Are you missing out on important vitamins and minerals?
According to Webster’s dictionary, gluten is a tenacious elastic protein substance, especially wheat flour that gives cohesiveness to the dough. When people with celiac disease eat gluten, it causes an immune response that attacks the small intestine. Villi in the small intestine gets damaged and nutrients are poorly absorbed.
Damage in the small intestine can cause nutrient deficiencies in people newly diagnosed with celiac disease. Vitamin D, calcium, iron, Vitamin B12, folate, and zinc are specifically mentioned in a 2024 Penn State College of Medicine study examining micronutrient deficiencies in ethnic minority vs white populations.
Vitamin D and Calcium
Calcium and Vitamin D are important for bone health. The good news is that many food sources of calcium and Vitamin D (dairy products and milk alternates, leafy green vegetables, and fatty fish) are naturally gluten-free.
Iron
Iron-rich foods include lean meat, seafood, and chicken. Dried beans and vegetables are the best plant sources of iron. Other foods that provide iron are egg yolks, dried fruit, and whole grains.
Food fortification (adding nutrients to food to improve its nutritional value) has significantly increased the total iron intake of the U.S. population. Unfortunately, many fortified cereals, flour, and bread contain gluten and are eliminated on a gluten-free diet.
Fortified Foods
The nutrition facts label on the left is wheat pasta fortified with iron and B vitamins.
The nutrition facts label on the left is unfortified rice pasta.
B12 (Cobalamin compounds)
Vitamin B12 is found in fish, meat, poultry, eggs, and milk. Plant foods have limited vitamin B12 unless they are fortified. Some food products (cereals and nutritional yeast) are fortified with vitamin B12.
Folate (B9)
Folate is naturally present in vegetables (especially broccoli, cabbage, mushrooms, and spinach), orange juice, mango, kiwi, papaya, beans, and sunflower seeds. Folate is another nutrient added to fortified cereals, flour, and bread.
Zinc
Zinc is found in meat, fish, poultry, seafood, peanuts, pecans, and milk. Whole wheat bread is also a good source of zinc.
Choosing Gluten-Free Grains
Eat less processed foods like brown rice, gluten-free oats, and quinoa. Gluten-free whole grains provide a good source of fiber, iron, zinc, and folate.
Limit gluten-free foods made with refined flour or starches. These foods typically contain more fat, sugar, and salt than their wheat-based counterparts. Highly processed or ultra-processed foods may contain unhealthy fats and artificial ingredients.
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