Micah Stanley
Wheat proteins can cause inflammation in the gut. This is nothing new. What is new from a scientific point of view, however, is that wheat proteins contribute to chronic inflammatory processes beyond the intestines and in this way can cause or accelerate chronic diseases.
Proteins from wheat: cause of chronic inflammation
Another study now shows again that another group of wheat proteins (i.e. not gluten) can be responsible for chronic inflammatory processes – especially in chronic inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis, all of which are linked to autoimmune reactions.
Scientists working with Professor Detlef Schuppan from the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz discovered that the wheat proteins in question can contribute to the development of gluten sensitivity that is independent of celiac disease.
They presented their findings at the UEG Week 2016 in Vienna. UEG stands for United European Gastroenterology. At this meeting, specialists meet every year to exchange information about the latest research results in the field of gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
Although wheat has only been part of human nutrition for around 12,000 years, it very quickly became one of the most important staple foods, which today is not only used in baked goods and pasta but is also mixed into many other products – whether these are dressings, sauces or sweets.
Harmful Proteins in Wheat: The ATIs
However, a certain protein group in wheat – the so-called amylase trypsin inhibitors (ATIs) – has been shown to trigger immune reactions in the intestine, which are then not limited to the intestine, but can spread from the intestine to other tissues of the body.
ATIs are plant proteins that are there to protect the wheat grain from pests. For example, they inhibit the digestive enzymes of mealworms, flour beetles, or other grain parasites and protect the grain from spoiling quickly. ATIs also play an important role in seed development in plant metabolism.
Many of the studies conducted in the past have focused on the impact of gluten on the digestive system. However, Prof. Detlef Schuppan shows how important the role of the ATI is when it comes to the health of the entire organism, not just the digestive system.
ATIs can cause inflammation throughout the body
ATIs make up only a small portion of wheat protein — only about 4 percent. Nonetheless, the immune response developed by ATIs is significant. It affects the lymph nodes, kidneys, spleen, and brain in some people, causing inflammation everywhere.
ATIs can, therefore – it is suspected – exacerbate or be involved in the development of diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, asthma, lupus, and even non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and inflammatory bowel diseases (Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis).
Professor Schuppan explains:
Just as ATIs lead to the development of inflammatory processes in the gut area, they can also lead to chronic autoimmune inflammatory processes outside the gut.”
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity may not be caused by gluten at all
Some people experience stomach upset when they eat foods that contain gluten — such as B. wheat, barley, or rye – even if they do not have celiac disease. The symptoms are therefore called gluten sensitivity independent of celiac disease.
It was previously believed that those affected react to gluten, but not with celiac disease, in which damage to the intestinal mucosa can be observed after gluten consumption, which is not the case with celiac disease-independent gluten sensitivity.
The type of intestinal inflammation that can be observed in non-celiac gluten sensitivity is therefore significantly different from that in celiac disease.
Professor Schuppan now believes that non-celiac gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is not caused by gluten at all.
Instead, we showed that it is the ATIs from wheat (which can also be found in pure gluten, which is commercially available as a baking ingredient, for example) that activate certain types of immune cells in the intestine and in other tissues, and in this way activate inflammatory processes initiate or exacerbate the symptoms of pre-existing inflammatory diseases.”
Where there is gluten, there is ATIs
So far there are no reliable biomarkers for NCGS to make a specific diagnosis. Based on the current state of affairs, no specific damage to the gut can be observed in people with NCGS when they have eaten gluten. Therefore, up to now, the procedure has been to simply take the condition after a gluten-free diet of several weeks as an indication of whether someone now has NCGS or not. Because if someone reacted to components in the grain with symptoms, then they soon felt better as soon as they stopped eating grain containing gluten.
So even if it’s not gluten that leads to NCGS, those affected naturally benefit from a gluten-free diet. Many of their symptoms — abdominal pain, indigestion, headaches, eczema — improve rapidly when eating gluten-free, but that’s only because the ATIs tend to coexist with gluten.
Prof. Schuppan, therefore, suggests that another name should be found for the NCGS:
The term non-celiac gluten sensitivity implies that the gluten alone is a problem and triggers the inflammation, which is not the case.”
Gluten-free diet: soon to be standard in the therapy of autoimmune diseases
Researchers are currently preparing various studies to further explore the effects of ATIs on chronic diseases. Professor Schuppan:
We hope that our research will take us to the point where we will soon be able to recommend an ATI-free diet to treat a variety of serious autoimmune diseases.”
The work of Professor Schuppan and his team proves once again that the symptoms that many people experience after eating grain products containing gluten are not based on their imagination, as some conventional medicine doctors still seem to believe or, as the media repeatedly claims when there is talk of the hype about gluten-free nutrition.
