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Solving the World's Problems

Maybe I’m letting my imagination run away with me but…some food for thought?

What is the source of war and terrorism? Wheat is the cause of it all, you know….

· The first archeological records of human warfare are in the Middle East, where nomads strove to overrun the first farming communities. [or at least we didn't start warfare until we farmed grain]

· The farmers created envy, because they had consistent food supplies (at times), better housing, better tools, and attractive possessions.

· What was the first human conflict recorded in the Bible? It was between the wheat farmer and the nomadic herder. [Genesis 4:1-8]

· The farmers created enmity, because they claimed the best (sometimes the only) game and grazing grounds for their fields (Humor: “One man likes to push a plough, the other likes to chase a cow….”)

Consider conclusions that can be drawn from information in “Current Approaches to Diagnosis and Treatment of Celiac Disease: An Evolving Spectrum”, Alessio Fasano and Carlo Catassi, 2001:

· Gluten sensitivity is the immune reaction to gliadin, a main protein in wheat (similar proteins are found in rye and barley).

· Classic Celiac Disease (CD) is gluten sensitivity that causes digestive symptoms.

· Atypical CD is gluten sensitivity that causes non-digestive symptoms.

· The vast majority of gluten sensitivity cases are cases of Atypical CD.

· Silent CD is the form of Atypical CD that precedes overt Atypical CD symptoms.

· Silent CD generally causes social, behavioral, emotional, and perceptual problems.

· Atypical CD commonly causes nervous system problems, from peripheral neuropathy to ataxia, but significantly including high prevalence of very mild to very severe forms of depression, bi-polar disorder, paranoia, delusion, and schizophrenia.

Backing up....

· Susceptibility to development of CD is genetic.

· Among the genetically susceptible, the rate of development of CD symptoms is proportional to the amount of gluten consumed.

· The highest rates of genetic susceptibility (gene HLA-DR3) are in the Arab states. Mongolians have a similar high rate, some of which overran the Middle East and married into the Persians.

· The highest levels of wheat consumption are in the Middle East, especially in the band from Turkey and Israel to Pakistan, with Iraq and Iran right in the middle.  

Given that conditions of paranoia, delusion, schizophrenia, depression, and bi-polarity are disorder are well represented among terrorists, I begin to wonder if terrorists really come from food related dementias rather than ethnicity, religion, or economics (other than how those factors may influence diet).

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