Common Food Ingredient Linked to Mental Illness

A recent study in the journal Biological Psychiatry found that gluten sensitivity may be linked to schizophrenia and psychosis. Scientists at the Department of Pediatrics, John Hopkins School of Medicine studied 471 people including: 129 with recently-developed psychosis and 191 with mild schizophrenia, and 151 people with neither condition to act as controls for the experiment.

Gluten is a set of specific proteins found in some grains like wheat, oats, barley, spelt, kamut, rye, and others, as well as baked goods, cereals, seasonings, and other foods made from them.

The scientists measured levels of various types of antibodies to determine whether people with either schizophrenia or psychosis had any greater sensitivity to gluten than people without mental illness. Fewer than 1 percent of those with mental illness showed signs of celiac disease—a disease characterized by the inability to digest gluten and many resulting disabling symptoms. However, a significant number of people with schizophrenia and psychosis had high levels of antibodies to gluten.

The sufferers of mental illness showed many of the same features of celiac disease but a different immune response was involved. Those with mental illness also differed substantially in their reactions to gluten than did the control group without mental illness. This study suggests that an abnormal immune response to gluten may be involved with these two forms of mental illness. Of course, further research is needed but this study gives people an important dietary factor to consider when dealing with mental illness.

Michelle Schoffro Cook, MSc, PhD, RNCP, ROHP

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Edvanir L.

9:39PM PDT on Apr 27, 2013

Some of these articles should have a update.

April 27
send a green star

Connie O.

9:07PM PDT on Apr 26, 2013

I wonder if the research has progressed from the date of this article...interesting.

April 26
send a green star

Duane B.

4:55AM PST on Mar 5, 2013

Thank you for sharing.

March 5
send a green star

Elena T.

1:30AM PST on Feb 6, 2013

Thank you :)

February 6
send a green star

Pam W.

6:22AM PST on Feb 4, 2013

It would be nice to know where this research is currently since this article is going on 2 years old.

February 4
send a green star

janice l.

5:53AM PST on Feb 4, 2013

I knew you had to be crazy not to like wheat

Jim P.

1:58AM PST on Feb 4, 2013

This study/article reminds me of the Feingold Diet.

The Feingold Diet derives from the program suggested in the book “Why Your Child is Hyperactive“, first published in the 1970s by Dr. Benjamin Feingold, a pediatrician and allergist. He went on to develop and promote his dietary approach to helping children with learning and behavior problems, since categorized as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

The Feingold Diet is based on the premise that allergic reactions or sensitivities to certain types of foods cause or contribute to ADD/ADHD symptoms, such as problems with:

Behavior (marked hyperactivity, impulsive and compulsive actions, emotional concerns)
Learning (short attention span, neuro-muscular difficulties, cognitive and perceptual disturbances)
Health (physical complaints and/or sleep problems)

http://www.everydiet.org/diet/feingold-diet

http://www.feingold.org/theory.html
.

William B.

1:28AM PST on Feb 4, 2013

Interesting article.
I hope research is on going in to this complex issue.

tiffany t.

12:38AM PST on Feb 4, 2013

cont:are larger in individuals who have schizophrenia compared with those of healthy individuals.
Other techniques that scientists use to investigate function in the living brain include single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electroencephalography (EEG). Each technique has its own advantages, and each provides different information about brain structure and function. Scientists often use more than one technique when conducting their research. Of course we do not have all the answers, most people only use 8 to 10% of their brain at any given time, but mental illness is very real.

12:35AM PST on Feb 4, 2013

http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/nih5/mental/guide/info-mental-a.htm
"PET scans can answer a variety of questions about brain function, including where the neurons are most active. Scientists use different radiolabeled compounds to investigate different biological questions. For example, radiolabeled glucose can identify parts of the brain that become more active in response to a specific stimulus. Active neurons metabolize more glucose than inactive neurons. Active neurons emit more positrons, and this shows as red or yellow on PET scans compared with blue or purple in areas where the neurons are not highly active. (Different computer enhancement techniques may use a different color scheme, but the use of a spectrum with red indicating high activity and blue indicating low activity is common.) Scientists can use PET to measure changes in the activity of specific brain areas in a person who has a mental illness. Scientists can also investigate how the mentally ill brain changes after a person receives treatment.
PET imaging is not the only technique that researchers use to investigate how mental illness changes the brain. Different techniques provide different information to scientists. Another important technique is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Unlike PET, which reveals changes in activity level, MRI is used to look at structural changes in the brain. For example, MRI studies reveal that the ventricles, or spaces within the brain, are larger in individuals