Who is on a gluten free diet because it seems to help????

[[Buddie]]

Just wondering how many of us have found through trial and error that we feel worse when eating wheat/gluten products and better when we abstain??

I have personally been avoiding gluten for well over a year, and have tried to re-introduce it numerous times.  There are times when it doesn't seem to cause an adverse reaction perhaps because I've only had a small cracker or a slice of pie.  But other times when I go all in (Holiday dinners, etc) I feel like crap for about a week.  Then I avoid it again and I feel better.  My only abdominal complaint is bloating (very apparent) but I also feel fatigue and increased anxiety and pain.  I never had an issue (that I knew of) before withdrawing from benzos.

I've thoroughly researched this on the internet, and it seems to be characterized as non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) and there are theories as to whether it is truly the gluten or other hard to digest components in wheat such as ATIs (Amylase-Trypsin Inhibitors) which have been bred into modern wheat to resist pests.  Another theory out there is that it isn't the wheat that is the issue, but our microbiomes have changed which give rise to symptoms because gluten is a hard-to-digest protein for everyone.  But only some ppl elicit symptoms.  Estimated between 6-13 % of the population report being sensitive.  Prevalence of Celiac Disease is 1%.

So I am just wondering if this is something that is directly related to going through withdrawal and recovery from benzos, or is it aging, or both?  Alot of ppl say that when they've fully recovered they can eat anything again.  What is the experience out there???  Has anyone who was gluten sensitive during withdrawal found they were OK when healed??

[[Buddie]]

I don't know but I feel similar after eating bread. Well most things but defiantly bread.

[[Buddie]]

Gluten free can help bc gluten can exacerbate the already excess glutamate in out systems especially in the early days of WD. I was later able to reintroduce many gluten foods again. But remember glutamate (msg...) is in many foods so avoiding processed foods can be helpful too. So maybe the thanksgiving food had some of that in it (gravies,pre made pies, stuffing) unless the stuff is made fresh from scratch.

With my recent setback I am incorporating gluten free again bc I literally can feel the difference.

Interestingly I read recently from a nutritionist who can reduce seizures in those prone to them by keeping them on a low glutamate diet. What we eat really does matter:)

[[Buddie]]

Hey Trina - I hope you are feeling better after your setback!   I definitely feel the difference with going gluten free, but I'm not sure this has anything to do with glutamate.  I think the two are different beasts.  I understand the glutamate issue is stimulatory to our GABA-glutamate balance which is understandable as our GABA receptors have been down-regulated.  But gluten is a nearly undigestible protein complex which most humans have an issue with.  My belief is that it disrupts the delicate intestinal lining and microbiome, causing permeability of the gut and a potential immunological response/inflammation. 

[[Buddie]]

ok so here's the deal..if one is sensitive to gluten, it increases inflammation which in turn can increase glutamate in the body...thats the correlation.

Hope that helps. but technically you were right that they are not the same thing - its just one aggravates the other possibly.

[[Buddie]]

ok so here's the deal..if one is sensitive to gluten, it increases inflammation which in turn can increase glutamate in the body...thats the correlation.

Hope that helps. but technically you were right that they are not the same thing - its just one aggravates the other possibly.

That is indeed an interesting perspective on the possible intersection of the two!  If that is true, then maybe I can hope that in the future when I am more healed, the resulting inflammation from gluten consumption that may increase glutamate will no longer impact me!!  God, please make it so!!!!

[[Buddie]]

As of 3 wks ago, I could eat gluten again but I limited it. I could even eat many high glutamate foods too (not all). But I notice when in a bad wave or setback it helps to go back to restrictions.

Its been so good to eat a bagel again (but not in the pat 2.5 weeks)!

[[Buddie]]

As of 3 wks ago, I could eat gluten again but I limited it. I could even eat many high glutamate foods too (not all). But I notice when in a bad wave or setback it helps to go back to restrictions.

Its been so good to eat a bagel again (but not in the pat 2.5 weeks)!

That is so good to hear Trina!  Yes I notice there are times when I can indeed tolerate the gluten too - and it is variable.  So I have found the same thing.  It helps to know this likely won't be permanent.

[[Buddie]]

"A gluten diet exacerbated intestinal IgA1 secretion, inflammation, and villous atrophy, and increased serum IgA1 anti-gliadin antibodies, which correlated with proteinuria in mice and patients." (from one study on PubMed).

Functional doctors advise a gluten free diet as diseased preventative, because it seems gluten exacerbates inflammation in the body (and probably not only for gluten sensitive people). The users of benzodiazepines have already lowered immunity and it is better for us to avoid and prevent from any kind of additional inflammation.

[[Buddie]]

I stopped eating gluten 3 weeks ago and now it seems to be super difficult.
Any tips how to get over it?