Nutrition Guidelines?

[hh73]

I have been a diagnosed Celiac for 6 weeks now. I had first meeting with a dietician this week, and I am very frustrated. I expected to be presented with nutrition guidelines for Celiacs, something akin to

"You should be having, on a daily basis:

2500-3500 calories

2000mg calcium

100 IU Vit A

etc

etc"

I got nothing like this. I just got another long version of what i can eat, and what i cant. Very disappointing. Do the guidelines I am looking for exist? I want something numerical, so that I know I am eating enough calories, getting enough vitamins, etc.

I did the work of putting all the supplements I am taking into a spreadsheet, so we can see how much total Vit A, Vit D, etc I am getting. My dietician barely looked at it, and said "lets just add 1000mg of Vit D"

I expected more rigorous analysis.

Do I wait until November, for my 3 month follow up with my gastroenterologist?

[sb2178]

i'm impressed with you as a patient. most people wouldn't be all that interested or willing to follow it, and I don't know that it would be typical to lay out a spreadsheet of numbers for a first celiac consult. Basic information is available at blood tests are useful baseline evaluations, but to generalize from what I've read, celiac patients need additional:

iron

calcium

vitamin D

B-12

magnesium

folate

essential fatty acids (i.e. fish oil)

The iron is something that should be carefully monitored. Don't go too crazy on either the B-12 or folate, as an abundance of either can hide a deficiency of the other. If you have any history of kidney stones, back off on the calcium somewhat (1000-1500 mg/day). Research thus far shows that celiacs tend to regain some bone density as long as they meet reasonable amounts of calcium intake. Excess amounts of calcium can compete with other minerals like iron and decrease your absorption of them.

Ideally, you'll be able to avoid most supplements after you have had time to heal. Watch for whole grains and fiber, as lots of substitute foods are relatively low in both. Try to keep your fat levels down somewhat, as many celiac patients also tend toward eater a higher fat diet than is considered ideal. Fortunately, we can be pretty good about eating produce since we CAN. yay for broccoli!

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