Do GMO's Contribute to Depression or Mental Illness?
Also at the end of this article read --- Why we are Addicted to Foods that Contain Gluten
The following text is from my upcoming book Volume 2 - Reverse Aging Naturally. Alchemy and Ayurveda Longevity Anti-aging Secrets. ---- Due for publication in October 2020.
Is there a link between GMO's and Depression?
The first documented case of GMO's was in 1994, when Calgene marketed its unsuccessful Flavr Savr delayed-ripening tomato. Since that time, many modifications in the seeds of foods have focused on cash crops in high demand. These incluce soybeans, canola, corn and cotton.
A research study found that self-reported mental health disability showed a rise from 2.0% (of the nonelderly adult population) during the first three years of 1997 to 1999 to 2.7% during the last three years (from 2007 to 2009). This coresponds to an increase of approxiatly 2 million adults (National Trends in Mental Health Disability, 1997–2009
Ramin Mojtabai. Nov 2011).
Depression
Worldwide, cases of depression increased from 172 million in 1990 to an astounding 25,8 million in 2017 (an increase of 49.86%). Much of this increase was seen in North America (EAPC = 0.41, 95% CI = 0.31 to 0.51. However cases decreased significantly in South Asia. The highest number of decreases in depression during this period was witnessed in Cuba (Changes in the global burden of depression from 1990 to 2017: Findings from the Global Burden of Disease study. Qingqing Liu et al July 2020).
What is most interering is that Cuba abandoned their use of Genetically Modified Crops on June 17, 2015 (Cuba Drops Genetically Modified Crops June 17, 2015).
However, due to possible climate change and drought, Cuba started accepting GMO crops on July 23 2020.
Summary
If there is an increase in cases of depression in the coming years, could it be caused by GMO Crops? Further research will validate this hypothesis. If this is the case, society should not rely on mental health professionals alone to deal with depression if the catalyst for it is various types of GMO crops.
Further Reading
Bread and Tears—Naughtiness, Depression and Fits Due to Wheat Sensitivity Guy Daynes. July 1956.
Why we are Addicted to Foods that Contain Gluten
Haven't you noticed the sudden increase in opoid addiction in the United States came around the same time that Gluten Free Foods were introduced?
Wheat and dairy contain exorphins that create reward dependant behavior in the brain.
What are Exorphins?
Exorphins are exogenous opioid peptides. This makes them distiguishable from endorphins (or endogenous opioid peptides). Exorphins include opioid food peptides such as microbial opioid peptides and the Gluten exorphin. It also includes any other opioid peptide foreign to a host that exerts metabolic efficacy for that host.
Why Some Proteins in Food Create Addictive Exorphins
Haven't you ever noticed why power nutrition bars are so addictive? This is because they contain an abundance of Exorphins. In 1978 researchers fed rats radioactively labeled gluten proteins directly into their stomachs by tube. After digestion the proteins had transformed themselves into exorphins which were present in the rats' brains (Hemmings, 1978). Hence, the high "rush" of energy we get from eating some foods high in protein makes us so addictive because it stimulates the reward centers of our brain.
This gives rise to the connection between a malfunctioning opioid system in the body and eating disorders. Studies by (Yeomans and Gray, 2002) stated that anorexia may be due to a malfunctioning opioid system. Endorphins can be produced on demand, such as through exercise, social occasions and certain foods (and unfortunately illegal drugs). Also exorphins are generated at virtually every modern meal we eat.
The Addictive Opioids in Cow's Milk
Just 1 g of casein, which is approximately equal to almost two tablespoons of cow milk creates opioids in large enough amounts in the brain to create a natural high. Over time excess amounts have been shown to exert physiological effects (Meisel and FitzGerald, 2000). What is even more interesting is the enzyme in our bodies that is programmed to properly digest milk genetically deactivates itself shortly after weaning. Believe it or not, opioids in bovine milk have been proven to be TEN TIMES stronger than the opioids found in human milk (Herrera-Marschitz et al., 1989) and even more interesting is that opioids found in gluten are even stronger than those found in casein (Zioudrou et al., 1979).
Hence, one asks the question - Could bread, pasta or other high gluten foods be partly responsible for mental disorders, including schizophrenia?
Above average levels of wheat and/ or milk exorphins have been found in the urine (Hole et al., 1979) and blood (Drysdale et al., 1982) of patients suffering from schizophrenia, as well as in the urine (e.g., Sokolov et al., 2014; Cass et al., 2008) of autistic children.
Exorphins effects on Behavior
When exorphins were purified and then directly injected into the brains of rats, the rats ended up behaving in rather odd ways. They behaved extremely restless at first, then became inactive and extremely defensive. What is most interesting is the rats completely ignored a ringing bell. This apparent deafness suggests a similarity to children with autism who also exhibit similar behavior (Sun and Cade, 1999; Cade et al., 2000)
When children abstained from gluten and casein for several months it was shown to be of benefit to their health (Whiteley et al., 2013). One study involving 70 children who hadn't responded to any therapy, exhibited, after 3 months on the diet, an impressive 80% (Cade et al., 2000) enhancement in their health.
Naloxone, shown to temporarily erase psychotic hallucinations in schizophrenia patients (Emrich et al., 1977; Jørgensen and Cappelen, 1982), has been shown to be of benefit in some children diagnosed with autism (Roy et al., 2015). Naloxone works by blocking a brain opioid which is sometimes abnormally high in autistic children (Sahley and Panksepp, 1987).
Reducing Exorphin Intake Enhances Mental Stability
When excess exorphins were eliminated from the blood of schizophrenia patients over the period of a year, it led to remarkable improvements; with 40% of the participants exhibiting improvements or fully recovering from schizophrenia. Of the five patients undergoing combined dialysis and a diet free of gluten and casein, they became entirely normal or improved significantly (Cade et al., 2000).
Summary
Could there be a link between autism and schizophrenia? with person's suffering from autism to be more predisposed to schizophrenia?
Additional References
Roy A., Roy M., Deb S., Unwin G., Roy A. (2015). Are opioid antagonists effective in attenuating the core symptoms of autism spectrum conditions in children: a systematic review. J. Intellect. Disabil. Res. 59, 293–306. 10.1111/jir.12122
Sahley T. L., Panksepp J. (1987). Brain opioids and autism: an updated analysis of possible linkages. J. Autism. Dev. Disord. 17, 201–216. 10.1007/bf01495056
Reversing the Effects of Exorphins
Numerous studies on rats have found that the effects of exorphins can be reversed by giving the rats opioid antagonists (Lister et al., 2015), (Sun et al., 1999).
Schizophrenia and Gluten
Research studies discovered that patients who consumed a milk and grain free diet were either transferred or discharged from locked to open wards sooner than patients who consumed a grain-rich diet (Dohan et al., 1969; Dohan and Grasberger, 1973). Further research discovered that the effects were reversed when (both patients and the hospital staff did not know about the switch) the milk and grain free diet was switched with a diet high in gluten.
Further Reading
Bread and Other Edible Agents of Mental Disease. Paola Bressan and Peter Kramer. Mar 2016.
Nature does not use a universal language, although it is speaking to us all the time. The key is to identify what the language is, then you'll uncover its secrets.
