Gluten Intolerance and Seizures

There are many causes of seizures, some understood better than others. I want to discuss the known association between seizures and gluten intolerance. Below is an excerpt from our book, “The Gluten Effect”. 

It is quite amazing how many other parts of your health can be actively affected by gluten without the presence of any digestive symptoms. Of all the organ systems of your body, the nervous system is the one most commonly affected by gluten after the gastrointestinal system. And, because our nervous system handles so many important functions, symptoms related to the nervous system problems are quite varied.


What Symptoms Can Be Caused?
 
There is an abundance of evidence that inflammatory changes occur in the brain and nerves that cause a variety of symptoms. These can range from:

• clumsiness
• headaches
• numbness
• mood disorders
• memory problems 

Neurological Problems Can Precede Digestive Complaints by Months or Years

It has been reported that only 13% of patients with neurologic symptoms from gluten may have digestive symptoms. And often, neurological symptoms in gluten sensitive patients precede digestive symptoms by months to years when they do occur. For this reason, it is important to keep gluten in mind as a root cause when dealing with disorders of the nervous system.


Symptoms are the body's way of getting your attention and directing you toward the site of the problem. If standard tests and exams cannot reveal a cause, then dietary factors, toxins, lifestyle issues and other stresses deserve your attention.This is where gluten should be a strong consideration. Because gluten affects so many people silently, and because most of those symptoms are not related to the digestive tract, it needs to be an early consideration when addressing many health care problems. 


Gluten's Relationship to Seizures


An excellent study was done with 171 patients who suffered seizures and likewise had gluten intolerance and calcifications in the brain. Gluten antibodies were actually found in their spinal fluid (circulates around the brain and spinal cord), and, likewise, most had the gene for having gluten sensitivity. It was notable that some patients responded well to a gluten-free diet.


The Mechanism Explained

The root cause is most likely an immune system attack of the nervous system triggered by gluten in a sensitive individual. The immune system, in addition to attacking gluten, gets confused and attacks normal brain tissue that "looks similar" to gluten's protein structure. This is known as molecular mimicry.

In the brain, once the tissue is inflamed chronically, calcium can deposit and form a hardened scar. Due to the scar, seizures develop and can be difficult to control with normal seizure medications. Seizures are basically short circuits of the brain. Suppose there were an electrical pole knocked down onto the ground. The electrical wires tore and were lying unprotected, sending out sparks from their broken ends. The electrical connection had been severed. Calcium deposits and scars in the brain essentially do the same thing. They send off electrical "sparks" that can develop into seizures if enough brain tissue becomes involved. Medication may help the sparks from spreading, but with gluten-related seizures, medicines work less well. If gluten is truly the root cause, then eliminating it can allow the tissues to heal. 


Case Study: A Lovely Girl Leaves Her Seizures Behind

T.S. is a beautiful, vibrant, nine-year-old girl who had begun having seizures at the age of four. She had undergone standard medical testing without a cause of her seizures being found. We first saw her when she was four years old. Not only did we find that she was sensitive to gluten, but she also had many intestinal infections, a Candida yeast infection and an essential fatty acid imbalance. The infections were greater in number in her than in most adults we treat, and some were very resistant to treatment, requiring two rounds of antibiotics instead of the usual one. She was treated with fatty acids in addition to a gluten-free diet.

T.S. has had absolutely no seizures for over 5 years! She told her mother that she knows that the gluten created the seizures and she is more than happy to keep it out of her diet. It is noteworthy that her mother, also diagnosed by us as gluten sensitive, never ate much gluten until her twenties because as a child, she had sensed that it bothered her. But, recalling when she was in college and consumed a lot of gluten, she remembered suffering from "brain fog" during that time. 

It's Worth Giving Gluten-Free a Try

Evidence of these inflammatory changes can be seen in some gluten sensitive patients via MRI. This was supported in another study examining patients with gluten sensitivity and seizures, which demonstrated deep-tissue inflammation in at least 20% of the children studied who had seizures.

According to the Epilepsy Foundation: 

a) By 75 years of age, 10% of the population will have experienced some type of seizure. 
b) 3% can be expected to have been diagnosed with epilepsy.

So, having seizures is definitely not a rare occurrence in our society.It is therefore critical we recognize that a percentage of those suffering may be having seizures as a manifestation of gluten sensitivity. For these individuals, a gluten-free diet may be the only effective treatment.

If you or someone you know suffers with seizures, it would be well worth your while to consult a clinician who specializes in gluten intolerance. Imagine if such suffering could be allayed with a simple dietary change. We have certainly seen it here in our clinic.

Interested In A Gluten-Free Diet?

Contact us for a FREE CONSULTATION. Call (408) 733-0400 to schedule. 

If you are not local to us, our DESTINATION CLINIC treats patients from across the country and internationally. We will help you find the underlying root cause!

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

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!”

Wheat is a Threat to Your Health, Even if You’re Not a Celiac

Why Everyone May Want to Avoid Wheat

To say there’s been a lot of talk about wheat and gluten would be an understatement. It continues to be the largest growing facet of the food industry for the past several years. But with 1% of the population suffering from celiac disease and an unknown percentage (personally I think it’s about 30%) suffering from gluten sensitivity, the cynics contend that many people choose gluten-free items because they like being part of a fad or they’re simply enjoying a placebo effect’.

If you are one of us who DO spend a great deal of time, effort and money to avoid gluten, I think you’ll agree that it’s more about how you feel than any fad. But how do we explain the numbers of people who choose a gluten-free lifestyle despite a negative lab test?

Wheat contains "WGA" which has toxic effects on the body. Avoid it!

Dr. David Perlmutter wrote a brilliant article on the topic, citing the research of Sayer Ji, that I think will help to explain a lot.

Gluten is the protein that is mostly present in wheat, about 85% of all the protein present. However, there are, unbelievably, 23,000 different proteins present in modern wheat that can create inflammatory, negative reactions in the human body, according to Dr. Perlmutter. 

I will admit that this is a number far beyond any I have heard, but I do trust the source.

Wheat Germ Agglutinin (WGA)—Not Your Friend

One such protein is called wheat germ agglutinin, or WGA. WGA is a lectin. Lectins are interesting proteins in that they are produced by organisms to protect themselves from predators.

However, and we have discussed this many times before, WE—meaning humans—may also be a ‘predator’ when it comes to wheat. And as a predator the wheat we eat is attacking us. How?

The WGA protein has a liking for a protein in the human body called N-Acetylglucosamine and binds to it. Don’t worry about the long name. What’s important is where the protein is found: namely tendons, joint surfaces, cartilage, the lining of the entire digestive tract and the lining of the miles and miles of blood vessels within all of us.

When WGA ‘binds’ to this protein it can leave the cells of the particular structure, e.g. the cells lining the digestive tract, vulnerable. Whether it’s damaging the lining of the gut that could potentially result in leaky gut or damaging the lining of blood vessels putting them at risk to inflammation, it is thought that WGA has truly direct toxic effects on the heart, brain, immune and endocrine systems.

WGA Affects Everyone!

The real stunner in this research is that it INCLUDES everyone—not just those suffering from celiac disease or gluten sensitivity. The ability of WGA to damage human tissue requires no genetic susceptibility to gluten, but rather simply that you are human and you are consuming wheat! 

In my book, “The Gluten Effect”, I mention that historically, populations who consume wheat are at higher risk to certain degenerative and inflammatory disease. These diseases were not present prior to the introduction of wheat and are less present in those societies that do not consume it, even today.

Does this explain the vast numbers of people who can’t seem to tolerate wheat, despite negative lab tests? It certainly might. And it harkens us back to a truth that we’ve spoken of often: Man CANNOT digest wheat. 

It is an exceedingly complex molelcule with a high amino acid content of glutamine and proline, making it indigestible to man.

Between its indigestibility and its lectin content that destroys our tissues, perhaps wheat is best left in the fields for the animals that do have the ability to digest it—those with 4 stomachs!

And if wheat’s natural WGA content wasn’t bad enough, there is a move in the genetic modification community to increase the content of WGA in wheat—thanks, but no thanks, to that and GMOs in general.

There’s Already a Lab Test for WGA

I often mention that I use Cyrex Labs for my gluten testing. They have the most comprehensive testing in that they evaluate for many proteins present in glutinous grains. And I’m happy to let you know that WGA is one of those proteins tested. 

Here at Root Cause Medical Clinic, we have been evaluating our patients for a reaction to this protein for several years.

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!”

Can Gluten Sensitivity Cause Obesity?

Does Weight Correlate to Celiac or Gluten Sensitivity?

When celiac disease was originally described, one of its classic hallmarks was extreme underweight. Along with diarrhea, digestive pain and bloating, the severe weight loss was understood to ‘always’ be present. Fast forward over 100 years and things have changed. Not only are many celiacs overweight, but those with gluten sensitivity are increasingly falling into that category as well.

Sadly, too often doctors miss testing for these life-long conditions because of a patient’s weight status. Stuck in the outdated historical definition, these doctors have missed the current face of celiac and gluten sensitivity – a person can be any weight, and they often have weight to lose.

We often speak of the leaky gut, or increased intestinal permeability, found in the small intestine. This situation is seen most often in those with an intolerance to gluten who genetically upregulate a protein only made by humans, called zonulin. Zonulin was discovered by Dr Alessio Fasano and his team.

Why Humans Get Leaky Guts
 

The zonulin molecule dictates the opening and closing of the ‘gates’ of the small intestine. With a surface area of over 3,000 square feet, that involves a lot of gates!

While only humans make zonulin, not all humans produce it. Twenty percent do not at all, 50 percent make a single copy of the gene and 30 percent of the population has both copies of the gene. Those with both copies are in the unenviable position of being two times more likely to die from all causes, and the diseases they do get tend to be more severe.

When a lab test was done on rats highly predisposed to develop type 1 diabetes, two thirds of them never developed the disease when they were given a drug that inhibited zonulin. I know you’re going to ask, so here’s the answer: A drug does not yet exist for humans that performs this function. It is being worked on, along with a test for zonulin, by Dr Fasano.

The Leaky Gut Sets Us Up for Obesity

How does a leaky gut link to obesity? Read on...

A study published last Fall in Nutrition Research titled “Potential mechanisms for the emerging link between obesity and increased intestinal permeability” and lead by TF Teixeira, found a link that could well explain the obesity issue so commonly seen.

Those with an intolerance to gluten not only tend to have a leaky gut due to the above mentioned zonulin connection, but they also have weakened immune systems due to the constant assault of gluten. The weakened immune system, predominantly housed in the small intestine, is thus less able to defend the body against the normal barrage of bacteria, amoeba, parasites and the like. Why do I call the presence of these organisms ‘normal’? Because it is. Now, with that said, it is NOT normal for such organisms to gain a foothold in the intestine and procreate there, but their presence is a normal byproduct of eating food, putting one’s fingers in one’s mouth, etc. (These are microscopic organisms so don’t get too grossed out.) The point is, that a healthy immune system easily kills them; an unhealthy immune system is unable to do its job. The result is a gut full of endotoxins (toxins released from inside bacteria when they disintegrate) or other inhospitable organisms.

Good Bacteria vs. Bad - Who's Winning in YOUR Gut?
 

These bad organisms thereby fight against the good ones. The good bacteria in the gut (called the microbiome) literally have a population that exceeds the number of cells in the human body by 10 times. The genes associated with this population, exceeds that of the human body by 100 times. We are talking about a part of the human body, long underappreciated, that is being considered influential enough to be considered an ‘organ’ in its own right.

Emerging research reveals that when this organ is overwhelmed with toxins in the gut, its composition changes as far as the balance of certain organisms (probiotics), as does its ability to absorb nutrients and expend energy (burn calories). The result is not only weight gain but increased cholesterol, triglycerides, and insulin resistance – the latter leads towards diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

Intestinal permeability is also thought to be influenced by a high fat and high fructose diet, plus certain nutritional deficiencies such as zinc.

Another study from the Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition titled “Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, Obesity-Induced Inflammation and Liver Injury” found much the same data.

They found that eating a poor diet (high fat, high fructose) could affect the microbiome in as little as one to two days – the result being obesity, heart disease and obesity.

How We Create a Happy Gut
 

Let's look at how we can keep our microbiome happy:

            1. Discover if you have a gluten or dairy intolerance and avoid those foods.

2. Avoid excess, bad fats including fast food, trans fats, preprocessed, prepackaged foods, etc.

     3. Avoid ALL fructose. I’m not talking about the natural fructose in fruit, of course, but all added fructose, especially high fructose corn sweeteners.

4.   If you can, get your gut tested for the presence of any inhospitable organisms that have gotten a foothold in your system. This same test will evaluate the health of your microbiome.    
5.  Another test that’s good, as a verifier that you’re on the right track, is one for a leaky gut. We tend to recommend this one once you’ve been on a reparative program for a while, to confirm that we are accomplishing our goal.    
 6. Do ingest 9 servings of organic vegetables and fruits each day. These are naturally healing and prebiotic, meaning that they give strength and nourishment to your probiotic population.

       7. Ensure that you are not deficient in any major vitamins and minerals such as Bs, D, zinc, magnesium, calcium, etc.

8. While it seems like a ‘no brainer’ to take probiotics, here’s a couple of things to keep in mind.

a.     Use a human strain

b.     Get a combination of organisms such as acidophilus, bifidus, etc.

c.      Due to dairy products being such a commonly sensitive food, get probiotics that are free of all dairy.

d.     Sometimes if you have an infection in the gut, you may feel worse on probiotics. If this occurs, stop them, of course, but realize that you should look into step 4 above. I’m happy to help you!

9.  Don’t cheat. I’m sorry, but being ‘good’ Monday through Friday and going crazy on the weekends just isn’t going to cut it if you want to be healthy. And if your health is already compromised somewhat, cheating just isn’t worth the dangerous repercussions. 

That microbiome can change in a matter of a day or two when you’ve been eating a poor diet, remember that. It's apparently not very tolerant of poor choices, unfortunately!

Let Me Know How I Can Help You

 I hope you found this helpful. It is interesting how much we are discovering that the health of the gut dictates so much about our health or tendency towards disease. And it’s also quite revealing how much of a culprit gluten can be when trying to optimize the function of the small intestine and its immune system.

Please send me your questions or comments. I am here to help!

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!”

Reference:

Nutrition Research. 2012 Sep;32(9):637-47. Potential mechanisms for the emerging link between obesity and increased intestinal permeability.Teixeira TF, Collado MC, Ferreira CL, Bressan J, Peluzio Mdo C.

Journal of Parenteral and ENteral Nutrition 2011. Gut Microbiota, Intestinal Permeability, Obesity-Induced Inflammation and Liver Injury. Thomas H. Frazier, MD1; John K. DiBaise, MD, and Craig J. McClain, MD

Volume XX Number X

A Gluten Free Diet Helps Type 1 Diabetes

It has long been understood that two autoimmune diseases, celiac disease and type 1 diabetes are related. They share common genes and the incidence of celiac disease is higher among type 1 diabetics. There have been some anecdotal reports regarding children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes who were put on a gluten-free diet soon after their diagnosis and for a period of two years or more didn’t require any insulin. The thought was that the gluten-free diet effectively halted the progression of the diabetes, at least for the duration of the study.

Studies of mice have shown that despite utilizing a genetic strain of mice that was strongly in-bred to increase the risk of type 1 diabetes, 2/3 of the mice did not develop the disease when a drug was administered to prevent leaky gut. This study was performed by Dr Alessio Fasano and his team. Dr Fasano, Director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, is one of the world’s acclaimed researchers in the area of celiac disease and gluten sensitivity.

Leaky gut is associated with the initiation and continuation of autoimmune disease and Dr Fasano’s work with these genetically predisposed mice shed a great deal of light on the power of an undamaged gut lining to effectively forestall  development of a genetic condition, in this case type 1 diabetes.

A study out of Immunology, dated August 22, 2012,  is titled “Dietary gluten alters the balance of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines in T cells of BALB/c mice”. The title is a mouthful but here is what the researchers out of Denmark found:

Their initial premise was based on the idea, as I mentioned above, that dietary modifications, specifically a gluten-free diet, could reduce the  risk of developing type 1 diabetes. The question they posed was, “How did this occur?”

They discovered that wheat gluten induced the production of pro-inflammatory chemicals called cytokines that would damage the intestinal lining and immune tissues of the small intestine. More importantly, a gluten-free diet didn’t just neutralize the negative effects just mentioned, but it actually caused the production of anti-inflammatory chemicals that would provide protection for the immune system and gut. So, while gluten is a known bad guy, a gluten-free diet doesn’t just take the negative away, it actually induces a positive, healing response.

Clinically, we frequently see this with patients here at HealthNOW Medical. As soon as we meet a patient with any history of autoimmune disease, we quickly test them for celiac disease and gluten sensitivity via lab tests and a 30 day elimination diet. If we discover any negative immune reaction to gluten, we begin a strict gluten-free diet.

Happily, we often see stabilization, if not reversal, of their autoimmune disease. We support the gluten-free diet with our other protocols for normalizing gut permeability (healing a leaky gut) and strengthening the immune system. Taken together this program yields excellent results.

I hope you found this information helpful If you know anyone suffering from an autoimmune disease, please show them this post. Gluten could be a component in worsening their disease while a gluten-free diet could be a positive influence in their journey to improved health.

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!”