Thinking Beyond Science

Gluten sensitivity—whether tied to celiac disease or not—sparks inflammatory cytokines, key culprits in neurodegenerative diseases. The brain, highly vulnerable to inflammation’s harm, suffers when gluten’s effects slip through a leaky gut, triggering immune chaos. Often called a silent poison, gluten damages without warning signs.

Common Symptoms and Hidden Attacks
People with gluten sensitivity often report gut issues like abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, constipation, and intestinal distress. Neurological red flags include headaches, brain fog, post-meal fatigue, dizziness, and imbalance. Yet many feel nothing obvious while silent inflammation ravages the nervous system, starting with unexplained headaches, chronic fatigue, or anxiety, and escalating to depression or dementia.

Leaky gut doesn’t always show as tummy trouble—it can fuel autoimmune disorders, skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, heart disease, and brain challenges.

How Gluten Breaks the Gut Barrier
Gluten comprises glutenins and gliadins, with gliadin’s 12 subunits especially problematic. Sensitivity to any can ignite inflammation. Harvard’s Dr. Alessio Fasano notes that gliadin boosts intestinal permeability in everyone, celiac or not. His 2015 paper revealed gliadin’s role in autoimmune issues and cancer: it prompts zonulin production, which erodes the gut lining. Leaked gut contents then flood the bloodstream, fanning flames of widespread inflammation.

Gluten’s Roadblock to Weight Loss
Inflammation from gluten stalls weight loss, as obesity and overweight stem from it in a vicious cycle. Inflammatory cytokines breed insulin resistance, hiking type 2 diabetes risk. Fat cells themselves inflame with excess fat, worsening resistance and gain. Brain-gut inflammation hits the hypothalamus, causing leptin resistance that disrupts appetite, glucose, and fat metabolism. Gut toxin lipopolysaccharide (LPS) leaks in, sparking liver insulin resistance and more weight gain.

Cholesterol: Brain Fuel, Not the Villain
Cholesterol powers neurons, builds cell membranes, fights oxidation, and forms vitamin D plus hormones like testosterone and estrogen. Low levels impair brain function, raising depression and dementia risks. When vilified, food giants pushed hydrogenated spreads, processed oils, and trans-fat-laden “cholesterol-free” products—sparking epidemics of diabetes and heart disease.

Sugar’s Sneaky Sabotage
Sugar hides in packaged foods under 60+ names like cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, or maltodextrin. Americans down 22 teaspoons daily, over 130 pounds yearly—a fivefold fructose surge in a century. Fructose builds fatty liver disease, inflammation, scarring, insulin resistance, high blood fats, and hypertension. Seven times more glycation-prone than glucose, it stresses cells oxidatively. Skipping insulin and leptin signals, it balloons obesity, hitting cellular membranes, arteries, hormones, immunity, gut, and brain.

Artificial Sweeteners’ Gut Betrayal
Zero-calorie because undigested, artificial sweeteners traverse the gut—far from harmless. A 2014 Nature paper showed they disrupt gut bacteria, fostering insulin resistance, diabetes, and obesity, undermining their “solution” promise.

GMOs and Animal Fats: Unproven Fears
Research probes GMOs—genetically engineered plants or animals blending unnatural DNA from bacteria, viruses, or more—to resist pests or boost traits. Science finds no link between dietary animal fats, cholesterol, and blood cholesterol or heart disease risk. Egg eaters match non-eaters in cholesterol levels; your liver makes 80%+ of blood cholesterol, and eating it curbs your body’s output.

Gluten and its inflammatory allies remind us: real food over processed traps. Listen to your body—silent damage adds up.

Source : The Grain Brain Whole Life Plan: Boost Brain Performance, Lose Weight, and Achieve Optimal Health by David Perlmutter, Kristin Loberg

Goodreads : https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29214704-the-grain-brain-whole-life-plan

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