loss, diarrhea and digestive complaints. Such a narrow grouping of symptoms is truly outdated by today’s standards but this gentleman was initially diagnosed over a decade ago when much less was known about celiac and gluten sensitivity.

Confirming my suspicions, he makes the following statements:

“Even though I was considered asymptomatic, my immune system wasn't strong, and I did have some unexplained stomach issues that now all seem so clear. My 2 most favorite benefits from being healthy is that I no longer get 3-4 ear infections each year, and I'm off my Nexium for GERD. However, I know that my intestinal maladies cost my insurance company money for tests, medications, etc. If we all took a look at preventing some of these diseases before they start, it would be a huge savings over a lifetime. In addition, babies would never know what they were missing if they never tasted a mint Milano or a warm croissant!

Thanks for having a blog that is informative and medically substantiated. I avoid all the "susiehasceliacs.com" type websites and blogs for fear of misinformation.”

His low immune system and reflux disease are obviously consistent with gluten sensitivity and are not at all outside the list we consider to be quite common today. Unfortunately too many people have the less commonly understood symptoms of depression, anxiety, weight gain and autoimmune disease. These symptoms do not readily make a clinician suspect gluten. Something I hope to correct by increasing awareness of all the scientific studies that do support the correlation.

He also makes a very good point as regards early diagnosis. In our book “The Gluten Effect” we discuss such conditions as fatigue, IBS, constipation, diarrhea, obesity, diabetes, migraines, ataxia, depression, anxiety, arthritis, ADD, MS, lupus, thyroid disease, liver malfunction and osteoporosis. We show the connection between each one and gluten as a causative agent.

While I think it’s much higher, imagine if just 10% of each one of those problems could be eliminated from our society by early diagnosis of gluten sensitivity. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Do you realize how much our health status would improve? Can you fathom how much money would be saved in health bills, not to mention improved quality of life?

It’s my dream. Help to make it a reality by sharing this data with those you care about. You will make a difference and believe me, as people feel better they share it with others, and they share with others, and so on and so on!

Visit us at www.RootCauseMedicalClinic.com. If you have questions or need any help, I’m here for you! Call 408-733-0400.

I look forward to hearing from you.

To your good health,

Dr Vikki Petersen, DC, CCN, CFMP


IFM Certified Practitioner

Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Co-author of “The Gluten Effect”

Author of the eBook: “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”