What Can We Do To Help Our Celiac Children?

Custom Choice Cereal--Gluten Free Cereal YOU Make!

Over at the Custom Choice Cereal Blog (http://customchoicecereal.com/blog/), Hajo is hosting another Q&A session with Dr. Stephen Wangen, known as the ‘Gluten Free Doctor.’  Dr. Wangen works at the Irritable Bowel Syndrome Center in Seattle, to which he co-founded and specializes in digestive disorders and food allergies.  Definitely one in the know on Celiac Disease.  We definitely appreciate Hajo hosting Dr. Wangen for our questions, and also for his yummy gluten free cereal mixes.

As parents of Celiac children, we definitely want to make sure we do all that we can to support our children and make sure we limit the possibility of side-effects in the future.  I think most of us have heard about cases of low bone density, brittle enamel on teeth, and other negative impacts of a gluten-free lifestyle, but as in my question I asked Dr. Wangen below, keeping that strict gf lifestyle will help them grow into their adult years.

hurricanesfan66 2 days ago

Dr. Wangen,

Hello! Thanks for providing this service to us!! I have two daughters, both with Celiac. We have been able to make it through pretty well, especially as more companies pay attention to this and more resources are out there for us.

With younger daughters, we are not to concerned yet regarding possible problems in the future due to certain deficiencies, they also take multivitamins, but what should we be aware of in the future? We know of a younger boy who had enamel/calcium deficiencies and needed early dental work. We also hear of bone density problems. What proactive steps can we take now with our girls to help avoid problems in the future?

Thanks!

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Answer from Dr. Stephen Wangen, “The Gluten Free Doctor”

The earlier that celiac disease is discovered the less likely that you’ll have to worry about any of these problems. Of course, if they already have something like an enamel defect then that will be apparent. But the best thing that you can do is continue to have them avoid gluten. If they are young then that should prevent other problems from developing in the future. However, it’s an interesting question that really needs more research.

Thanks again to the folks at Custom Choice Cereal. If you do not currently subscribe to their blog, you definitely want to do it. They share a wealth of information on research, information, and more about Celiac and gluten-free lifestyles. A definite must read!