No, it's not mental. The mechanism of how gluten can damage the gut wall are well understood and scientifically proven and accepted.

Could the effects be magnified by the mind? I would say it's quite possible, like a lot of conditions that can become psychosomatic.

And then there is the concept of the gut brain axis. That an unhealthy gut effects brain health and vice versa. The Healthy Skeptic has a fascinating podcast on the subject. I highly recommend checking it out, its a really interesting field of current research.

http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-healthy-skeptic-podcast-episode-9

Only if the immune system is a mental thing. That'd make AIDS a figment of our imaginations and autoimmunity some sort of pro-level masochism from Mars.

there is probably a mental aspect about this tennis player being on a winning streak. It could be that nixing the gluten has made him feel more energetic and this could contribute to him doing better in his games. I noticed that my mental state altered greatly towards the positive side once I nixed gluten from my diet. I say its a bit of both.

Most paleo people don't know if they have gluten sensitivity or not. They know that they react poorly to wheat and some other grains. This could be from a number of lectins and from a number of allergies. I know that my wheat and wheat related grain sensitivity is severe. It takes about a week for me to recover after one sittings worth of gluten, I mean wheat and wheat related grains. That's way longer than I would expect. Do I know that it's gluten? No. I haven't been checked for celiacs and I haven't done a test in which I consume capsules of vital wheat gluten. I don't really care to either. I know what to avoid. No sense obsessing over the why.

Giving up wheat has cured my IBS, so no, the problem was not in my head, far from it, LOL. The problem was at the other end of my digestive tract. And the fact that the arthritic pain in my knees went away was an unexpected bonus that was a complete surprise.

There's truly no argument to whether it's psychosomatic or not. All you need to look at is the gut biopsy of someone with Celiac disease. The villi are blunted and inflamed. Hard physical evidence.

Oh yeah, I am sure it was all in my head when I almost died around my first year of life, before someone figured out I was a celiac... They thought I had blood poisoning and got me through transfusions and what not... an extremely "sensitive" doctor asked my Mom why I brought a corpse to his cabinet. in the end only gluten-free diet helped. I was saved b/c a young kid-doctor had a silly idea of checking me out on celiac.

So yeah, I must have had a pretty mighty imagination ;-)

every time i happen to consume the stuff, i can see that gluten intolerance is as mental as a... bone fracture

No, it isn't purely mental. Just ask anyone who has celiac disease.

Of course, it's absolutely mental.

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I find it ridiculous that claims are being made that gluten intolerance is mental! So this is meaning to tell me that my years of suffering from crippling stomach issues, inflammation and sickness are all in my head? What a crock. Obviously there is truth to the notion that your mental state has a great effect on your health, but to claim that coeliac disease (yes, that's right, it's a DISEASE) is all made up in sufferers heads is an insult. My life is infinitely better since I eliminated gluten from my diet. End of story. read this article http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/lifestyle/your-christchurch/5003944/The-truth-about-gluten and take note of the comments from a gastroenterologist .

I didn't eat it for six months. Then I had a slice of pizza. My body went into shock about six hours later.

Gluten intolerance is NOT all in the sufferers' heads. If you look at the anecdotal evidence you'll see gluten is legitimately harmful even for non-celiacs. Even the cornellian professor cited in the WSJ article deems " a gluten-free diet might have benefits for those with mild allergies, or even no allergy at all", but the journalists overshadow his claims with his other idea that the tennis player's winning streak could also possibly be mental.

Gluten intolerance is not all in MY head, at least, when I can't get out of bed the day after a pizza party and lie with a 20 bpm jump in resting heart rate. Big Agra wishes it were, so it will send it's slimy tentacles out into journalism to secure the place of grain and soy in our lives. I think the mental factor does affect Djokovic's tennis playing capabilities, but gluten intolerance is real, and Djokovic's newfound glory off of gluten is not coincidental.

If a painful stomach ache out of nowhere that leaves me practically bedridden is in my head then I have more problems then I thought. As a personal trainer and someone who promotes having a clear head and positive mental state I don't think it's a mental condition. I think the fact is we eat too much man-made food and humans aren't meant to consume it. The paleo diet works because fruits, vegetables and meats aren't altered and turned into cereal and bread. I don't know if I have celiac disease but I know after I went on an elimination diet a lot of things changed, and I thought my mental state got even better. I have more awareness to what foods bother me and so far anything with wheat/gluten such as bread and pasta bothers my stomach as well as Silk Soy Milk and cashews. I have difficulty breathing after crustaceans, and dairy makes my skin breakout. Is that all in my head?