Vitamin B12 deficiency & celiacs

I'm sorry I can't tell you anything about the Celiacs, but you can easily help the B12 deficiency by taking a multivitamin or a B12 supplement (both easily attainable at a general/grocery store).

Hope that helps some!

If you have just had a positive blood result for celiac then you need to have an endoscopy through a gastro specialist. This same thing happened to me 2 years ago.

You will need to eat a gluten free diet for the rest of your life.

The B12 deficiency is definitely related. Celiac affects the small intestine and causes malabsorption of nutrients, vitamins and minerals. Once gluten free, your intestine will heal, and be able to reabsorb these nutrients.

Do some research, but ultimately, you need to see a specialist and get this confirmed. Not everyone is symptomatic of celiac (gut pain/ bloating/ vomiting/ diarrhoea) - I wasn't AT ALL.

Sorry this has happened to you - it sucks initially, but in the long run, a GF diet is actually really healthy and I have learnt to love it!

Hi

I got some blood test results back this morning and the nurse said I'm deficient in vitamin B12 and that I also have celiacs disease.

Does anyone have any B12 issues here and how do I improve this? I do have an appointment with the doctor to discuss results on Tuesday, but I'm just wondering what happens in terms of diet and metabolism with B12 and if it's related to the celiacs at all.

I'm a bit confused!

Thanks
Heather

I was diagnosed with B12 deficiency and so I get a monthly shot and then I take 1000 mg a day and I feel so much better since I started doing this. B12 shouldn't cause any problems with your diet don't know anything about celiacs disease . Feel free to add me as a friend if you have more questions

I'm also Celiac and have low B12. I got diagnosed a year ago and I'm still trying to get my B12 in the normal range. I have to get shots and take a geriatric multivitamin and it's still slow coming back up. The way my doctor explained it is that when you have Celiac disease, your stomach doesn't absorb many of the vitamins and minerals it needs, so the multivitamin alone may not be enough to keep the levels in the normal range. Be sure to ask your doctor about B12 injections when you go to discuss treatment. Celiac disease is definitely a tough diagnosis. Try to see a nutritionist also because they will be able to tell you what you can and cannot eat. www.celiac.org is an excellent resource for learning about Celiac and the gluten free diet. I wish you the best of luck!

And it will taste like crap! lol - I'm in Oz, I don't eat bread anymore

Here are my tips for easy GF eating...

Swap bread for rice cakes/ cruskits/ salads - but always check labels. It's GLUTEN not just wheat you need to avoid. This means no malt, barley, rye, oats etc - that's right, no beer, vegemite or cereals! Cross contamination is your nightmare... you can no longer use the same toaster etc and eating out is tricky

Soy sauce - check labels! Many brands are GF

Pasta - San Remo is the best. Or eat rice/ potatoes/ veggies instead

Cake - ok, this is tough. Some of the packet mixes are ok, but trial and error. I tend not to eat them anyway

Biscuits - loving Leda gingernuts right now - low cal too!

Chocolate - no Nestle allowed. Cadbury is ok, but not if it contains biscuit/ wafer etc

Peanut butter - many brands are ok

Cereal - buy GF or eat other things - I make my own brown rice porridge

Meat - all ok, but check marinades, no rotisserie chicken (stuffing not GF), check deli meats, check sausages. Nothing crumbed/ battered etc

Frozen things - veg ok, most other things awful! No pizza, pies, chips (some ok - check labels) etc

Yoghurt - most ok

Fruit and veg - all good

Remember that wheat glucose syrup is ok - it is so refined that no gluten remains.

Salad dressing - check. Stick to balsamic if unsure.... kraft mayo ok

Entertaining - dips - check! Yumi brand are fab. Crackers - mostly avoid.

Vege chips are v yummy! Tofu ok, but not marinated. Ice cream - often ok, but no more cones!

Maccas & Hungry Jacks - can only eat fries and sundaes and garden salad

Hope this helped a bit!

I have pernacious anaemia which means i cannot absorb B12 through my gastric tract. I have to have injections every 3 months for the rest of my life. With Coelics becasue it also can cause absorption issues you may well need to have the injections. Usually what they do if give you some very high dose B12 tablets first and re-check your levels, if they've gone up then you can absorb through the gut and you can just supplament. If they don't go up then you need injections.

it's worth noting as well that your body starts with a store of B12 and that to get a low result your diet/absorbtion needs to be very low for a very long time (around 5 years i believe)/ You do not become B12 defficient overnight and the results of long term severe deficiency can be very serious- permanent neurological damage and even death. Take this very seriously and if you are still getting low results push the doctors to deal with it promptly as it's not soemthing you want to just put off and leave.

Make sure you get your levels retested as well.

Brown rice porridge - 200g brown rice + 2 litres fluid (I use half skim milk, half water) into slow cooker (low) overnight. Makes 4 large serves. I add cinnamon and honey to taste. Often I substitute some of the rice for buckwheat and/ or TVP mince (soy - for protein). I also add psyllium for fibre!