Micronutrients & recovery
Adults with coeliac disease adhering to a strict gluten-free diet for 8-12 years exhibit significantly higher plasma homocysteine levels and lower folate and vitamin B-6 status compared to the general population, indicating a poor vitamin status despite histological remission.
If you have coeliac disease and have been on a gluten-free diet for several years, do not assume your diet is nutritionally complete just because your intestines have healed. You are at higher risk for low folate and vitamin B6, which can raise homocysteine levels—a risk factor for heart disease. Ask your doctor to check your vitamin levels and consider dietary changes or supplementation to correct any deficiencies.
Coeliac patients showed a higher total plasma homocysteine level than the general population, indicative of a poor vitamin status. In accordance, the folate and pyridoxal 5'-phosphate plasma levels of (active form of vitamin B-6) were low in 37% and 20%, respectively... The mean daily intakes of folate and vitamin B-12, but not of vitamin B-6, were significantly lower in coeliac patients than in controls.
Why this rating
Observational cohort study with biopsy-proven adherence and comparison to a normative population sample; strong internal validity for the cohort but limited generalizability to other populations.
Source
Evidence of poor vitamin status in coeliac patients on a gluten‐free diet for 10 years
Claes Hallert et al. · Alimentary Pharmacology & Therapeutics · 2002
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