Benefits of a Gluten-Free Diet Myathenia Gravis.

Myasthenia Gravis, Autoimmune Disease and Gluten

A Community Consciousness and Brain Health Essay.

Many people may benefit notably from a gluten-free diet, including those with M.S., brain fog, seizures, arthritis, osteoporosis, autism, diabetes, ataxia and more.

A gluten-free diet is a way of life for the person with celiac disease, a digestive disorders due to severe gluten sensitivity. No one needs to tell them to stay completely off of gluten, the protein component in many grains. But what about people with joint pain, brain fog, loss of balance or other neurologic and auto-immune disorders? All of these things have also been linked with gluten consumption.

One out of every 133 healthy adults in the United States (Univ of Chicago Celiac Disease Program, 2006), has celiac disease and the accompanying digestive problems if they eat anything with gluten. Gluten is the protein component of several grains. A variety of factors, including genetic inheritance, infections, liver function and even a summer birthday can influence gluten sensitivity.

According to the recent medical literature, people with the following conditions may benefit notably from a gluten-free diet:

- Rheumatoid arthritis

- Multiple sclerosis

- Parkinson’s disease

- Neuromyelitis (inflammation of the nervous system)

- Peripheral neuropathies

- Seizures

- Autism

- Ataxia (loss of balance)

- Late-onset Friedreich ataxia

- Down’s syndrome

- Cognitive problems (brain fog)

- Osteoporosis

- Type 2 and Type 1 diabetes

- Anemia

According to a magazine for people with celiac disease, Living Without, (Woodward, 2007), the following conditions are commonly associated with gluten consumption: iron-deficiency anemia, diarrhea, failure to thrive, abdominal distention. Less common features include: short stature, delayed puberty, gastrointestinal features, recurrent abdominal pain, osteoporosis, vitamin K deficiency, athropathy (joint dysfunction), polyneuropathy, ataxia, epilepsy (with or without cerebral calcification), infertility, recurrent abortions, anxiety and depression, alopecia (hair loss). Conditions associated with gluten allergies include: dermatitis herpetiformis, IgA deficiency, Type I diabetes, autoimmune thyroid disease, Sjogren’s syndrome, microscopic colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, Down’s syndrome, IgA nephropathy,

Living Without lists the following as conditions possibly associated with gluten: congenital heart disease, recurrent pericarditis, sarcoidosis, cystic fibrosis, fibrosing alveolitis, lung cavities, pulmonary hemosiderosis, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmune hepatitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, Addison’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, polymyositis, Myasthenia gravis, schizophrenia.