06/13/2024
If you struggle with food your are not alone. Just like an addict would get help to quit and heal themselves, someone struggling with food, will have more success by getting help.
Wondering why you cringe at the thought of giving up gluten? 😬
For some individuals, giving up gluten is an absolute nightmare! (Even though it may be a driving force of their inflammation or disease processes.) Why do some struggle with this? It may be related to gluteomorphins and prodynorphin. Yes, we spelled those right 😂 Let us break those down for you.
Prodynorphin is an opioid (meaning, it works on the brain) that is a basic building block of endorphins (aka our "feel good" hormone). Gluteomorphins are the peptides (sequence of amino acids) found in wheat that react with opioid receptors in the brain.
Putting it all together for you--after the ingestion of wheat (gluten), the digestive system breaks down the wheat into prodynorphin (PDYN) peptides. This then actually MODIFYS brain function.
Eventually, this leads to an op**te effect (addictive, happy feeling) on the body. If a person has elevated levels of this opioid response, they may have negative effects when eating gluten AND a literal withdrawal response when attempting to cut out gluten.
So yes, it is like withdrawing from an addictive substance when you try to give up gluten. No wonder it can be so hard, right?! We promise it is worth it though! 👍