Gluten Triggers Bipolar Symptoms?

I ate a mostly gluten-free diet last year due to acid reflux, just to see if gluten was the cause. I occasionally allowed myself to slip and have a little gluten here and there and I discovered something interesting: my bipolar symptoms were INTENSE (moderate-severe anxiety, hypomania/mixed episodes) the 2 days following having gluten. It could have just been a coincidence, but now I've decided to go completely gluten-free just in case.

Have any of you tried giving up gluten and found that gluten triggered your bipolar symptoms?

Not I. When I'm depressed I don't have it in me to make a decision like that. When I'm stable I generally eat well but I don't restrict anything.

That's really interesting. I was diagnosed with Celiac a few years ago, but then the diagnosis was reversed. I have acid reflux and digestion problems. I keep trying to eliminate or cut down on the gluten because my stomach puffs out and I get IBS-C every time I eat bread. But my emotional problems are so out of control, I can't keep to the very challenging strict gluten free diet, and I keep eating the wrong things. Plus, I'm severely allergic. What a prize, huh?

I'm sure it's all related.

I'm really thinking the food thing plays such a larger impact on us then anyone realizes. I encourage you to continue testing this theory and report back.

My alternative doctor believes this. And they're finally deciding MI is a gut disease in some cases not a brain one.

For instance they did a study on schizophrenics and grains and found when they were removed so we're many symptoms.

So in all actuality your hypothesis really isn't too out of the question. And if it appears to be true for you, maybe it is

I have been feeling better since giving up carbs altogether about a month ago. The top reason I did this was because although I didn't have drug/alcohol abuse problems, I have long had disordered eating that predates my BP1 diagnosis that I believe was self-medicating. I still find things to overeat (hello, 90% dark chocolate), but I find my brain is much quieter and I feel calmer and my moods are shorter- haven't decided yet why that is. If it's all just placebo effect, I say so be it. It's a nice placebo effect.

There are more scientific studies on how things like this (low carb or no gluten) help schizophrenics and epileptics. I'm naively surprised there's not more for people with bipolar since weight gain is common with almost all medications that treat bipolar...

I have good intentions, but bad results.
The BOGOs and specials are too good too pass. Because I'm making "a good deal".
Of course, all this products are cheap junk the companies want to get me hooked on.
Tend to overeat so they don't spoil and waste more money. At the end throwing 'em away.
Gluten free products, for the most part, don't even have a price near where they are.
Next time I'll for the product, not for the price. Thank you.

I'm gluten intolerant, and I cut out gluten 3 years ago. For me, I don't think it has had any effect on my bipolar. I was Dx'ed bipolar 5 years ago, and I've been all over the place pretty much the entire time. It's really only in the last year that I've started truly becoming stable.

That's interesting. Maybe I should try it.

I've went gluten free and various other elimination diets. I find that sugars are very bad for me and I'm cutting them out slowly, then soon completely. I was doing this for stomach ibs issues but, I wonder about the food/mood thing. I always get discouraged because I don't think I'm getting enough relief. Then I go back to old ways of eating and realize it helped more than I realized. I saw a lady on YouTube who ate clean and it took 3 years to heal herself, but she said she felt 100% better. This was physical, not mental health. I would be thrilled if food turns out to cure both physical and mental illness. I'm skeptical, but hopeful.

No, you shouldn't. Not unless eating gluten bothers you physically.

Going gluten free really sucks. The food isn't as good and it costs twice as much! Want some bread? Pay $5 or $6 for a loaf that's smaller than a $2 loaf of regular white bread, and make sure you toast it before eating it to make it edible (save for 2 kinds I've tried). Not only that, but you have to read the ingredients of everything because gluten likes to hide! Did you know that the second ingredient of Twizzlers is wheat flour? Or did you know that even soy sauce contains gluten? Barbecue sauce sometimes too? Sorry for this rant, but it just really bothers me when people go gluten free for the wrong reasons, and I believe experimenting like you would be is a bad reason.

Um, yes I should.

I knew gluten was in soy sauce, yes. I know it's in a lot of random things you wouldn't think it would be in.

I don't think wanting to try a certain diet for a short period of time to see if it's beneficial for you is a bad reason to do it.

Regardless I decided I'm not trying it.

Going gluten-free is not as hard as one would think. I think there are a lot of reasons for people to try to see if it helps their mental health. I've read things about it helping autistic children, so why couldn't a gluten-free diet possibly help a bipolar mind? It certainly won't hurt you to give up gluten. You have to be careful and read labels, of course. Our bodies don't NEED gluten to function. I think people giving up gluten because they think it will make them lose weight is silly (because it certainly didn't make a difference for me in that area), but from what I can tell, when I avoid gluten, my bipolar is like night and day. I'm honestly scared to try gluten ever again because of how bad my reaction was recently. Once I got the gluten out of my system, and then tried it again, I felt crazy. It was scary.

P.S. I don't do a lot of gluten-free breads and expensive GF products. I use a lot of corn-flour tortillas and brown rice for my starches. They aren't expensive. You just have to learn what types of food works for you if you go gluten-free. I'd be happy to tell people examples of what I eat for ideas.

I know exactly how hard going gluten free is since I had to personally do it myself 3 years ago. And I know all the tricks of the trade...so excuse me for having a strong opinion...or an opinion at all.

A lot of gluten products are better off avoided for more reasons than just the gluten anyway. White flour is basically sugar as far as your body is concerned. I plan to go gluten free starting tomorrow to fight inflammation. I do a little MMA and i always have pains, i have heard of people having great success with reducing pain/inflammation by cutting out grains. The BP aspect is interesting and first i've heard of it so that's just another plus. I don't think bread and pasta and all of that stuff is all that beneficial anyway. There are better sources for carbs.

Nothing wrong with an opinion, I'm just sharing my experience, too. It's not for everyone.

Tell me if you notice a difference with your BP. I haven't found much info about it, so I wonder if I'm a rare person who has experienced such a difference with my BP symptoms and gluten.

If I didn't have to eat gluten free, I absolutely wouldn't do it. And I would also absolutely never suggest doing it to anyone. But the thing is, with me, gluten makes a whole lot of hell...everything from GI upset to headaches to fatigue to a rash! Yes, gluten will often give me a rash. I'm so sensitive to gluten that I can't even bake with regular flour for others. I learned that the hard way when I did some baking at work with my kids. I got so sick I had to take the next day off!

Definitely i'm going to see how i feel over the next month and take note of any changes.

I did gluten free vegan and I believe my BP was better controlled. Trying to go back to that.

I learned a lot about it because my son has IBS-D and is lactose intolerant. The doctor put him on the FODMAP diet. Not only is it gluten free, it's also controlling fructose and he is lactose, too -- poor kid.

I watched an interesting video about what gluten actually looks like. It's like rubber beads that fill up with air. That's how it makes bread fluffy and spongy.

There are good resource websites for gluten free, too.

I went through everything in my pantry and checked on each item.

They also say that to truly be gluten free, you must use pots, silverware, everything strictly gluten free. Also, it takes years of being strictly gluten free to reverse the Celiac and then it doesn't always work.

My son does not have Celiac. But we all have the gene that makes us 10 times more likely to get it than people without the gene.

Complicated stuff.

I started trying to control the gluten again since this post.

And true, the packaged gluten free breads and muffins are full of fattening, unhealthy other stuff.

My research has supported this. I am gluten and dairy intolerant along with other food issues. If I cut out all my triggers and got my gut healthy I would probably feel better. But I do best on a Paleo diet. I just have a hard time maintaining it. I think gut bacteria are responsible for a bunch of symptoms.

I just came across this in the general social chat forum.

Think You?re Sensitive to Gluten? Think Again - US News