Celiac Disease (CD)

By Nutritionist Jin Yuan

What is Celiac disease?

Celiac Disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease characterized by inflammation of the intestinal mucosa due to an immune response to wheat gliadins.

Celiac disease is a serious autoimmune disease that occurs in genetically predisposed people where the ingestion of gluten leads to damage in the small intestine. It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people worldwide

Celiac disease is hereditary, meaning that it runs in families. People with a first-degree relative with celiac disease (parent, child, sibling) have a 1 in 10 risk of developing celiac disease.

Sign and Symptoms

1. Irregular periods
2. Early menopause
3. Constipation
4. Diarrhea
5. Nausea
6. Anemia

Risk factors for celiac disease

1. Type 1 diabetes
2. Rheumatoid arthritis
3. Lactose intolerance
4. Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
5. Autoimmune hepatitis

Treatment

• Excluding foods that contain gluten from your diet (Gluten-free diet)

Foods contain gluten

1. Pasta
2. Cakes
3. Cereals
4. Hot dogs and processed lunchmeats
5. Seasoned snack foods, such as potato and tortilla chips

Food does NOT contain gluten

1. Most Dairy Products (Cheese, butter and milk)
2. Fruits and vegetables
3. Gluten-free flours (Rice, corn, soy and potato flour)

Role of Probiotic in Managing Symptoms of Celiac Disease

Probiotics have shown effectiveness in alleviating symptoms of celiac disease (CD), particularly in reducing diarrhea. They modify the intestinal microbiota composition of CD patients and may improve CD-related symptoms by modulating the peripheral immune response and altering fecal microbiota.

Gluten-free Probiotic Food

1. Kombucha
2. Milk kefir
3. Cheese
4. Yogurt
5. Buttermilk 

What is AB-Kefir?

Kefir, a type of fermented milk with long history, has been used as an effective agent for the prevention of various health issues such as gastrointestinal disorders and allergies. AB-Kefir contains six lactic acid bacteria and one Bifidobacterium in a lyophilized form, with a total cell count of 10¹¹ CFU/g. The competitive advantage of AB-kefir over the traditional kefir is its ability to produce a variety of postbiotics (metabolic byproducts), such as antimicrobial peptides, 28 types of free amino acids, organic acid, B-group vitamins and water soluble polysaccharide. The ingestion of AB-kefir has been shown to improve gut health through human clinical trial: constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloating, poor appetite, choking, difficulty in swallowing, and feeling of nausea and vomiting. 

References :

Ali, B., & Khan, A. R. (2022). Efficacy of Probiotics in Management of Celiac Disease. Cureus, 14(2). https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.22031

Celiac Disease Foundation. (2024). What Is Celiac Disease? Celiac Disease Foundation; Celiac Disease Foundation. https://celiac.org/about-celiac-disease/what-is-celiac-disease/

Jennifer Robinson. (2017, January 4). What Is Celiac Disease? WebMD; WebMD. https://www.webmd.com/digestive-disorders/celiac-disease/celiac-disease

Lindsey Konkel. (2022, June 7). What Is Celiac Disease? Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, and Prevention | Everyday Health | | Everyday Health. EverydayHealth.com. https://www.everydayhealth.com/celiac-disease/guide/

Pecora, F., Persico, F., Gismondi, P., Fornaroli, F., Iuliano, S., de’Angelis, G. L., & Esposito, S. (2020). Gut microbiota in celiac disease: Is there any role for probiotics? Frontiers in Immunology, 11(957). https://doi.org/10.3389/fimmu.2020.00957

Soheilian Khorzoghi, M., Rostami-Nejad, M., Yadegar, A., Dabiri, H., Hadadi, A., & Rodrigo, L. (2023). Impact of probiotics on gut microbiota composition and clinical symptoms of coeliac disease patients following gluten-free diet. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 35, 101201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.conctc.2023.101201