granulomatosis
This list shows that the misrecognition process that leads to autoimmunity can involve the joints (rheumatoid arthritis, lupus arthritis), pancreas (autoimmune pancreatitis), small intestine (Crohn’s disease), cerebellum (cerebellar ataxia), nerves of the legs and pelvis (peripheral neuropathy), thyroid (Graves’ disease and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis), skin (psoriasis, alopecia areata), liver (autoimmune hepatitis) and arteries (polyarteritis nodosa) – and it doesn’t end there. There’s no organ that has not been associated with autoimmune attack triggered by grains. This is not to say that every case of, say, autoimmune pancreatitis can be blamed on grains, as other factors may trigger a similar immune response gone awry in susceptible people. But these are all conditions triggered or unmasked by a component of diet, specifically a component of diet that we are urged to eat in greater quantities.
Corn and oats have been associated with a more limited panel of autoimmune conditions. Corn, for instance, has been associated with increased potential for type 1 diabetes.4 Rice causes a dangerous condition in infants called food protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome, a disordered immune condition that results in lethargy, diarrhoea, malnutrition and dehydration that disappears completely with rice avoidance.5
No other food or food group has such a list of diseases, autoimmune or otherwise, associated with its consumption – not sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, soft drinks or poisonous toadstools. Only grains, the largely indigestible seeds of grasses, are associated with such a frightening list of ways to misguide your immune system.
Type 1 Diabetes: A Disease of Grains?
It’s pretty easy to argue that plentiful consumption of the amylopectin A from grains is associated with increased blood sugars and thereby increased potential for type 2 diabetes. But how about type 1 diabetes, in which delicate insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas are destroyed for a lifetime? There are several lines of evidence that strongly link grain consumption and the changes that lead to type 1 diabetes in genetically susceptible children and adults. Some of the evidence originates with experimental animal models, some comes from observations in humans.
• In experimental mouse and rat models, 64 per cent of mice fed wheat-containing chow develop type 1 diabetes, compared with 15 per cent of mice fed wheat-free chow.6 Likewise, feeding corn to diabetes-prone mice increases the percentage that develops type 1 diabetes from 37 to 57 per cent.7
• Children with coeliac disease triggered by the gliadin proteins of wheat, rye and barley are 10 times more likely to develop type 1 diabetes than children without coeliac disease.8
• Children with type 1 diabetes are 10 to 20 times more likely to develop coeliac disease and/or antibodies to wheat components than children without diabetes.9
• Children with type 1 diabetes launch an abnormal (T-lymphocyte) immune response when exposed to gliadin.10
I’ve discussed how gliadin increases intestinal damage and permeability that can lead to increased autoimmunity, but don’t forget that grain lectins also damage intestinal tissue, as do partially digested gliadin-derived peptides. And don’t forget to throw in a little pancreatic beta cell glucotoxicity (irreversible damage to beta cells caused by the high blood sugars resulting from amylopectin A in grains). In other words, when grains are consumed, the stage is set for an onslaught of autoimmunity and pancreatic damage, which appear to be closely related to intestinal diseases of gliadin proteins, such as coeliac disease.
And the situation appears to be getting worse. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-sponsored SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth study has documented that the incidence of type 1 diabetes in children has been increasing 2.7 per cent per year since 1978.11 This observation has been demonstrated by registries in other countries, as well. What we lack is a clinical trial in infants, half of whom start eating grains early in life, half of whom avoid grains from birth; this would, once and for all, clinch the direct connection between grains and type 1 diabetes. You can imagine the difficulties in conducting such a trial, though, so don’t hold your breath waiting for such data.
In the meantime, we’ve got a smoking gun, fingerprints, motive and opportunity – enough to bring grain up on charges. Do we have enough to convict? I say hang the bastard.
Hypothyroidism: Autoimmunity at Work
You may have noticed that two thyroid conditions were on the list of autoimmune conditions associated with grain consumption. Of all the various forms of misdirected immunity ignited by grains, thyroid dysfunction is by far the most common.
Let’s start with describing what thyroid dysfunction looks like. The thyroid gland, positioned like a bow tie on the front of your neck, is the gland that regulates metabolic rate. When it’s overactive, or hyperthyroid, your metabolism is excessively high and you have high levels of the thyroid hormones T4 and T3, rapid heart rate, anxiety and weight loss. When it’s underactive, or hypothyroid, your metabolism is slowed, you have reduced levels of T4 and T3, and higher levels of the pituitary hormone thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), a response intended to prod the thyroid to work harder and release more T4 and T3. By far the most common situation is hypothyroidism. Hypothyroidism is therefore a state of slowed metabolism that causes symptoms such as low energy; feeling inappropriately cold, especially in the hands and feet (due to low body temperature); constipation; hair loss; and dry skin. Failure to lose weight after grain elimination is a common signal of hypothyroidism. While grain elimination is indeed a powerful strategy for weight loss, it alone cannot overcome the effects of hypothyroidism, which must be specifically addressed.
Autoimmune destruction of the thyroid gland is called Graves’ disease or Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. Gliadin antibodies can occur in 50 per cent or more of people with thyroid disease, making it the most common expression of grain-induced autoimmunity.12 Some people, especially those with Graves’ disease, initially experience a period of hyperthyroidism due to inflammation and destruction of thyroid tissue, which causes excessive quantities of thyroid hormone to be released. With or without this period of hyperthyroidism, though, hypothyroidism develops over time, reflecting injury to thyroid tissue and causing the symptoms of hypothyroidism as production of T4 and T3 hormones wanes. Hypothyroidism is underdiagnosed. In common practice, you often have to be miserable before your doctor makes the diagnosis of an underactive thyroid. Some doctors, for instance, will not consider testing or treatment even if you have depression, weight gain, high cholesterol values and increased cardiovascular risk attributable to this situation. I believe this is wrong and should not be tolerated. Because thyroid issues are so common, so neglected and so important to overall health and weight, they will be discussed at greater length in Chapter 11.
Cortisol: A Difference of Night and Day
Cortisol is the primary hormone produced by your adrenal glands, the two little glands that sit atop your kidneys. Cortisol plays a crucial physiologic role in many bodily processes, and it does so in a predictable pattern called a ‘circadian rhythm’, an adaptation to life on earth and its 24-hour cycle of day and night. Once again, grains enter the picture and disrupt this normal cycle of life.
Antibodies triggered by gliadin proteins can damage the adrenal glands, resulting in reduced production of adrenal hormones.13 Disruption of vasoactive intestinal peptide (or VIP; see here) by the lectins of wheat, rye, barley and rice is another means by which adrenal gland function can be impaired. Most commonly, cortisol disruption results in feelings of low energy in the morning, depression, inappropriate surges in nighttime energy, insomnia, cravings for salt, inability to lose weight, low blood pressure and light-headedness. One of the difficulties with
