Osteoporosis and Bone Loss Linked to Gluten Intolerance
Posted: August 26, 2011 Filed under: Uncategorized Leave a comment »
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The New England Journal of Medicine has reported on recent research linking osteoporosis and bone loss to inflammation. It is becoming more apparent that osteoporosis is triggered by an auto-immune attack on the proteins which maintain bone density.
Gluten intolerance may be a double culprit here.
On one hand, gluten intolerance/celiac disease causes malabsorption of nutrients in general, including calcium and vitamin D, critical for bone density.
On the other, gluten intolerance may be triggering osteoporosis by causing a body-wide inflammation, which provokes an auto-immune response which attacks (among other things) the osteoprotegerin proteins responsible for bone density.
Most doctors don’t check for gluten intolerance when examining osteoporosis patients . . . although maybe they should!
Although most medical doctors do not check for gluten intolerance in patients with Osteoporosis and Osteopenia, the idea is not new.
See the New England Journal of Medicine study here.
For more information regarding gluten and gluten-free diets, visit my website.
