A study that was published in the journal JAMA, suggests that children who eat a lot of gluten-heavy foods could develop intolerance to gluten. This is crucial during the five years of their life as it can increase their likelihood of having celiac disease, which is a digestive disorder that damages the small intestine.
Experts say that higher gluten intake is associated with a 6.1% increased risk of celiac disease autoimmunity, a 7.2% increased risk of the celiac disease per each additional gram of gluten per day, and immunological response to gluten, according to study.
The researcher of this study evaluated more than 6,600 newborns in the United States, Germany, Finland, and Sweden. These babies were born between 2004 to 2010. All of the children carried a genotype linked with Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease. The authors of the study recorded the gluten intake of the kids every few months until they reached the age of 5, and they compared the levels to reference amounts of gluten intake in children with no Type 1 diabetes and celiac disease.
According to the author of the study, Carin Andren Aronsson, a study manager at the Unit for Diabetes and Celiac Disease at Lund University in Sweden, that over the time that they did their study, 1,216 of the children, or nearly 20% of them, had developed celiac disease autoimmunity, the first sign of the body's negative response to protein. Another 450 participants were diagnosed with celiac disease, about 7% of the participants. Most of the diagnoses occurred between the ages of two and three, according to research.
Celiac disease affects millions of people all over the world
Those who are diagnosed with celiac disease, eating gluten can damage the lining of the small intestine, and it can prevent nutrient absorption. It is estimated to affect 1 in 100 people all over the world, and more than 2 million people might not even know that they have the disease, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation.
Gluten intake is considered as one of the factors in developing celiac disease. However, according to the study that as published in JAMA, the quantity of gluten intake plays a major role as well.
Impact of gluten-free foods for health
Nowadays, gluten-free foods are becoming popular, even for those without a gluten intolerance. Since the 1940s, the diet has been made as a way to reduce bloating and lose weight, though nutritionists today do not necessarily support those claims. When dieters ask their patients to cut out gluten, they sometimes risk nutritional problems. The gluten-free product replaces glutenous ingredients with things like white rice flour and tapioca, which often contain higher amounts of sugar, calories, and fat than gluten, according to dietitian Julie Stefanski.
Gluten products can also be fortified with vitamins and iron, and they can be high in fiber, so eliminating the source of those nutrients could cause digestive problems for those without celiac disease. Removing gluten from your diet is the only way to manage celiac disease, according to the University of Chicago's Celiac Disease Center.
They recommend that parents of young children with the gene reduce their level of gluten intake to prevent the onset of the disease. They also reminded the public that there is no known safe limit for gluten for children who carry the genotype for celiac disease.
