Gluten Sensitivity Symptoms Can Look Like Depression and ADHD: Understanding Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity

Dr. Tracey Marks, a psychiatrist, discusses how non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) can manifest with mental health symptoms such as depression and ADHD, alongside various physical complaints. She clarifies that this is distinct from celiac disease, which is an autoimmune reaction to gluten affecting the small intestines and nutrient absorption, impacting about 1 in 140 people in the US. NCGS, on the other hand, does not involve an autoimmune response but can still cause a range of symptoms including abdominal pain, joint pain, fatigue, headaches, skin rashes, and cognitive issues often described as "brain fog."

The podcast highlights the diagnostic challenges associated with NCGS, noting that there isn't a straightforward or consistently reliable test, and existing tests can yield false negatives or be expensive. A key clue for suspecting NCGS is the co-occurrence of depression-like symptoms with other physical ailments that don't respond to standard treatments. The recommended approach for diagnosis is a gluten elimination diet, where gluten is strictly removed for four to six weeks, followed by reintroduction to observe the body's reaction.

Dr. Marks provides crucial advice on implementing a gluten-free diet, cautioning against relying on processed gluten-free foods, which often contain unhealthy ingredients like hydrogenated oils and high-fructose corn syrup and are low in nutrients. She emphasizes that true gluten-free eating involves avoiding grains like wheat, barley, and rye, and focusing on naturally gluten-free alternatives such as quinoa, amaranth, millet, and oats (if processed in a gluten-free environment). She also stresses the importance of being vigilant about hidden sources of gluten in various food products.

Finally, the discussion underscores the need to weigh the risks and benefits of going gluten-free, as whole grains are a valuable source of B vitamins, folic acid, fiber, and other nutrients, and diets like the Mediterranean diet, which include whole grains, are linked to reduced risks of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. The episode implicitly connects mental health to dietary choices and highlights the complex interplay between physical and psychological well-being, advocating for a careful, informed approach to dietary changes for symptom management.

Gluten sensitivity can look like depression and ADD, that's what I'm going to talk about in this video.

Gluten is a protein that's naturally found in grains such as wheat barley and rye.

Celiac disease is a form of gluten intolerance where people who are affected have an autoimmune reaction to the gluten protein.

So with celiac disease antibodies form against the gluten and these antibodies attack similar proteins in the small intestines.

But then there's this whole group of people who don't have full-blown celiac disease but they do have a gluten sensitivity whereby they could have symptoms that may or may not affect their intestines but and they'll they may have abdominal pain, joint pain, fatigue, headaches and even skin rashes, And in addition to all of that they can also get symptoms that look like depression and thinking problems that people will describe as a brain fog.

Unfortunately we don't have a straight forward way to diagnose non-celiac gluten sensitivity.

But if you suspect that you have gluten sensitivity because you have some of the problems that I have mentioned and the standard treatments for these problems don't seem to take care of all of the different problems, you can try a gluten elimination diet where you remove gluten from your diet and see how you feel.

The real way to go gluten-free is to avoid the the foods that are made with these grains and because grain-based foods are so abundant, you've really got to do some work to figure out how to change your die.

Another reason you don't want to whimsically go gluten free is that the whole grains contain B vitamins, folic acid, fiber and other nutrients and some diets like the Mediterranean diet have shown to lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes and cancer.

In the studies talking about non-celiac gluten sensitivity, that was a timeframe that they used for the gluten free elimination diet.