NEW! A Faster Test For The Food Protein That Triggers Celiac Disease
Researchers in Spain and the United Kingdom are reporting development of a faster test for identifying the food protein that triggers celiac disease, a difficult-to-diagnose digestive disease involving the inability to digest protein called gluten that occurs in wheat, oats, rye, and barley. Click here for article.

Vitamin D helps keep intestines healthy
According to information found on www.celiac.com, researchers at the University of Chicago using vitamin D receptor "knockout" mice demonstrated vitamin D may have a key role in maintaining the intestinal mucosal barrier and the integrity of tight junctions. The "knockout" mice were genetically altered to produce mice lacking vitamin D receptors normally expressed by cells in most body tissues.Am J Physiol Gastrointest Liver Physiol (October 25, 2007).

Have a baked potato! It’s good for your health!
Potatoes are a resistant starch, which can act as a replacement for wheat products in foods that are required to be gluten-free. Recent scientific studies suggest that resistant starch’s fermentation within the colon may be important because it produces more butyrate than other fibers tested.(1) Butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid, has been shown to have anti-carcinogenic properties and anti-inflammatory properties, which may be useful for preventing and/or treating Celiac disease and inflammatory bowel disease.
(1) Am J Clin Nutr 2001;73(2 suppl): 415S-20S.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids may reduce damage to the intestines.
Besides being extremely beneficial to the heart, omega-3 fatty acids have excellent anti-inflammatory properties, which may help reduce damage to the intestines.

Antioxidant in Tomatoes May Improve Celiac Disease.
Celiac disease occurs when the body reacts abnormally to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and possibly oats. When someone with celiac disease eats foods containing gluten, that person's immune system causes an inflammatory response in the small intestine, which damages the tissues and results in impaired ability to absorb nutrients from foods. One cause of this inflammation is the expression of inflammatory agents such as the Cox-2 enzyme. What scientists have found is that specific antioxidants have anti-inflammatory properties and can inhibit the effects of this enzyme. Two such antioxidants are Lycopene (found in tomatoes) and Quercetin (found in foods such as onions and grapefruit). The researchers in this clinical study suggest that these compounds may represent non toxic agents for the control of pro-inflammatory genes involved in celiac disease. Eur J Pharmacol. 2007 Jul 2;566(1-3):192-9.

Special Mushroom May Help Reduce the Risk of Celiac-related Diabetes.
Celiac disease was associated with a statistically significantly increased risk of subsequent type 1 diabetes before age 20 years. Diabetes Care. 2006 Nov;29(11):2483-8 . New medical data suggest that MT-alpha-glucan (compound contained in maitake mushrooms) has an anti-diabetic effect on laboratory mice, which might be related to its effect on insulin receptors (i.e., increasing insulin sensitivity and ameliorating insulin resistance of peripheral target tissues). J Pharm Pharmacol. 2007 Apr;59(4):575-82.

Blueberries Exert Anti-inflammatory Activity.
Blueberries are among the edible fruits that are recognized best for their potential health benefits. The crude extract from Vaccinium corymbosum was assessed in anti-inflammatory and antinociceptive models. Due to their anti-inflammatory activity, the consumption of blueberries (or blueberry supplements) may be helpful for the treatment of inflammatory disorders. J Pharm Pharmacol. 2007 Apr;59(4):591-6.

Enzyme Therapy for Celiac Disease
Enzyme therapy based on animal digestive extracts was investigated as a means of completely digesting toxic residues from gluten in the small intestine, thus providing a means of protection of the mucosa. A randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial of an encapsulated enzyme extract was conducted in 21 coeliac patients in remission who were challenged with a modest amount of gluten daily over 2 weeks. Only 8 of the 21 patients (38%) had more than 5 episodes of moderate to severe symptoms during either of the gluten challenge periods, and in these, symptoms scores were ameliorated during enzyme therapy compared with the placebo period. CONCLUSIONS: Only 1 of the 6 patients had normal histology at entry, thus focusing attention on the need for better management of the disease. By histological criteria, enzyme therapy offered better protection than placebo during the gluten challenges. The study supports the use of enzyme supplementation as a safeguard for patients with coeliac disease because of the difficulty of ensuring a strictly gluten-free diet.(1)
1. J. Gastroenterol. 2005 Nov; 40(11): 1304-12.

Celiac Disease: A risk factor for female fertility and pregnancy
Celiac disease is a genetically-based intolerance to gluten. In the past, celiac disease has been considered a rare disease of infancy characterized by chronic diarrhea and delayed growth. Besides the overt enteropathy, there are many other forms which appear later in life; target organs are not limited to the gut, but include liver, thyroid, skin and reproductive tract. It is now recognized that celiac disease is a relatively frequent disorder; the overall prevalence is at least 1:300 in Western Europe. Celiac disease may impair the reproductive life of affected women, eliciting delayed puberty, infertility, amenorrhea and precocious menopause. Clinical and epidemiological studies show that female patients with celiac disease are at higher risk of spontaneous abortions, low birth weight of the newborn and reduced duration of lactation. No adequate studies are available on the rate of birth defects in the progeny of affected women; however, celiac disease induces malabsorption and deficiency of factors essential for organogenesis, e.g. iron, folic acid and vitamin K. The overall evidence suggests that celiac disease patients can be a group particularly susceptible to reproductive toxicants; however, the pathogenesis of celiac disease-related reproductive disorders still awaits clarification. At present, like the other pathologies associated with celiac disease, the possible prevention or treatment of reproductive effects can only be achieved through a life-long maintenance of a gluten-free diet.(1)
1. Gynecol Endocrinol. 2000 Dec;14(6):454-63.

Physician says, "multivitamins, including folic acid, are a must for pregnant women with celiac disease."
A physician was quoted in a medical journal as stating, "one of my patients was diagnosed with celiac disease and maintains a strict gluten-free diet. Is her fetus at risk of neural tube defects because she isn't getting her folic acid from bread and other flour-based foods? ANSWER: A woman with celiac disease must supplement her diet with multivitaminsm, including folic acid. Most prenatal vitamins contain 0.8 to 0.9 mg of folic acid, double the amount recommended by Health Canada for prevention of neural tube defects. Without supplementation, women with celiac disease might not take in enough folate to maintain protective levels.(1)
1. Can Fan Physician, 2004 Oct;50:1361-3.

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