EPILEPSY AND SEIZURES
by Lawrence Wilson, MD
©
April 2011, The Center For Development
Seizures are becoming more and more common today. The medical approach is to take sedative
drugs, often for life. I have
worked with many children and adults with seizures. Most often, the seizures can be stopped or reduced within
several weeks. Also, most people
are able to completely get rid of the seizures and stop the medication, which
can have serious side effects.
Therefore, seizures need not be such a fearful condition as they are
portrayed in medical articles and by most medical doctors.
Controlling and eliminating seizures means addressing many
biochemical imbalances in most of the cases today. One factor of cause is not enough to address. However, if a person will persist with
nutritional balancing program, the results are excellent in most cases.
An epileptic seizure is an electrical discharge within the
brain that spreads quickly out of control throughout the central nervous
system. There are two major types
called grand
mal seizures and petit mal seizures.
These differ mainly in the degree of the symptoms and probably in the
severity of the side effects on the body, both physically and emotionally.
SYMPTOMS OF SEIZURES
Seizures cause symptoms due to the electrical discharge in
the nervous system. Many cases are
mild. A person may notice a part of
the body is just numb, or paralyzed for a few seconds, or one may be ÒabsentÓ
for a few seconds. These milder
symptoms are sometimes called petit mal seizures.
They are becoming quite common, in fact, as the nutritional status of
people declines in America and elsewhere.
So-called grand mal seizures are those with more pronounced symptoms such as
jerking of the limbs, uncontrolled urination or defecation, and often a short
period of unconsciousness after the seizure. This is usually followed by a period of exhaustion for a few
hours or longer. Grand mal
seizures, when they occur often, may also have longer-term effects on the brain
and the body.
CAUSES FOR SEIZURES
Seizures
may be caused by one or several of the following that can combine in a threshold effect to ultimately result in
seizures:
á
Acute infections. These often
cause febrile seizures in children, in particular. This means that the seizures only occur when the child has a
fever. This type of seizure may be
associated with a change in the pH of the blood, or perhaps with a faster
oxidation rate that results in low calcium, magnesium and zinc.
á
Chronic infections. These are also
very common, and often hard to trace.
The infection can be bacterial, viral, parasitic or possibly a yeast or
fungal organism. Often it is
extremely subtle and chronic, and for this reason may not be revealed on
x-rays, MRIs or blood tests.
In
these cases, a chronic infection, which may present with no symptoms at all,
sets up an irritation in the brain, which then triggers the seizures. Nutritional balancing science improves
the vitality of the body in very specific ways. When this is done, the body will slowly clear out these
infections on its own, in most all cases.
Warning: as old infections
are cleared, one may experience a flare-up of the infection. Often it is a sinus or ear infection,
as these areas are close to the brain.
However, it could be anywhere.
In these cases, to prevent an increase in seizure activity, one can
control the fever using natural methods, not Tylenol or aspirin. The former will clear the infection
faster and safer, while the latter are not nearly as good. For how to lower fevers naturally, read
Boosting The Immune Response on this website.
á
Inflammation. Patterns
indicating an inflammatory state are often revealed on the hair mineral
analyses of those with seizures.
Inflammation irritates the delicate tissues of the brain, perhaps, or
sets in motion a seizure by other mechanisms. When inflammation is reduced, the seizures usually go away
quickly.
Some
people with seizures have a sympathetic dominance pattern on a hair mineral analysis. This is a chronic tendency to overuse
the sympathetic nervous system. It
tends to cause inflammation throughout out the body and nervous system.
á
Toxic metal poisoning. This can be subtle, meaning that it may
not be revealed on urine, blood or even hair mineral analyses. One reason for this is that the toxic
metals are hidden deep in the brain, perhaps, where they are harder to detect.
However, this is a common cause of seizures in both children and adults.
The
most common toxic elements that trigger seizures include mercury, excessive
copper, and perhaps others such as high iron, aluminum, manganese, or even lead
or arsenic. Often several metals
are involved at once.
á
Specific nutrient deficiencies. Low levels of zinc, selenium, or other
vital minerals are involved in many cases. Calcium, magnesium and zinc are called the sedative minerals. They are calming and relaxing for the
nervous system. Many people with
seizure disorders have some degree of biologically unavailable calcium and
magnesium, as revealed on hair mineral tests.
Other
commonly deficient nutrients can include omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D and
perhaps other vitamins in a few cases.
Nutrient deficiencies may be subtle, offering no overt symptoms except
seizures. It all depends where the
nutrients are deficient and how they affect the nervous system. As body chemistry becomes more balanced
and stronger with a nutritional balancing science, these nutrient deficiencies
diminish and seizures often diminish as well.
á
Fluctuations in the blood sugar. This is a common cause of
seizures. It affects mainly those
who eat sugar, fruit, fruit juices and other sugary foods. It is also an important cause of seizures
in babies, and in those with hypoglycemic or diabetic tendencies.
á
An imbalanced pH. I have noticed that some children and
babies can have seizures when their pH becomes alkaline. This may have to do with the
bioavailablility of their calcium, magnesium or perhaps zinc.
á
Stress of any kind. As
explained below, seizures are a threshold phenomenon, and anything that adds
stress to the body can cause a seizure in susceptible individuals. Even normal, healthy people can
experience a seizure if they are under enough stress.
Stress
depletes nutrients and aggravates infections and most other imbalances in the
nervous system. Common stressors
that cause seizures are exhaustion from lack of rest and sleep and dehydration.
á
Food allergies or sensitivity to food
chemicals. These may be
primary causes, or they may aggravate the causes above. Any food can be a culprit, although
wheat, soy, sugar, dairy and at times others are the most common. Less commonly, food chemicals such as
MSG or aspartame may contribute to
seizures in some cases. The latter
are called excitotoxins
because they irritate the nervous system.
Eliminating food chemicals, sugar and wheat will help some people who
suffer from seizures.
á
Other. Inflammation or irritation of the brain
structures from any cause might lead to a seizure. This could be due to damage to an area of the brain from
lack of oxygen at birth, for example.
Less common causes are pressure from a tumor or even a chiropractic
misalignment. Seizures can rarely
be caused by medical drug, such as AZT and other AIDS drugs or others, or by
certain illnesses such as Parkinson's disease.
THE THRESHOLD CONCEPT
The
threshold concept can help one understand how to stop and permanently avoid
seizures. The basic idea is that
when one is prone to seizures, two factors usually enter into the picture:
1. An underlying and often subtle biochemical imbalance that make one
prone to seizures. These have
been discussed above, such as toxic metals, a chronic infection or something
else.
2. The effect of
triggers.
These are stressful events of some kind, such as fatigue, hunger,
thirst, fever, a food toxin, imbalanced blood sugar level, or even just
excitement.
Often these two factors combine to cause the seizure. It is therefore most helpful to address
both aspects above. This is an
important principle in the deep correction of seizure. The paragraphs below detail ways to
reduce factors in the diet and lifestyle that often trigger seizures. Since this can be done quickly, it
often results in a significant improvement within a week or sometimes even
less.
Then one can focus on the deeper underlying imbalances,
which can take a year or more to resolve in some cases. The rest of this article goes into more
detail about other interesting aspects of seizure disorders.
FAST OXIDATION AND
CHILDRENÕS SEIZURES
Fast
oxidation is a term used to describe a mineral pattern seen commonly on hair
tissue mineral analyses of babies and young children. This cause of seizures occurs less often in older children
or adults.
Fast oxidation is defined as an absolute or relatively low
hair level of calcium and magnesium in relation to the sodium and potassium
levels. The hair sample must not
have not been washed at the laboratory.
The hair washing procedure is important because washing hair at the lab,
which is common, damages the sample and may cause inaccuracy in the test.
In these individuals, the fight-or-flight mechanism is
activated too often, resulting in excessive elimination of calcium, magnesium
and zinc in the urine. As a
result, they easily become deficient in these minerals at a tissue level. Note that standard blood serum tests
will not reveal low tissue calcium, magnesium or zinc in most cases.
These individuals require additional calcium, magnesium,
zinc and often copper. Refined
food diets are notorious for their low levels of bioavailable minerals, so this
is definitely harmful. In
addition, they require supplements of these minerals and more high-quality fats
and oils in their diets.
Research indicates some success with seizures with a so-called ketogenic
diet, which is essentially a diet that is high in fats and oils and low in
carbohydrates.
COPPER, MERCURY AND SEIZURES
Mercury shares some properties of copper. Both are excellent electrical
conductors, which means they could Òshort-circuitÓ the brain, perhaps. Both are also common in the general
population, and both can damage the nervous system.
Copper is an essential trace mineral. However, it is highly toxic when in
excess or biounavailable, as it is in these cases of epilepsy. Then it becomes a cause of
inflammation.
Copper imbalance is also associated with scarring throughout
the body, and with infections, especially fungal, viral and parasitic
infections. This may also be why
too much copper or biounavailable copper often contributes to seizures.
Copper imbalance is very common today, and so strongly
associated with seizures that I am surprised more is not written about it. Yet copper excess or unavailability can
be corrected easily in many cases, often within a few months using a
combination of dietary changes that are discussed later, and a nutrition and
lifestyle program that targets this imbalance.
To read much more about copper and its metabolism, click on Copper
Toxicity Syndrome.
SEIZURES IN WOMEN AND GIRLS,
PARTICULARLY THOSE THAT OCCUR JUST BEFORE THE MENSTRUAL PERIOD
Copper imbalance as a contributor to seizures occurs in both
men and women. However, women are more prone to this type of seizure activity
because they tend to be copper-dominant. This
essentially means that womenÕs bodies have more copper, in general, than do
menÕs bodies. Before the menstrual
period, the copper level rises even higher. This causes seizures in a few women. Women, in general, suffer more seizures
than men, perhaps due to womenÕs higher copper levels.
THE SODIUM/POTASSIUM RATIO
AND EPILEPSY
A
hair sodium/potassium ratio less than 2.5:1 often indicates chronic foci of
infection, which may contribute to seizures. This low ratio may also indicate excessive tissue breakdown,
which prevents the proper healing of scar tissue. Correction of the sodium/potassium ratio with a complete
nutritional balancing program is most helpful in these cases to produce a
permanent correction of epileptic seizures.
DIETARY ASPECTS OF EPILEPSY
Food reactions
can trigger epileptic seizures.
The main culprits are the following foods that are rich in glutamate and
aspartate, two very excitatory amino acids:
1) Grains: Wheat, barley, and oats are highest in glutamine. Corn and rice are lower. Therefore they are much better for
anyone with a tendency for epilepsy.
2) Dairy Products: All cows milk products are high in glutamine. Goat-based dairy is much better in this
regard. Cow-based cheese that
appear to be the worst include cheddar,
Swiss, Monterey Jack, Mozzarella and worst is PARMESAN. Casein is
very concentrated in cheese and is 20% glutamic acid by composition.
3) Beans: Soy, Pinto, lima, black,
navy, and lentils are also high in glutamic acid or glutamine.
4) Seeds: Sunflower, pumpkin, and others are also high in glutamine,
though less than wheat and dairy.
They can often be eaten in small quantity with a meal unless one is very
sensitive.
5) Peanuts: These are very high in glutamine, as are cashews,
pistachios, and less-so almonds.
We do not recommend many nuts on nutritional balancing programs.
6) All Soy Products, except perhaps for a little tofu and tempeh. Soy is very high in glutamine. Beware, as soy is incorporated into
many, many products as a filler and cheap protein source. It may be labeled as vegetable protein,
textured vegetable protein, soy isolate or not labeled at all, sadly.
7) Diet Drinks And
Diet or Non-sugared Foods of All Kinds: These
are the primary source of aspartate as they are often sweetened with
Nutrasweet, also called Equal or aspartame. AVOID ALL PRODUCTS CONTAINING THIS INGREDIENT.
8) Prepared Foods
Such As Soups: 70% of prepared foods and many soups have MSG. AVOID ALL FOOD PREPARED WITH MSG. This may also be labeled as hydrolyzed
vegetable protein, soy protein extract, textured vegetable protein – or
not labeled at all, sadly.
9) Meats: Meats are naturally rich in glutamate and aspartate, but
this is offset by other amino acids in the food that balances these in almost
all cases. Meat is generally a
healthful food and should not be avoided.
Rabbit and turkey are the highest in glutamate, while lamb and eggs are
the lowest. Chicken is fairly low
as well. The amount in a normal
serving of meat should not be enough to cause problems. I believe that the other
"unnatural" sources of glutamate, when combined with the meats, might
cause problems, but in general, meat alone is not the problem.
Sixty to seventy
percent of the American diet is wheat and dairy (with heavy emphasis on
cheese). This, combined with the amount of artificial sweeteners being consumed
and the addition of soy protein, is leading America and the world into an
epidemic of seizures and other inflammatory (pain) syndromes such as
fibromyalgia, arthritis and many others.
WHY
NUTRITIONAL BALANCING SCIENCE?
Most cases of epilepsy or seizures are, in fact, just
biochemical imbalances that may be subtle, but due to their nature or location,
they have very powerful effects upon the central nervous system. This is the reason I imagine that so
many people respond well to our approach.
Nutritional balancing science specifically addresses many of
the causes of seizures such as:
á
Toxic metals and toxic chemicals in the
brain
á
Deep, and often extremely chronic foci
of infection in the brain
á
Seemingly minor and sub-clinical
nutrient deficiencies
á
Other imbalances in the nervous system
that are reflected in the mineral levels and ratios on a hair mineral analysis,
when it is performed and interpreted by the method of Dr. Paul C. Eck.
á
Dietary imbalances that can irritate
and excessively excite the nervous.
á
Blood sugar imbalances of many types.
á
Lifestyle and other types of stressors
that may act as triggers or even as basic causes for seizures.
á
Imbalances affecting yin and yang
forces in the body. This is more
important than one might imagine in some cases.
WHAT TO
EAT AND DRINK
1. Adults need to
drink 3 quarts or more of the right type of water. Children can drink less, but need
plenty of water as well. When
beginning a nutritional balancing program, distilled water is excellent to help
remove loosely bound toxic metals and toxic chemicals. These toxins often contribute
indirectly to seizure activity by irritating the nervous system or by other
means.
Distilled water is sometimes called Òhungry waterÓ. Its lack of minerals causes it to
attract minerals and other molecules to itself, which enables them to be more
easily removed from the body.
Distilled water is unique in this respect, and is usually excellent for
the first few months only of a nutritional balancing program. After that time, it begins to eliminate
too many vital minerals, and so one should not remain on distilled water for
more than 6 -12 months at the most. It may also be used at intervals when a
strong detoxification reaction is occurring and extra help is needed to handle
metals or chemicals that are in process of being removed.
Reverse osmosis water is also low in minerals, but does not
hydrate the body well and should usually be avoided.
Spring water is the best long-term drinking water, as it
contains more beneficial minerals that most people need for long-term
nutrition. For more on this topic
read Drinking Water on this website.
2) Cooked vegetables. Plenty of cooked vegetables are the basis for our
diets. They can be steamed,
stir-fried, baked, or roasted.
Salads and fermented vegetables will not do. For more on this, read the article on this website entitled Raw Foods.
3) Flesh foods, especially,
chicken, lamb and some turkey are excellent. Eggs are also relatively low
in glutamine. Avoid vegetarian
diets because they are high in copper, low in zinc, and often contain too much
dairy and soy products.
4) Grains to eat include rice and blue corn in moderation until the
intestines are healed. White
basmati rice is okay and brown rice is generally even better. Organic blue corn has other excellent
properties, which is why it is recommended. It is also less hybridized than most white corn in
particular. Organic yellow corn
may also be acceptable.
AVOID all forms of
wheat, including bulgur, durham, semolina, triticale, spelt and the
others. Avoid all wheat products,
which is difficult if you eat processed foods with flour, thickeners, dough
conditioners and much more. Some
people must avoid all gluten-containing grains (rye, oats, wheat and barley) or
even all grains for a while until their digestive system becomes stronger and
they can digest them better.
5) Fruit in any form is not recommended, although it is low in glutamine and aspartame. It is not desirable because of its high
sugar content, its tendency to be too yin in Chinese medicine terms, and its
acids are not necessarily well-utilized by the body. The sugar content of most fruit upsets blood sugar terribly
in some children and can easily trigger a seizure. The sugar can also feed yeast and other harmful organisms in
the body.
5) Dairy. Eggs are
excellent, as they are proteins with quality fat with a very low glutamic acid
content. Goat milk products are
also very low in glutamine. Cows
milk and cheese are high in glutamine, by comparison, and are best avoided or
eaten in lesser quantity. Raw certified
milk is definitely a good food unless one cannot tolerate it well. To some degree, organic milk
products often tolerated much better
by some people. Regular commercial
milks and milk products are not as good.
Butter, however, is acceptable for almost everyone and is a high quality
fat.
In a few
cases, drinking milk might trigger a seizure because cows milk, in particular,
is high in calcium, but low in magnesium. Some people need a lot more magnesium,
and the imbalance in the milk products could act as a trigger in a sensitive
person.
6)
Vitamin D. Some
researchers have observed that seizures in animals are often worse in winter. This may have to do with lower
serotonin levels and lower vitamin D levels in the wintertime. Vitamin D can be an important
additional nutrient for correction of seizure disorder, particularly in fast
oxidizing children living in northern climates or in children who do not spend
enough time out of doors, playing in the sun. The same applies to adults, even more so those living in
northern climates.
7) Nuts are to be eaten only
occasionally. More detailed charts on the website http://www.dogtorj.net/ shows exact values
of glutamate in nuts. Pecans, for
example, have half the amount of glutamate that peanuts have, but that is still
quite a bit. Nuts are difficult
for many people to digest, they contain some toxins, and they are very yin in
Chinese terminology. Nut butters
are a little easier to digest, and are thus better, but only in small
quantities and are not needed.
STIMULANTS
The consumption of sugar, caffeine or the excitotoxins such
as MSG and aspartame (Equal or Nutrasweet) will only aggravate seizures. Stimulants of all kinds can produce
fluctuations in blood sugar, alterations in neurotransmitter levels, and
irritates delicate structures in the nervous system. Avoid all stimulants, including alcohol and any unnecessary
medications, even over-the-counter medications.
SEIZURE MEDICATION AND
NUTRITIONAL CORRECTION
Many
who have seizures are rightfully hesitant to stop their anti-seizure
medication. Common drugs that are
prescribed include Dilantin, Keppra, Tegretol and others. I advise that medication be continued
for at least a month after beginning a nutrition program. Then, if the patient feels comfortable,
the dosage of medication may be slowly reduced if one feels competent to do
this. It is best to obtain the
cooperation of the prescribing physician, of course.
An
even safer method is to continue medication at least for three months until a
repeat hair analysis is performed.
Reduction of medication may then be decided upon based upon the degree
of change in the tissue mineral patterns.
There
is no guarantee that nutritional methods will eliminate the need for
medication. However, in many cases
medication can be reduced and even eliminated provided the patient stays on a
healthy eating regimen and a proper supplementation program.
Other drugs. Beware that some medical drugs can
cause seizures as a side effect.
If you are taking medication and suddenly develop seizures, consider
this possibility. Several weeks to
several months of near infrared sauna therapy and coffee enemas, in particular,
may be needed to remove medical drugs that have built up in the body.
THE CORRECTION PROCESS
I
have found recently that correcting seizures in children, in particular, is not
always easy because the cause appears to be the presence of chronic infections
in the brain, or perhaps in nearby structures such as the sinuses, ears,
tonsils or elsewhere in the head.
Part
of nutritional balancing science is to enhance the vitality of the body. As this occurs, the body gains the
ability to remove more toxins, and more infection. However, very often this causes a temporary flare-up of the
infection as the body fights it off actively and eliminates it completely. This can give rise to symptoms such as a
cold, flu, sore throat or ear infection.
A few cautions are in order:
1. A seizure
flare-up can occur during a healing reaction. This is
upsetting for parents, doctors and everyone. While we do our best to avoid these situations, they are
inevitable, at times, and are not a cause for alarm in almost all cases. They simply mean the body chemistry is
shifting and when the nervous system is delicate, even a minor shift can increase
seizure activity for a short time.
Keep in close touch with your practitioner in these cases.
2. If you are on a
nutritional balancing program an infection such as a strep throat or flu occurs
, please consult your practitioner before taking any drugs such as antibiotics. Natural
methods for healing infections are much less toxic. The use of medical drugs could set a person back.
This is not meant to dissuade anyone from going to the
doctor or the emergency room, or to avoid using medication. It is simple a warning that less toxic
methods of handling acute or even chronic infections are often less toxic and
therefore preferable to try first in most cases.
3. If a flare-up or
seizure occurs on a nutritional balancing program, it does not mean the program
is not working.
While anything is possible, this is rarely the case, as these programs
have proven extremely helpful in the long run, and very safe as well. Once again, have a conversation with
your practitioner if something occurs that is worrisome. Often the cause is the elimination of a
toxic metal, for example, and this process can be slowed, perhaps, or another
change made in the program to stop the symptoms.
DEEP VERSUS SYMPTOMATIC
CORRECTION
Many holistic physicians will take the material in this
article and approach the condition of seizures in a symptomatic way. They will use DMPS to remove mercury,
penicillamine for copper, and GABA or high doses of inositol or homeopathic
remedies for calming the nervous system.
This is unfortunate, as the real cause is often not addressed. The underlying cause of this disorder
has to do with diet, lifestyle and the overall nutritional balance of the
body. Correcting this might take
longer in some cases, though not necessarily. Many people respond very fast to a properly designed nutritional
balancing program.
OTHER NATURAL THERAPIES
In addition to a nutritional balancing program, other
natural therapies may be useful to reduce triggers of seizures and to relax and
balance the body. Many natural
therapies may help, such as chiropractic, bodywork, relaxation, meditation,
energy work and others.
However, I do not suggest combining a nutritional balancing
program with chelating agents, even natural chelators, as we find them
unnecessary and far less safe.
They can easily upset the delicate biochemical balance, as all of them
remove some vital minerals along with the toxic metals. They are also all very yin in Chinese
terminology. We are particularly
wary of intravenous DMPS used for mercury removal.
I also do not suggest combining nutritional balancing with
any type of hormone replacement therapy, even bio-identical hormones. Once again, the reason is that hormone
therapy is not needed, in my experience, and not safe at all.
Combining nutritional balancing with medical drugs is also not
ideal if it is not needed. Mild
seizures of the petit mal or ÔabsentÕ type, in my view, are not serious enough
to warrant the use of toxic drugs to stop them. Often, such seizures will respond to nutritional balancing,
even in a person who has not responded to many other nutritional and holistic
therapies.
ADDENDUM – THE WORK
OF JOHN SYMES
While
I do not agree fully with the following, I think it is important to include it
in this article, as it has some merit.
Unfortunately, it only takes into account one factor for seizures, and I
believe from experience that seizures can have many causes.
THE THEORY
According to Dr.
John B. Symes, the author of http://www.dogtorj.net/,
the causes of seizures of unknown cause include:
1)The
neurostimulating amino acids glutamate and aspartate.
These are non-essential
amino acids, meaning that they are not required in the diet and are normally
manufactured by the body from other sources. They are normally present in the brain and
function as two of the primary substances involved in neurological
transmission.
2) It is a known
fact that MSG (monosodium glutamate) and aspartate (Nutrisweet) cause seizures in some human individuals. MSG
is the amino acid glutamate (glutamic acid) while aspartame contains the amino acid aspartate (aspartic acid). These
substances are specifically used for their neurostimulatory properties. MSG stimulates the taste buds thereby
making them more sensitive to the foods that are passing over them. It is
therefore used as a flavor enhancer.
Aspartame does
something similar to the taste buds while imparting a sweet taste. Both are
neurostimulants and are used for
that express purpose. However, both are neurotoxic in excessive quantities.
This is a known fact, not a theory.
They have caused seizures, migraine headaches, pain syndromes and much,
much more. Aspartame has also recently been investigated in its possible role
in the rise of brain tumors and Alzheimer's Disease.
3) His theory
then suggests that idiopathic epilepsy (epilepsy of unknown cause) is caused by
a rise in these non-essential amino acids resulting in seizures, a known side
effect of these two substances.
Dr. Symes then
writes: The obvious question is why it occurs in some individuals and not
others. A related question is why
the onset of epilepsy is so variable, reportedly ranging from 6 months of age
to 6 years or even older. Another
question is why it is a progressive condition in most cases, starting with
mild, infrequent seizures and often leading to uncontrollable daily seizures
despite heavy medication.
He goes on to ask
why, if this were simply a genetic defect of some sort, why don't the seizures
begin right away and why do they occur so sporadically in most cases.
[To answer these
three questions, I submit that a hair tissue mineral analysis will reveal the
answers to these questions in almost all cases of idiopathic epilepsy.]
4) Dr. Symes
answers these questions by turning to the problem of gluten in the diet. While studying celiac disease, he found
that celiac children with epilepsy often greatly improved once the gluten
grains (wheat, barley, and rye) were removed from the diet. The fact is that
MSG has been made from wheat and soy. They are obviously rich in this amino
acid.
The main
characteristic of celiac disease is the damage that the gluten does to the
duodenum, that first stretch of intestine after the stomach. The gluten coats
the little absorptive villi of the gut (like "glue"), induces an
immune response, and causes the destruction of those villi. This part of the
bowel is responsible for absorbing calcium, iron, iodine, B vitamins, Vitamin
C, manganese, magnesium, boron, chromium, zinc, and much, much more.
These vitamins
are essential in the formation of the enzyme systems of the body, including those of
the liver and the brain that are responsible for the regulation of the levels
of the amino acid glutamate. Therefore,
the "theory" states that it is the progressive malabsorption syndrome
taking place in the duodenum that leads to the progressive inefficiency of these enzyme
systems of the body that leads to the progressive rise in the levels of glutamate (and aspartate) that leads
to the progressively
worsening seizures.
The amino acids, Dr. Symes asserts, cause the seizures (as they have been
proven to do) while the malabsorption syndrome (which has been proven to occur
in people like celiacs) leads to the underlying cause of the progressive nature
of the condition.
While this can be true, the gluten theory does not
completely explain why only some individuals are so affected, since most people
eat wheat every day. It also does
not explain the variability of the time of onset. This, we contend, can be somewhat explained by the other
imbalances discussed in this article that may also contribute to seizure
disorders.
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