Evaluating Dietary Supplements: What Should Celiac Patients Know?

Gluten leaves large molecules with 33 amino acids intact in length. These amino acids leave the stomach and enter the small intestine. Molecules having nine or more amino acids are specifically prone to bind with HLA-DQ8 and HLA-DQ2 antigen, which presents the T-cells. These cells are mostly present in patients with celiac disease. Therefore, reducing the molecules to less than nine amino acids long will minimize the damage taken from the gluten as it enters the small intestine. Scientists are yet to create or develop available products for the purpose of degrading these large molecules through conducting a research about the enzymes called proteases.

Another effect of gluten is that when it encounters the cells of the immune system, they will mistakenly treat it as a bacteria and the immune system will attack the gluten. This immune reaction causes deterioration in the walls of the intestine, which is also the cause of nutrient deficiencies, anemia, digestive issues, fatigue, and increasing the risk of having multiple serious diseases.

Gluten has also serious effects on the brain. There are multiple cases of neurological illness caused by the consumption of gluten. This is known as the gluten-sensitive idiopathic neuropathy. A study was conducted to the patients with unknown causes of neurological illness, which resulted in 57% of 53 patients having antibodies to gluten in their blood. This neurological disorder called cerebellar ataxia was partly because of the gluten. Cerebellar ataxia is a severe brain disease that involves the disability to coordinate movements, balance, problems in talking, and others.