One of the major health concerns regarding a gluten-free diet is increased homocysteine levels. Recently, a recent study found that by taking B vitamin supplements, celiac patients can reduce this risk.
What exactly is homocysteine? Homocysteine is an amino acid in the blood. Studies have shown that too much homocysteine in the blood is related to a higher risk of coronary heart disease, stroke and peripheral vascular disease. Other evidence suggests that homocysteine may have an effect on atherosclerosis by damaging the inner lining of arteries and promoting blood clots.
Even when faithfully following a gluten-free diet, celiac patients are more likely to suffer from nutrient deficiencies and poor health. Gluten-free products are often low in B vitamins, calcium, vitamin D, iron, zinc, magnesium, and fiber as very few gluten-free foods are not fortified with these nutrients.
In the study that was recently conducted, celiac patients were treated with not only a gluten-free diet, healing their small intestine and increasing absorption of nutrients, but they were also given B vitamin supplements. It was found that those who took this supplement and maintained a gluten-free diet had significantly higher levels of B vitamins in the blood and lower levels of homocysteine, compared with a group who only maintained a gluten-free diet and another control group.
What does this mean for you? Researchers are now saying that B vitamin supplements
should be considered in disease management. In addition to your gluten-free diet, you should take B vitamin supplements daily, making sure these include vitamin B6, folate, and vitamin B12. It is fortunate the celiac community now has this vital information, and as celiac research continues, we can look forward to more helpful data from researchers.
Tina Turbin
Tags: B vitamins, celiac disease, celiac disease research, celiac patients, gluten free diet, gluten-free tips, vitamin B supplements
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Try:http://www.affordablefamilyvitamins.com/
You can also Google Gluten Free vitamins or the word supplements.
I met with the researcher of Country Life vitamins ( above) and he specifcally told me about his entire concept for creating the gluten free products.
Smart man. Arbonne also carries a gluten free line as well as DaVinci vitamins. Hope this helps! Tina
Great article. Gluten sensitive individuals often have altered stomach function (one symptom is acid reflux) and with this altered function they cannot absorb B-12. B-12 can be absorbed sublingually so that can help until the stomach heals and they have a more normalized intrinsic factor working. The whole absorption is can be aggravated by
opportunistic infection and over growth such as candida, etc. Once addressed this can make a major difference for these individuals. (relates to fibromyalgia issues as well). Thank you for the great article Tina!
You are so right DR. Lund. Thank you for your input and for visiting my site. Tina
Being celiac, I’ve always heard it was good to take B vitamin supplements but wasn’t really sure why. This clears a lot of my questions up! Thanks for all the info! -Laura
[...] keeping up with me for a while, you’ve probably heard me mention and quote the benefits of a GF multivitamin on the gluten-free diet. After all, it’s common sense health advice. Now there’s scientific [...]
[...] keeping up with me for a while, you’ve probably heard me mention and quote the benefits of a GF multivitamin on the gluten-free diet. After all, it’s common sense health advice. Now there’s scientific [...]
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New to Gluten Free Thanks for the Vitamin B advice. I get it and also agree on the importance of a multi-vitamin but still unsure which one’s are GF.