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Son New To gluten-free Diet

Ginnie64

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Ginnie64 Rookie
Ginnie64
Posted

Hi my son has been on a gluten free diet for 2 months. He has not been properly tested, the doctor has said I can do my own test by putting him on this diet, if he stops having all the pain he has celiac. He has no more pain and his gas has dropped by 80%. Looking back at things I would say he has had this since he was put on food when he was a baby. He is 10 years old now. I thought he was very colicky as a young child since you can have it up until your 5 or 6 years old. He has never been a really healthy child, but since he has been on the diet he has had to very bad colds. My question is, is he going through a lot of changes in his system which is lowering his immune system? I thought he should be getting healthier.

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rosetapper23 Explorer
rosetapper23
Posted

I would suggest that your doctor have your son's vitamin and mineral levels checked--he may be low in Vitamin D or C, which could be causing him to be more prone to viruses. People with celiac can suffer from nutritional deficiencies, and the most common ones are Vitamin D, iron, B-12, and Folic Acid. However, he might be deficient in these and other nutrients, because eventhough he's following the diet, he could have sustained some damage previously to the lining of his small intestine. I can take a while for the damage to heal.

Darn210 Enthusiast
Darn210
Posted

I don't have any scientific data to throw out here, but I will tell you that I've seen accounts from members on this board over the years that have played it both ways . . .

The celiac disease had the immune system so ramped up/constantly ON that they were never sick before diagnosis . . . now they catch every cold that comes along.

The celiac disease had the immune system so overworked and beaten down that they were constantly sick before diagnosis . . . now they haven't had a cold in a year.

Lima Bean Newbie
Lima Bean
Posted

Is it possible he just caught 2 cold that were going around? One of my kids has already had 1 stomach virus and 2 colds this school year. He is usually really healthy and he got over them much faster than the other kids in his class. The kid across the street was sick with one of them for a week. May just be bad luck this year?

AVR1962 Collaborator
AVR1962
Posted

Can your son eat yogurt? I would encourage this on a daily basis and if he cannot eat yogurt or doesn't like it I would look into a probiotic for children. One of my girls had a real tough time, caught everything that came around and more. Doc suggested cultured milk (yogurt drinks) and yogurt and while she would be consistant she would do well but it is no easy to always put this into your body if you're not crazy about it in the first place so she started on a probiotic and that helped alot.

Ginnie64 Rookie
Ginnie64
Posted
  • Author

Thank you for your comments. I have to work harder to make sure he has a yogourt every day the doctor did say he should eat it every day. I just started giving him vitamins a week ago, hopefully that will help.

domesticactivist Collaborator
domesticactivist
Posted

Make sure the yogurt he is eating has live cultures! You can also introduce other probiotic foods like homemade (or bubbies refrigerated) sauerkraut. You might also look into making sure that gluten is really, truly eliminated from his diet!

I have blog posts on the blog linked from my profile about being 100% gluten-free. If you search on cross contamination here you should find great stuff as well!

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maximoo Enthusiast
maximoo
Posted

make sure his vitamins are gluten-free too. flinstones are not gluten-free .

Ginnie64 Rookie
Ginnie64
Posted
  • Author

There is so much to think about. I have been researching this for 2 months and every time I think I have a handle on things I read something that send me back reading labels again. It can be overwhelming at times. I read that you need to check your bathroom for gluten because it can be in your toothpaste and other things. Who would have thought. I do appreciate your your help.

  • 2 weeks later...
amberskids Newbie
amberskids
Posted

If your son doesn't tolerate dairy, many new celiacs don't - a good way to get probiotics is through making your own water kefir (if you're ambitious) or buying coconut kefir or you can go to your health food store and get the refrigerated powdered kinds that you can add to his water or juice. the children's kind that I have has 3 billion per serving -- it sounds like a lot until you realize that you are supposed to be populated with trillions =)

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    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
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