Being Gluten-Free Linked to Less ‘Brain Fog’ in Coeliac Study

In a paper published in Aliment Pharmacol in Jul 2014, the symptom of ‘Brain Fog’ in effect a loss of cognitive clarity was resolved after going gluten free.[1]

Irene T. Lichtwark, PhD student, School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and colleagues examined the connection among a gluten-free diet, celiac symptoms, and cognitive function among 11 newly diagnosed patients with celiac disease (8 women and 3 men) aged 22 to 39 years.

The researchers tested patients for information-processing efficacy, memory, visuospatial ability, motor function, and attention before starting them on a gluten-free diet. The researchers tested patients again 12 weeks into the diet, and again after 1 year of adherence to the diet. The researchers conducted blood testing, intestinal permeability tests, and small bowel biopsies via gastroscopy at baseline, week 12, and week 52.

“We would like to think that clinicians would use this to inform their patients of the cognitive risks of remaining untreated and of the benefits of adhering to a strict gluten-free diet for not only their physical [health,] but their mental health also.” Said corresponding author Gregory W. Yelland, PhD.

One of the worlds most famous researchers into the effects that gluten may have on human health Dr Fasano says:

“We have this kind of evidence in clinic all the time, even with people who have other forms of gluten reaction. This connection between the gut and the brain, and how gluten can have something to do with it, going from headaches to foggy mind, is something we see over and over again. [Patients] claim they can’t think straight any more or they can’t remember. There is a veil on their brain that lifts when they go gluten-free,”.

Comment

Nutritional Therapists and indeed anyone who has suspected a problem with managing gluten in their diet outside of the pathological diagnosis of Coeliac will be aware that many people once fully excluding gluten report improved mental clarity and function – suggesting that even those with non coeliac gluten sensitivity can benefit from a trial in terms of their cognitive performance.

Reference