What to Know about Micronutrients When You Have Celiac Disease

When dealing with celiac disease you are more likely to suffer from a number of associated conditions. Many of these conditions are linked to micronutrient deficiencies. This is where your body does not have enough of one or more specific nutrient. The lack of these nutrients within your body can lead to other health problems, ranging anywhere from always feeling sleepy to issues with your red blood cells. It is important to understand what micronutrients are and what to do about any sort of deficiency potentially associated with celiac disease.

Celiac Disease & Micronutrients – What to Know

Common Micronutrient Deficiencies

According to research published by the Mayo Clinic in 2019, there are a number of common micronutrient deficiencies associated with celiac disease. Some of these more common deficiencies include not having enough folate, iron, copper, zinc, Vitamin D, and B12 in your system. Not having the necessary amount of a given nutrient in your body will, over time, begin to effect you. You’ll feel sleepy, not have the necessary energy to perform daily tasks, or you might have problems with bruising. There’s no limit to how your body might react to these micronutrient deficiencies.

In the study, it was actually more common to have some kind of a deficiency than to have stable, healthy levels of the nutrients in your body. In fact, 59.4 percent of the over 300 people suffering from celiac disease partaking in the study had a zinc deficiency. A lack of Vitamin D, copper, iron, B12 and folate were also high on the list of common deficiencies.

How To Handle Micronutrient Deficiencies

Before you start popping supplements it is a good idea to talk with your doctor and have some tests conducted. You don’t want to simply throw supplements at your diet and assume everything will go back to normal. You need to know what kind of deficiency you have before adding in the supplements. Your doctor should be able to determine most of these issues with a simple blood test.

Once the doctor has performed the blood test they will be able to go over ways to make up for the micronutrient deficiency. It may be as easy as adding a new foods to your diet on a daily basis. Other times your doctor might recommend adding a certain supplement to your dietary regimen. If they do add on the supplement make sure to follow their recommended dosage.

After starting up the new diet or supplement make sure to remain mindful of how you feel and how your body reacts. This will help determine if the additional micronutrients are working.

Stay On Top Of Your Overall Health

Whenever you deal with any kind of disease, whether it is celiac disease or another condition altogether, it is important to stay on top of your overall health. Be mindful of what’s going on with your body and how you feel. If you suddenly feel tired and sluggish you need to monitor this. Or if you’re finding cuts on your body that are not healing properly (or at all).

Whenever you experience anything out of the ordinary make sure to schedule an appointment with your primary care physician. It is far better to early on identify what is going on and take the necessary steps to correct these issues. This way you can get on top of the situation and prevent it from developing further (or leading to additional health problems).

And, as always, make sure to talk to your doctor about the best way to live a healthy lifestyle with your condition. It may take some slight adjustments, but you’ll have a healthier, happy life because of it.