If I was an ob-gyn, I would do the screening for celiac right there in my office before I sent the woman anywhere else.

Alessio Fasano

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Now. the pendulum is all the way to the right, where this is a fa... by Alessio Fasano

Now. the pendulum is all the way to the right, where this is a fashionable diet.

For schizophrenia, for example, we're talking about 20% or 25%. T... by Alessio Fasano

For schizophrenia, for example, we're talking about 20% or 25%. That's not a trivial number.

Celiac disease was considered extremely rare, almost nonexisting in the United States, and that was a quite interesting observation given at the same time in Europe, where I was coming from, there was a rampage of epidemics of celiac disease all over.

Something during the war that was missing was the culprit, and one of the commodities that was missing was wheat. As a matter of fact, flour during the war was made with potato starch and not with wheat.

The pendulum was all the way to left, where before, the pioneer patients with celiac disease really had a hard time to survive, now. the pendulum is all the way to the right, where this is a fashionable diet.

There is a possibility that some groups of individuals with other chronic inflammatory conditions, including autoimmune diseases like diabetes or multiple sclerosis, of course autism ... and schizophrenia ... there could be a subgroup of these individuals that could benefit from embracing a gluten-free diet, for schizophrenia, for example, we're talking about 20% or 25%. That's not a trivial number.

Now you know, whenever you look for it, you find it, provided there are genes and environmental triggers, we have a major problem of celiac disease in India for example now, particularly in the northern region of the Punjab.

This gentleman during World War II noted that the mortality of celiac disease was zero, and he didn't realize immediately why until when the war was over and the mortality went back to the pre-war era, something during the war that was missing was the culprit, and one of the commodities that was missing was wheat. As a matter of fact, flour during the war was made with potato starch and not with wheat.

So I think it's an intriguing fact that there are African American people that choose to go gluten-free because the fact that they embrace the diet along with the fact that the diet is more expensive and nevertheless they do follow it, that it's clearly not because of fashionable reasons, but because they feel that was the best way to control their symptoms, you can't necessarily say that (gluten) sensitivity is more frequent among African-Americans because of this – that would be a stretch.