Gut and Psychology Syndrome*N. Campbell-McBride, M.D.

In his seminal book, Good Calories, BadCalories, Gary Taubes quotes Hilde Bruchwho wrote: "The literature on obesity is notonly voluminous, it is also fall ofcoriflictingand confasing reports and opinions. Onemight well add to this the words ofArtemusWard: "The researches of so many eminentscientific men have thrown so much darknesson the subject that if they continue theseresearches we shall soon know nothing. "

Determining the causes of the hundredsofpsychiatric disorders and their treatmenthas almost reached that state of total dark-ness. Dr. Campbell-McBride, in her bookGut and Psychology Syndrome, blows awaysome ofthefog and shows us where to look.After I read it, I wrote to the author: "HadI read your excellent book forty years ago Iwould have thought you were nuts. Thirtyyears ago I would have seen some merit andin the last years what I have learned hasconfirmed what you have written. It is a verygood book. Isn't it a shame that psychiatricillnesses are fueled by foods and the way wedeal with them. Ironically, psychiatry maynever accept this idea, as it has become theunpaid servant of the drug industry. Manythanks for sending it to me. "

To learn more, please read the book byDr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, Gut andPsychologySyndrome:NaturalTreatmentforAutism, ADHD/ADD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia,Depression, Schizophrenia.

-Ahram Hoffer, MD, PhD

We live in the world of unfoldingepidemics. Autistic Spectrum Disorders,Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder(ADHD/ADD), schizophrenia, dyslexia,dyspraxia, depression, obsessive -compul-sive disorder, bipolar disorder and otherneuro-psychological and psychiatric prob-

*GAP Syndrome or GAPS™'

lems in children and adults are becomingmore and more common.

In clinical practice these conditionsoverlap with each other. A patient wdthautism often is hyperactive and dyspraxic.There is about 50% overlap between dys-lexia and dyspraxia and 25-50% overlapbetween ADHD/ADD and dyslexia anddyspraxia. Children with these conditionsare often diagnosed as being depressed,and as they grow up they are more proneto drug abuse or alcoholism than theirtypically developing peers. A young per-son diagnosed with schizophrenia oftensuffered from dyslexia, dyspraxia or/andADHD/ADD in childhood. When westart examining the patients with theseso-called mental conditions, we find thatthey are also physically ill. Digestive prob-lems, allergies, eczema, asthma, variousfood intolerances and immune systemabnormalities are universally presentamongst them. We have created differentdiagnostic boxes for these patients, buta modern patient does not fit into anyone of them neatly. The modern patientin most cases fits into a rather lumpypicture of overlapping neurological andpsychiatric conditions.

Why are all these conditions related?What underlying problem are we missing?

To answer all these questions we haveto look at one factor, which unites all thesepatients in a clinical setting. This factoris the state of their digestive system. Ihave yet to meet a child or an adult withautism, ADHD/ADD, dyspraxia, dyslexia,schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, depres-sion or obsessive-compulsive disorderwho does not have digestive abnormali-ties. In many cases they are severe enoughfor the patients or their parents to starttalking about them first. In some casesthe parents may not mention their child'sdigestive system, yet when asked direct

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questions, would describe a plethora ofgut problems. So, what have digestive ab-normalities got to do with these so-calledmental problems? According to recentresearch and clinical experience - a lot!In fact it appears that the patient's diges-tive system holds the key to the patient'smental state.

What is a typical scenario we see inclinical practice? Before examining thepatient it is very important to look at thehealth history of the parents. Wheneverthe parents are mentioned people im-mediately think about genetics. However,apart from genetics there is somethingvery important the parents, mother inparticular, pass to their child: their uniquegut micro-flora. Not many people knowthat an adult on average carries 2 kg ofbacteria in the gut. There are more cells inthat microbiai mass than there are cells inan entire human body. It is a highly orga-nized micro-world, where certain speciesof bacteria have to predominate to keepus healthy physically and mentally. Theirrole in our health is so monumental, thatwe simply cannot afford to ignore them.We will talk in detail about the child'sgut flora later. Now let us come back tothe source of the child's gut flora - theparents.

After studying hundreds of cases ofneurological and psychiatric conditionsin children and adults, a typical healthpicture of these children's mums hasemerged: due to various modern factors amodern mum has seriously compromisedgut flora by the time she is ready to havechildren. Indeed, clinical signs of gut dys-biosis (abnormal gut flora) are present inalmost 100% of mothers of children withneurological and psychiatric conditions.

A baby is born with a sterile gut. Inthe first 20 or so days of life the baby'svirgin gut surface is populated by amixture of microbes. This is the child'sgut flora, which will have a tremendouseffect on this child's health for the rest

of his/her life. Where does this gut floracome from? Mainly from the mother atthe time of birth. Whatever microbiaiflora the mother has, she passes to hernewborn child. Fathers with abnormalgut flora contribute to the bodily flora ofthe mother and through her to the gutflora of the child.

The Role and Importance ofthe Gut FloraGut flora is something we do not

think much about. And yet the numberof functions the gut flora fulfils is so vi-tal for us that if some day our digestivetracts were sterilised we probably wouldnot survive.

The first and very important functionis appropriate digestion and absorption offood. If a child does not acquire normalbalanced gut flora, then the child will notdigest and absorb foods properly, develop-ing multiple nutritional deficiencies. Andthat is what we commonly see in childrenand adults with learning disabilities, psy-chiatric problems and allergies. Many ofthese patients are malnourished. Even inthe cases where the child may grow well,testing reveals some typical nutritionaldeficiencies in many important minerals,vitamins, essential fats, many amino acidsand other nutrients.

Apart from normal digestion and ab-sorption of food, healthy gut flora activelysynthesizes various nutrients: vitaminK, pantothenic acid, folie acid, thiamine(vitamin Bi), riboflavin (vitamin B2),niacin (vitamin B3), pyridoxine (vitaminBe), cyancobalamin (vitamin B12), variousamino-acids and proteins. Indeed, whentested, people with gut dysbiosis presentwith deficiencies of these nutrients. Clini-cal experience shows that restoring thebeneficial bacteria in their gut is the bestway to deal with these deficiencies.

Apart from taking a vital part innourishing the body, beneficial bacteriain the gut act as the housekeepers forthe digestive tract. They coat the entire

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surface of the gut protecting it from in-vaders and toxins by providing a naturalbarrier and producing anti-bacterial,anti-viral and anti-fungal substances. Atthe same time they provide the gut liningwith nourishment. Beneficial bacterianormally control various opportunisticand pathogenic microbes in the gut.Lack of beneficial bacteria would allowdisease-causing microbes to grow andoccupy large parts of the digestive sys-tem causing damage and inflammationin the gut wall. So, it is no surprise whenthe gut flora is abnormal, the digestivetract itself cannot be healthy. Indeedmost patients with learning disabilities,psychiatric disorders and allergies presentwith digestive problems: constipation anddiarrhoea, infantile colic and abdominalpain, bloating and flatulence, reflux andindigestion. Examination by gastroenter-ologists commonly reveals inflammatoryprocess in the gut and many of these pa-tients are diagnosed with coeliac disease.Housing a mass of pathogenic microbesthe gut cannot be healthy. Indeed, longbefore these patients develop so-calledmental symptoms they usually suffer fromdigestive problems and all other typicalsjmiptoms of gut dysbiosis pretty muchfrom the start of their lives.

The Role and Importance oftheImmune System

A baby is born with an immatureimmune system. Establishment of healthybalanced gut flora in the first few daysof life plays a crucial role in appropriatematuration of the immune system. If thebaby acquires compromised gut florafrom the mother then the baby is left im-mune compromised. The result is lots ofinfections followed by lots of courses ofantibiotics, which damage the child's gutflora and immune system even further.

The beneficial bacteria in the gut en-sure appropriate production of differentimmune cells, immunoglobulins, keeping

immunity in the right balance. Damageinflicted upon the gut flora typically leadsto an imbalance between major parts ofimmunity, resulting in allergies, asthmaand eczema - symptoms, which childrenand adults with neurological and psychi-atric conditions commonly suffer from.

There has been a considerable amountof research published into the state oftheimmune system in patients with learningdisabilities and psychiatric problems. Theresearch shows deep abnormalities in allmajor cell groups and immunoglobulins.The most common autoantibodies foundare to myelin basic protein (MBP) andneuron-axon filament protein (NAFP).These antibodies specifically attack theperson's brain and the rest ofthe nervoussystem.

To summarize: A child born fromparents with abnormal gut flora did notacquire normal gut flora from the start.The flora may have been damaged furtherby repeated courses of antibiotics andvaccinations. As a result, these childrencommonly suffer from digestive problems,allergies, asthma and eczema. However, inchildren and adults who go on to developneurological and psychiatric problems,something even worse happens. Withoutcontrol ofthe beneficial bacteria, differentopportunistic and pathogenic bacteria, vi-ruses and fungi have a good chance to oc-cupy large territories in the digestive tractand grow large colonies. Two particulargroups, which are most commonly foundon testing, are yeasts (including Candidaspecies) and the Clostridia family. Thesepathogenic microbes start digesting foodin their own way producing large amountsof various toxic substances, which areabsorbed into the blood stream, carriedto the brain and cross the blood-brainbarrier. The number and mixture of toxinscan be very individual, causing differentneurological and psychiatric symptoms.Due to the absence or greatly reducednumbers of beneficial bacteria in the

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gut flora, the person's digestive systeminstead of being a source of nourishmentbecomes a major source of toxicity inthe body.

The mixture of toxicity in each childor adult can be quite individual and dif-ferent. But what they all have in commonis gut dysbiosis (abnormal gut flora). Thetoxicity, which is produced by the abnor-mal microbiai mass in these patients,establishes a link between the gut and thebrain. That is why it is logical to groupthese disorders under one name: the Gutand Psychology Syndrome (GAPS)3. TheGAPS children and adults can presentwith symptoms of autism, ADHD, ADD,OCD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, schizophrenia,depression, bipolar disorder, sleep dis-orders, allergies, asthma and eczema inany possible combination. These are thepatients who fall through the gap in ourmedical knowledge. Any child or adultwith a learning disability, neurologicalor psychological problems and allergiesshould be thoroughly examined for gutdysbiosis. Re-establishing normal gutflora and treating the digestive systemof the person has to be the number onetreatment for these disorders, beforeconsidering any other treatments withdrugs or otherwise.

Gut And Psychology Syndrome(GAP Syndrome or GAPS) establishesthe connection between the state of thepatient's gut and the functioning of thebrain. This connection has been knownby medics for a very long time. The fatherof modern psychiatry French psychiatristPhillipe Pinel (1745-1828), after workingwith mental patients for many years,concluded in 1807: "The primary seat ofinsanity generally is in the region of thestomach and intestines." Long before himHippocrates (460-370 BC), the father ofmodern medicine has said: "All diseasesbegin in the gut!" The more we learn withour modern scientiflc tools, the more werealize just how right they were.

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