"Perhaps because gastroenterology, immunology, toxicology, and the nutrition and agricultural sciences are outside of their competence and responsibility, psychologists and psychiatrists typically fail to appreciate the impact that food can have on their patients’ condition. Here we attempt to help correct this situation by reviewing, in non-technical, plain English, how cereal grains—the world’s most abundant food source—can affect human behavior and mental health. We present the implications for the psychological sciences of the findings that, in all of us, bread (1) makes the gut more permeable and can thus encourage the migration of food particles to sites where they are not expected, prompting the immune system to attack both these particles and brain-relevant substances that resemble them, and (2) releases opioid-like compounds, capable of causing mental derangement if they make it to the brain. A grain-free diet, although difficult to maintain (especially for those that need it the most), could improve the mental health of many and be a complete cure for others.
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The manufacture of exorphins is incredibly efficient. The nutritionally insignificant intake of 1 g of casein (about two tablespoons of cow milk), for example, produces opioids in large enough amounts to exert physiological effects (Meisel and FitzGerald, 2000). This is remarkable in view of the facts that (a) the opioids from gluten are stronger than those from casein (Zioudrou et al., 1979), and (b) the daily average consumption of gluten in Europe is 10–20 g, with many people exceeding 50 g (Sapone et al., 2012). In the brain of rats, the opioids from casein have been shown to be 10 times more potent than morphine (Herrera-Marschitz et al., 1989). If all exorphins released in the gut made it to the brain, it is hard to see how we could keep functioning."
Busting the MYTHS About Iodine, Cholesterol & Fasting | Dr. Elizabeth Bright
"A couple of years ago I read a book called "Devil in the Milk" by an Australian (Keith Woodford) who was explaining A2 milk versus A1 milk (1). There is absolutely an issue with dairy because of the casomorphin content: two tablespoons of A1 cow milk is equal to a shot of heroin in an opiate sense. So the inflammation that a casomorphin that a casomorphin can give your body (two tablespoons of milk) is equal to a shot of heroin. I mean, he literally writes this. So the whiter the milk, the fresher the milk, what you have is a lot of (or dairy, kaffir or yogurt, whatever, goat cheese) you have a lot of protein. If you have aged cheese the fermentation process eats the protein and the lactose, this isn't really an issue it's more the proteins, the proteins are inflammatory.
So if you're not well, if you have an autoimmune condition, your immune system is overreactive, it's going to see a protein like gluten, or dairy, or casomorphin, it's going to see that as a pathogen, it will react. How does it react? Again, it could be any way but it will react to that protein thinking it's a virus.
So if you're, as you said depending upon where you are on your health journey, if you still have pain, if you still have arthritis, if you still have eczema, if you still have psoriasis… I would take out dairy. And in some cases I'll even say to try to stop butter for a week or so. And I've had a couple who've had a really good result from that. And then they heal and then they can add in the butter."
(1) A1 milk, which is the most commonly used milk and is abundantly available, is obtained from cows of Western origin like Holstein, Jersey etc. and yields a large quantity of milk. The A2 milk is the milk obtained by the cows of Indian origin like Gir, Sahiwal etc.
Professor Keith Woodford - FAB Conference, 21 March 2014, London
The health implications of A1 beta –casein relative to A2 beta-casein are controversial. At times the scientific debate can become clouded by the reality that milk is a commercial product. Conversion of all herds so as to replace A1 beta-casein with A2 beta-casein over one to two cow generations (4 – 12 years) is technically straight forward. Accordingly, the beta-casein issue can be presented as either a threat to, or an opportunity for, the mainstream industry, with elements of each perspective being valid.
Exogenous opioid substances are called exorphins, as opposed to endorphins. Exorphins include opioid food peptides, such as gluten exorphin and opioid food peptides, and are often contained in cereals and animal milk. Exorphins mimic the actions of endorphins by binding to and activating opioid receptors in the brain.
Endorphins help relieve pain, reduce stress and improve your sense of well-being. Endorphins are created in your pituitary gland and hypothalamus, both located in the brain. Endorphins are a type of neurotransmitter, or messenger in your body.