Deficiencies due to gluten-free diet?

I follow a gluten free diet due to a gluten intolerance. Can this diet cause deficiencies?

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Yes, deficiencies are lurking on a gluten-free diet. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, spelt, and kamut. It is therefore also present in all products made from these gluten-containing grains: all types of ordinary bread, but also rusks, crackers, pastries, biscuits, muesli, flakes, wheat flour, wheat groats and in pasta such as macaroni, spaghetti and vermicelli. Gluten is also present in products with a gluten-containing binding agent, such as soup, sauce, sausage and prepared minced meat. Even gluten-free products may contain some gluten.

Complaints

So there are many products that you can no longer eat and that can cause shortages of certain nutrients. This can cause complaints such as abdominal distention, chronic diarrhoea, abdominal pain, anemia, fatigue, listlessness, weight loss, osteoporosis, tooth enamel abnormalities and growth retardation in children. It is also possible that sensitivity to gluten causes intestinal abnormalities without causing symptoms. It is therefore not advisable to experiment with a gluten-free diet yourself.

If you cannot eat gluten, it is therefore necessary to ask a dietician to put together a diet. This ensures that certain foods can be avoided without causing a shortage of nutrients.

About 1 percent of the population is hypersensitive to gluten. This is called celiac disease (gluten intolerance), a condition of the small intestine, which prevents nutrients from being absorbed properly. This cannot be cured. People have complaints such as severe abdominal cramps or diarrhoea, and also fatigue, listlessness or anemia due to a lack of nutrients. To determine with certainty whether you have celiac disease, a thorough examination should be done by a doctor.

Do you also have a question? Then ask one of our experts. Always go to your doctor with urgent questions, the experts are not the right person for that. Nor do they make diagnoses. You can find the other conditions here.

Patricia Schutte has been working as an information officer at the Nutrition Center in The Hague for more than 25 years. She answers questions about healthy, sustainable and safe food.