People who suffer from celiac disease cannot consume foods with gluten, such as bread, flour and pasta, since they produce antibodies against this protein compound. If these foods are ingested, a picture of inflammation develops, in which the person feels anything from a simple intestinal discomfort to more severe symptoms. However, the condition does not interfere only in the individual's meals. In fact, theCeliac disease affects the brain and can cause neurological changes.

According to neurosurgeon and researcher Marcelo Valadares, in addition to the common gastrointestinal symptoms, celiac disease causes other effects on the patient's body and behavior: "Celiac disease is considered multisystemic, so it can affect numerous regions of the body, including the brain," he explains.

Celiac Disease Affects the Brain: Symptoms

The specialist also mentions the most recurrent neurological alterations in people with celiac disease: "Among the main forms of neurological manifestations of the condition are headache, peripheral neuropathy, and ataxia.

Headache is a technical term to refer to headache. Marcelo clarifies that the appearance of the symptom occurs because contact with gluten triggers a systemic response in the body, with production of inflammatory radiators.frequency of pain with the removal of protein from the diet," he points out.

Peripheral neuropathy, on the other hand, is a communication failure between the brain and the spinal cord, so it is common for patients to feel weakness, numbness, and pain in the feet and hands: "Another disease that can also cause peripheral neuropathy is diabetes mellitus," adds the professional.

Ataxias are symptoms of motor incoordination in the cerebellum, which is responsible for several functions," he says. The neurosurgeon explains that this condition affects people who have celiac disease, since there is an inflammatory process in the cerebellum associated with intoleranceto gluten.

Ataxias are symptoms of motor incoordination in the cerebellum, which is responsible for many functions. Patients with celiac disease can often have an inflammatory process in the cerebellum, and this can lead to incoordination of speech and arm or leg movements," explainsneurosurgeon.

Read also: Foods that contain gluten, and you can't even imagine

What to do?

Above all, it is necessary for the patient to be treated in a multidisciplinary way, after all celiac disease is not just a gastrointestinal problem. In addition, it is important to be aware of the body's signals. This is because gluten intolerance is not easily identified and sometimes the patient does not get a proper diagnosis.

Moreover, celiac disease has no cure, and so complete withdrawal from gluten-containing foods is the only tactic that guarantees the individual's quality of life - without pain, discomfort, and other complications.

Currently, in addition to there being several gluten-free food options on the market, influencers in this niche have started to grow on the networks. The profile Mother with Celiac Gra has more than 422,000 followers on TikTok and 136,000 on Instagram, where she shares the recipes she prepares for her gluten-intolerant daughter Bella, who follows influencers and tests recipes at home as a way to deal with the condition.

Source: Marcelo Valadares He is a neurosurgeon and researcher at the Discipline of Neurosurgery, Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Unicamp and Hospital Albert Einstein.