Feeling the brain fog? Want better mental clarity during the day? According to a new study, going gluten-free could be the answer. The ‘Going Gluten free’ study by Aberdeen University’s Rowett Institute of Natural Health discovered that it can lessen bloating, flatulence and fatigue. All of this is because it leads to a healthier nutritional intake.
The gluten free study is the largest in the UK and found that diet can make you considerably healthier. Removing gluten from your diet has been found to lead to eating more fibre and a reduced level of salt consumption and this can therefore reduce blood glucose and cholesterol levels.
The ‘Going Gluten Free’ study was made up of 95 adults – 64 women and 31 men who were asked to adopt a gluten-free diet for 3 weeks before they returned to their ‘normal’ diet for the same amount of time.
Study participants with an average age of 38 and a BMI of 24.8 soon found that their general level of fatigue and stomach cramps were greatly reduced. There was also considerable evidence to suggest that the gluten intolerance isn’t just in people with coeliac disease but in other people too.
Coeliac disease means that sufferers have an adverse reaction to gluten and this can cause intestinal damage. Gluten in any form can trigger a whole host of symptoms in people with coeliac disease and this includes abdominal pain, diarrhea and nausea.
This is further supported by an American neurologist, David Perlmutter who advocates that eating carbohydrates can ‘rot your brain’. Perlmutter argues that even the ‘good’ carbohydrates can be bad for you and contribute to diseases like Alzheimer’s. Foods containing grains such as breads, pasta and cereals are adding to these brain diseases.
Research has also indicated that a high-carb diet could increase the risk of dementia. This is supported by a study in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease that found that elderly people eating a high-carb diet are three times more likely to have mild cognitive impairment that’s linked with a high risk of dementia.
Avoiding grains is therefore vital to maintain good brain health in the long term, due to the devastating impact that too many carbs and grains can have on physical and mental health.
