MILAN, Italy – Researchers may have found a new cause of gluten sensitivity when they discovered that biologically active molecules released by digesting bread and pasta can survive digestion and potentially pass through the gut lining.
The research was published in the June edition of in Food Research International, Volume 72.
The in vitro research has shown the molecules can pass through the gut lining, suggesting that they could indeed have a biological effect. An estimated 1 percent of people suffer with celiac disease or wheat allergy, and non-celiac gluten sensitivity affects around six times more people than celiac disease, according to the National Foundation of Celiac Awareness, yet relatively little is known about the mechanisms that cause it. This study sought to explain why.
Wheat proteins and molecules produced during digestion are involved in causing gluten intolerance and sensitivity, which has led to bread and pasta becoming the focus of many popular diets. Scientists know molecules produced during gluten digestion include exorphins, which have also been found in the spinal fluid of people with schizophrenia and autism.
These molecules are thought to increase symptoms of these neurological diseases and are similar to opioid molecules, so it’s possible they could have a drug-like effect on the brain.
