Malabsorption & Vitamin Deficiencies

[ElizFost]

How do you correct the vitamin deficiencies caused by malabsorption. I take a good multivitamin daily and yet I am anemic. How does a celiac get the nutrients they need. I'm thinking liquid vitamins, or whole food vitamin or juicing? Or is the situation that your body won't absorb them whatever you do?

I'm seeing that I have gluten, lactose and fructose intolerance issues. I assumed I would recover if I got off gluten but almost 2 years later have discovered the malabsorption issue as well as lactose and fructose intolerance.

I have a 2 year old Down Syndrome daughter who is gluten intolerant and so I'm trying to figure out how to help her as well. I have a support group for her issues and they are all into the natural health medicine but I want to ask this question of you because you are more familiar with the celiac condition. Thanks.

[+jasonparker]

  On 1/28/2012 at 8:44 PM, ElizFost said:

How do you correct the vitamin deficiencies caused by malabsorption. I take a good multivitamin daily and yet I am anemic. How does a celiac get the nutrients they need. I'm thinking liquid vitamins, or whole food vitamin or juicing? Or is the situation that your body won't absorb them whatever you do?

I'm seeing that I have gluten, lactose and fructose intolerance issues. I assumed I would recover if I got off gluten but almost 2 years later have discovered the malabsorption issue as well as lactose and fructose intolerance.

I have a 2 year old Down Syndrome daughter who is gluten intolerant and so I'm trying to figure out how to help her as well. I have a support group for her issues and they are all into the natural health medicine but I want to ask this question of you because you are more familiar with the celiac condition. Thanks.

I have a injection of vitamin B every 4-6 weeks. Helps unbelievably well.

[Skylark]

You have to heal your gut. A lot of us find sublingual B12 useful and sometimes iron injections are necessary.

Once you get off the fructose and the inflammation improves, you should absorb better. I'd recommend you start taking probiotics and eating probiotic food like the new Yoplait lactose-free yogurt and unpasteurized sauerkraut or other lacto-fermented veggies. Look for Bubbie's brand if you don't care to ferment your own kraut.

I'm on a diet called GAPS that is supposed to help heal but I don't see how you could do it with fructose malabsorption. Open Original Shared Link is the website if you're interested.

[mushroom]

I too take B12 injections, and I have some liquid Vitamin A. Many people use sublingual B12 supplementation as it bipasses the gut. When you have an intestinal system that is not absorbing it is hard to get the proper nutrients into your system. The best thing you can do is try to heal your gut with probiotics and to take digestive enzymes to aid in the breakdown of foods, in my experience, since celiac disease has a negative impact on enzyme production. The probiotics are to combat the growth of the bad bacteria in the gut which often overpower the good, and are especially important to take if you have had to take antibiotics which kill off all the good guys as well.

[sfamor]

My primary care doctor prescribed B-12 shots weekly and then monthly for a b-12 deficiency when I was first diagnosed with both celiacs and low B-12. I also had low iron and was able to get my number back up to normal by taking a vitamin tablet daily for a couple months. Until your gut is "healed" though taking vitamins in a pill form won't be useful because you won't be able to absorb them. The sublingual tablets should work though because you absorb them through the lining of the skin under your tongue. I work with a Naturopathic doctor now and she has suggested a quality liquid vitamin as it is easier to digest and absorb, but again that's only for after you've healed your gut (some say it can take 6 months to a year after going gluten free).

[AVR1962]

The multi probably will not be enough, especially if you are trying to get the benefits of the iron from it. Keep taking it but you will probably have to add an extra iron supplement. I have found Gentle iron taken after breakfast with a glass of juice works well. Some people can become a bit nauseated from iron supplements but if you take it with food on your stomach it will help absorb it. Keep in mind you ned vit C to help absorb the iron.

Part of the problem with B12 besides leaking gut, is that it needs methylcobalamin to help the body absorb it. B12 is a water soluable vit and therefore does not stay in the system. It is incredibly difficult to get enough B12, especially for those with damaged villa. Best form is thru diet and if you are not doing injections, try a B complex with methyl.....this is what made the difference for me. The regular B12 that you can buy at the grocery store will go right thru your system. Take it after a meal to help with absorbtion. Open Original Shared Link

You may find at first there are various foods the body cannot take in as so much repair has to be done. So dairy, fructose along with some food additives just might not set well. I even had a hard time with meat at first. Raw diet is the answer. I also found chicken broth in everything helped me alot, maybe just the issues I was having and may not apply to everyone. But I would boil up a chicken, save the broth and then use that broth for my rice, veggies, home made soups.

At 2 your daughter can take a child's multi. A wholoe raw food diet could also be very helpful for her as well.

[plumbago]

The vitamins I take are a monthly injection of B12 and a weekly mega dose (50,000) of D. However, it makes sense to get your blood tested for vitamins every once in a while just to make sure that vitamin-taking is still necessary (I am not that into it - prefer eating them). I look forward to the day when I no longer have to take these. It's probably not very likely, but one might be low on B12 due to something other than celiac disease, for example pernicious anemia, in which case B12 injections are necessary for life. Again, yearly blood tests would be helpful, and insist on what you want tested.

Plumbago

[samie]

I had to take iron iv weekly till my body started healing. The pills wouldn't absorb.

[ElizFost]

Thanks friends. This helps me to know where to start.

[MIgrainePosterChild]

I have been suffering for a long time with migraines and GI issues. Doctors kept trying to only treat the migraines yet I began to notice a connection between my migraine aura and GI issues. I became so frustrated that I decided I needed to do my own research. I know the hazards in self-diagnosing, but the definition of malabsorption could have had my picture next to it! It has probably been going on for years and only in the past few months or so become a big enough problem that I had to quit my job, have felt sick and fatigued every day, been dealing with constant constipation and flatulence, afraid to eat the wrong things to make it worse, and now I am attempting to go completely Gluten free hoping that will fix everything, but I am more confused them ever. I already know I am mildly anemic and have been taking a multi-vitamin in pill form, but I had my doctor test me for B12 deficiency today. I can't afford to see any specialists and my primary doctor does not seem to understand what I am experiencing. My hubby and I are now barely scraping by on his low income, so doctors bills and gluten free lifestyle changes really add up! I could really use some advice.