A gluten-free diet can increase amino acids known to be precursors for mood regulating neurotransmitters for those with gluten issues
In 2005, Päivi A. Pynnönen and her colleagues assessed adolescents with celiac disease and behavioral problems. They found that adolescent celiac disease patients had significantly lower tryptophan concentrations in their blood. Three months after patients started a gluten-free diet, the researchers found a significant decrease in patients’ psychiatric symptoms compared to their baseline condition, coinciding with significantly decreased celiac disease activity and prolactin levels and with a significant increase in L-tyrosine, L-tryptophan, and other amino acids known to be precursors of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine. The authors concluded that it was possible that behavioral problems, may in part be due to certain important precursor amino acids not being available until people stopped eating gluten.
References
- Naidoo, Uma. (2020). This is Your Brain on Food Chapter 5. ADHD Gluten, Milk Caseins, and Polyphenols (p. 139). New York, NY: Little Brown Spark.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Biology / Neuroscience / Nutrition Status:☀️