Stefunny's Journal

another reason not to eat gluten

A branch of alternative medicine that deals with schizophrenia is known as orthomolecular psychiatry. Orthomolecular psychiatry considers the schizophrenias to be a group of disorders; management entails performing the appropriate diagnostic tests and then providing the appropriate therapy.[171] Vitamin B-3 (Niacin) has been proposed as an effective treatment in some cases.[172] The body's adverse reactions to gluten are implicated in some alternative theories; proponents of orthomolecular psychiatric thought claim that an adverse reaction to gluten is involved in the etiology of some cases. This theory—discussed by one author in three British journals in the 1970s[173]—is unproven. A 2006 literature review suggests that gluten may be a factor for patients with celiac disease and for a subset of patients afflicted with schizophrenia, but that further study is needed to conclusively confirm such a link.[174] In a 2004 Israeli study, anti-gluten antibodies were measured in 50 schizophrenic patients and a matched control group. All antibody tests in both groups were negative leading to the conclusion that "it is unlikely that there is an association between gluten sensitivity and schizophrenia."[175] Some researchers suggest that dietary and nutritional treatments may hold promise in the treatment of schizophrenia.[176]