According to a study, gluten could trigger brain inflammation.
- Gluten doesn’t just have a negative impact on the digestive tract.
- Researchers have discovered that it is a source of cerebral inflammation.
- The inflammation appears to be linked to an extreme reaction of the immune system, such as that seen in celiac disease and gluten hypersensitivity.
Thanks to researchers, we know a little more about the complexity of gluten sensitivity and the scope of its health implications. Indeed, according to work on mice carried out by a team of scientists from the University of Otago in New Zealand and published in Journal of Neuroendocrinologyit could cause brain inflammation.
Gluten would have the same effect as a high-fat diet on the brain
Gluten is a set of proteins present in certain cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelled, kamut or their hybridized strains) as well as in products made from these cereals and 70% of processed products. 1% of the French population suffer from gluten intolerance, also known as celiac disease, an autoimmune condition for which there is no cure other than complete avoidance of gluten and potential contaminants.
In their study, scientists found that animals consuming 4.5% gluten had inflammation in the hypothalamic region of the brain, an area that plays a critical role in metabolic functions such as regulating sugar levels. in the blood.
In addition, scientists have discovered a new phenomenon: “the brain has two types of immune cells similar to macrophages in the blood“says lead researcher Alex Tups, associate professor at the University of Otago.”These are astrocytes and microglia. We found that gluten and the high-fat diet increase the number of these immune cells. The effect of gluten added to a normal diet spiked cell counts to the same extent as if the mice were fed a high-fat diet. When gluten was added to the high-fat diet, the cell count increased further.”
Gluten could cause brain damage
Researchers don’t know why this inflammation occurs. However, it could be due to digestion-resistant components of gluten that cause an immune response – similar to that seen in patients with celiac disease – to manifest in the brain.
“If gluten leads to hypothalamic inflammation in humans and therefore brain damage, it can have long-term adverse effects, such as increased body weight and impaired blood sugar regulation.“, conclude the researchers.
If these effects become persistent, they could exacerbate the risk of, for example, memory impairment, which is linked to impaired blood sugar regulation.
