Can Supplements Help Fight Celiac Disease?

A World Journal of Gastroenterology study recently found that Celiac patients who regularly take B-vitamin supplements were able to reduce their homocysteine levels.

The study looked at the effects of taking daily vitamin B6, vitamin B9, and vitamin B12 supplements on the homocysteine levels of patients with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance. Homocysteine is a harmful amino acid associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease and stroke. Newly diagnosed Celiac disease patients frequently experience hyperhomocysteinemia or abnormally high homocysteine levels in their blood.

Researchers also noted that B-vitamin supplements may help protect against the effects of villous atrophy or intestinal damage.

What is Celiac Disease?

Celiac disease or gluten intolerance is an autoimmune condition that attacks your intestines and entire digestive system. It occurs when a person is unable to digest gluten, a common protein found in barley, rye, wheat, and other grains.

The symptoms of Celiac disease are manifested differently in each individual. Abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, malabsorption of nutrients, and nausea are some of the most common symptoms. Celiac disease can also cause non-gastrointestinal symptoms like anemia, depression, fatigue, infertility, and weight issues -- either weight gain or loss.

Malabsorption is often associated with Celiac disease. Those suffering from gluten intolerance may often struggle with several nutritional deficiencies, including lack of:

• Calcium
• Essential fatty acids
• Folic acid (folate or vitamin B9)
• Iron
• Magnesium
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin K

Fight Celiac Disease with the No-Grain Diet

Avoiding gluten in your diet is the most effective way to deal with Celiac disease. Not consuming gluten for a week or two typically results in significant improvement.

But it’s not enough for you to avoid grains if you are gluten-intolerant. It’s also important to pay attention to the quality of all the other foods you eat. You should also avoid processed foods, which often have hidden gluten.

Food manufacturers are not required by law to list all possible sources of gluten on their product labels. Gluten may be present in processed foods like candies, cold cuts, low-fat and zero-fat products, ready-made soups, and soy sauce, just to name a few, under labels such as hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP), malt, natural flavoring, starch, and texturized vegetable protein.

A gluten-free diet like Dr. Mercola’s No-Grain Diet helps keep Celiac disease under control. The No-Grain Diet will also help you avoid the other dangers of grains and sugars. Grain-based and sugar-rich foods are inherently pro-inflammatory and will worsen any condition that has chronic inflammation at its root--not just inflammation in your gut, but anywhere in your body.