Have any of you schizophrenics tried a dairy free and wheat gluten free diet and has it helped you?
There is supposed to be a link with wheat gluten, milk casein and schizophrenia
A very close friend is a schizophrenic, and during the 80s I came across some literature that said there was a link with gluten, so we tried him on a gluten free diet.
At that time, we weren’t aware of just how all-pervasive gluten was, and our stab at going gluten free basically just consisted of cutting out bread, pastry and so on. Even so, he found that the depression which is a big part of schizophrenia (linked to dopamine/serotonin levels) went away. The voices didn’t however, but this may well be because other foods which contained gluten were still in his diet without either of us realizing it.
The mechanism believed to be behind the mental problems which are often associated with gluten intolerance (eg. autism, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, amongst others) is the production in the intestine of opioid peptides, which leak into the bloodstream.
Opioid peptides are an intermediate stage in the digestion of gluten in everyone, but in those who are gluten intolerant, it seems that the second stage to render these harmless is missing or defective. The term opioid peptides contains a big clue as to the nature of these chemicals – they are very similar to opium. Imagine if every time you ate gluten, you ended up with the equivalent a hit of opium? It’s no wonder that these problems occur!
Please note: I am NOT advocating that anybody suffering from this terrible and debilitating illness should give up their medication in favor of a change in diet. My friend continued to take his medication during our experiment with a gluten free diet.
