Gluten, Ultra-Processed Foods, and the Systemic Global Health Crisis

By Edward Lee Neal

A Gathering Storm

Chronic illness is climbing at a pace that feels almost scripted: metabolic disorders, autoimmune conditions, mood dysregulation, even early-onset neurodegeneration. A growing body of peer-reviewed research now points to one common denominator hiding in plain sight — gluten-rich, ultra-processed foods (UPFs). Far from the rustic loaves of antiquity, today’s wheat is often a factory-refined ingredient embedded in hyper-palatable snacks, frozen entrées, and shelf-stable “staples.” Large cohort studies reveal that high UPF intake is tied to higher all-cause mortality, cardiometabolic disease, and mental-health disorders.[1][2][3]

Joint analysis for mortality according to quarters of ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and quarters of Alternative Healthy Eating Index-2010 (AHEI) score. Alcohol was removed from calculation of AHEI score. Each participant was categorized according to their quarter of UPF intake and their quarter of AHEI score, resulting in 16 distinct groups. Using this combined variable as exposure, its association with mortality outcomes was assessed, with reference group being participants in highest quarter of AHEI score (Q4) and lowest quarter of UPF intake (Q1). Results were from multivariable Cox proportional hazards model stratified by age (months), questionnaire cycle (two year interval), and cohort and adjusted for total energy intake, race, marital status, physical activity, body mass index, smoking status and pack years, alcohol consumption, physical examination performed for screening purposes, and family history of diabetes mellitus, myocardial infarction, or cancer; for women, also menopausal status and hormone use. Markers denote point estimates of hazard ratios and error bars indicate 95% confidence intervals

Modern Wheat in the Age of Ultra-Processing

Breeding for yield and ease of industrial baking has altered wheat’s protein architecture, enriching sequences (epitopes) that can spark immune activation in susceptible people. Recent reviews catalog how modern hybrids carry more celiac-triggering peptides than many heritage grains, while processing further concentrates those proteins.[4] When these flours are extruded, tempered, and combined with preservatives, they become the backbone of UPFs — convenient, addictive, and nutritionally hollow.

From Gut Integrity to Systemic Inflammation

Gluten’s best-known casualty is celiac disease, but clinicians now recognize Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS), a constellation of gastrointestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms triggered by wheat ingestion in millions without classical celiac markers.[5] Gluten fragments loosen tight junctions in the intestinal lining, opening a biochemical highway for inflammatory molecules that reverberate through the immune and endocrine systems.

Beyond the Belly: Mood & Mind

Inflammation does not respect the blood-brain barrier. Meta-analyses show that people with celiac disease carry significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression; randomized challenge trials indicate that gluten itself can acutely elevate depressive scores in sensitive adults.[6][7] The brain-gut axis is a two-way radio: what irritates the gut can cloud cognition, heighten fatigue, and erode emotional resilience — ingredients for a wider societal malaise.

Counting the Hidden Costs

An international 2024 study in Gastroenterology estimates the economic burden of celiac disease to include not only direct medical expenses but also lost productivity, education gaps, and cascading caregiver strain.[8] Scale those numbers to encompass NCGS, subclinical wheat sensitivity, and preventable chronic conditions driven by UPFs, and the fiscal iceberg dwarfs many national healthcare budgets.

Ultra-Processed Foods: A Perfect Delivery System

Umbrella reviews covering millions of participants consistently link high UPF consumption to diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, obesity, and premature death.[1][2][3] Gluten-laden UPFs often combine refined starches, added sugars, seed oils, and synthetic additives — a chemical cocktail that hijacks reward pathways while starving the microbiome of fibre and phytonutrients. In other words: the perfect fuel for a health crisis.

Reclaiming Health, One Bite at a Time

We stand at a fork in the road — continue a diet of convenience that erodes body and mind, or choose foods that regenerate us and the societies we build together. Cazimi Foods is committed to the latter path, but true transformation happens when kitchens everywhere echo that commitment. Let’s bake a better world, gluten-free and stigma-free, starting today.

Discover Sunflour Academy of Gluten Free Fusion

What if going gluten-free didn’t feel like a sacrifice?

What if, instead of craving what you gave up… you found yourself discovering textures, flavors, and aromas you never knew existed?

At Sunflour Academy of Gluten Free Fusion, that’s exactly what we teach.

More than a cooking school, the Academy is a culinary revival center — where science meets intuition, and heritage meets innovation. Founded by Edward Lee Neal, a visionary gluten-free pastry chef and food alchemist whose personal battle with gluten intolerance led him to reinvent the wheel of baking itself, Sunflour Academy is the living embodiment of his mission as the founder of Cazimi Foods Corp.:

To heal, uplift, and connect — one recipe at a time.

Edward’s journey began with illness, but it was guided by determination, intuition, and faith. Refusing to settle for bland, crumbly alternatives, he spent years developing formulas and techniques that bring gluten-free foods into a new era — where flavor, texture, and satisfaction are non-negotiable. His discovery became a movement, and that movement is now rooted in Sunflour Academy of Gluten Free Fusion.

Works Cited

[1] Lane MM, et al. “Ultra-Processed Food Exposure and Adverse Health Outcomes: Umbrella Review of Epidemiological Meta-Analyses.” BMJ, 2024.

[2] Srour B, et al. “Association of Ultra-Processed Food Consumption with All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality.” BMJ, 2024.

[3] Fiolet T, et al. “Consumption of Ultra-Processed Foods and Cancer Risk: Results from NutriNet-Santé Prospective Cohort.” BMJ, 2018.

[4] Martín-Peñas P, et al. “High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals Elevated Celiac-Triggering Gliadin Epitopes in Modern Bread Wheat.” Frontiers in Plant Science, 2023.

[5] Manza F, et al. “Non-Celiac Gluten/Wheat Sensitivity—State of the Art: A Five-Year Narrative Review.” Nutrients, 2025.

[6] Resheed Alkhiari, et al. “Psychiatric and Neurological Manifestations of Celiac Disease in Adults.” Department of Medicine, Qassim University, Qassim, SAU, 2023.

[7] Peters SL, et al. “Randomised Clinical Trial: Gluten May Cause Depression in Subjects with Non-Coeliac Gluten Sensitivity.” Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics, 2014.

[8] Bozorg SR, et al. “The Economic Iceberg of Celiac Disease: More Than the Cost of Gluten-Free Food.” Gastroenterology, 2024.