Gluten-Free Diet

Even those with few or no symptoms are required to follow a lifelong gluten-free diet in order to avoid long-term complications of coeliac disease.

Sufferers of the disease have an increased risk of developing a cancer somewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, but the chance of this decreases after following a gluten-free diet for five years.

The avoidance of gluten will also lead to the regrowth of the villi in the small intestine so any nutrient deficiency can be corrected.

These nutrient deficiencies commonly include low blood iron and folate, which could cause anaemia and fatigue, and diminished calcium absorption, which could cause a weakening of the bones, resulting in bone fractures or osteoporosis.

Taken from Healthy Food For Life
Info by Kim Faulkner- Hogg (BSc, Grad Dip Nutr & Diet)