While vitamin deficiencies are a common problem in people today, those with conditions such as celiac disease are especially susceptible. When not adhering to a strict gluten free diet, celiac disease can cause extreme damage in the intestines. A lesser known anemia, vitamin B12, can sometimes be present when this disease goes untreated. If you suspect that you have either of these conditions, be sure to consult your physician.
What is Celiac Disease and Gluten
Celiac disease is a genetic disorder where the immune system damages the villi in the small intestines, resulting in malnutrition. Symptoms can be seen as gastrointestinal upset, abdominal pain, delayed growth, difficulty concentrating, and joint pains. This immune response happens when a celiac patient ingests gluten, a protein found in barley, wheat and rye. Oats are often contaminated with wheat gluten during the manufacturing process.
What Vitamin B12 Does
Vitamin B12 is an important nutrient that is required by the body to function properly. Found naturally in animal products such as meat, fish, and eggs, vitamin B12 is necessary for the body to turn food into glucose. Additionally, Vitamin B12 helps the body replicate DNA, create red blood cells, and maintain a healthy nervous system.
Celiac Disease and Vitamin B12 Related
Due to the damage celiac disease can inflict on a patient's digestive tract, vitamin absorption often becomes an issue. According to a study in published in the 2001 "American Journal of Gastroenterology", celiac patients who remain untreated commonly suffer from vitamin B12 deficiencies or anemias. The study also goes on the say that a gluten free diet, used to treat celiac disease, may help restore levels of vitamin B12 in the body. Some patients may need further treatment, such as vitamin B12 injections.
Symptoms of Vitamin B12 Deficiency
Symptoms of a vitamin B12 deficiency can include memory loss, difficulty maintaining balance, tingling feeling in limbs, weight loss, and gastrointestinal upset. If you suspect that you are suffering from a vitamin B12 anemia, be sure to consult your physician. Vitamin B12 levels can be monitored with a simple blood test, and the deficiency can be treated through supplementation. Occasionally, a celiac patient will experience pernicious anemia. This happens when the intrinsic factor, normally made in the stomach to digest vitamin B12, is no longer created in the body. A more serious type of deficiency, pernicious anemia requires vitamin B12 to be injected directly into the blood stream.
