An Iron Strong Defense Against Celiac Disease?

The discovery that a simple iron supplement might protect against celiac disease is important to a lot of people because celiac disease is becoming more and more common.

Celiac disease is an autoimmune response to gluten, the protein found in grain. When triggered by gluten, your immune system attacks the villi in your small intestine, impairing the digestion of nutrients.

Celiac is becoming more prevalent over the past few decades. A safe, natural solution would be welcome.

Irone deficiency is found in around 80% of people with celiac. That shocking number can partially, but not completely, be explained by the poor absorption of nutrients. The large unexplained deficiency in iron led researchers to question whether low iron can not only be an effect, but a cause of celiac disease.

The study looked at 336,638 people, 1,855 of whom had celiac disease. It found that genetically higher levels of iron were associated with a decreased risk of celiac disease and that genetically low levels of iron were associated with a higher risk of celiac disease. The results suggest a causal relationship between iron deficiency and risk of celiac.

Though low iron is surely not the whole story, it seems to be an integral part of it. This finding suggests that iron supplementing iron may potentially provide protection against celiac disease.

BMJ Open Gastroenterology 2024;11:e001236.

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For much more on preventing and treating celiac disease naturally, see our book The Family Naturopathic Encyclopedia.

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