Celiac and Vitamin Supplements

One of the questions that I have been mulling over, is whether I am wasting my money in continuing to take vitamin supplements if CD has made my body unable to absorb nutrients.

For the past several years, I have taken several vitamin supplements rather than one multivitamin. I have regularly taken Iron, Evening Primrose with Black Currant Seed Oil, CoQ10-100, Biotin, Resveratrol, and Lithium Orotate (5 mg), and a variety of others depending on my budget (Licopein, for example). When I became very ill in late October, I stopped taking all supplements, stopped taking any OTC medicines whether for pain or allergies, and also completely altered my diet, eliminating diet caffeine sodas (and all sodas), fatty or fried foods, and sugar.

Being overwhelmed with fatigue for the past couple of months, I have started taking iron supplements again, and would like to go back to my other supplements as well. For some reason, I am thinking that these extra vitamins may be what kept me somewhat healthy during such stressful times. But am I just throwing my money away if my body can't absorb the nutrients anyway?

I did some research and was directed back to the website I have listed here in "Helpful Links," Celiac.com. I found an article by Jefferson Adams called "Do Vitamin Supplements Benefit Celiac Patients?" (03/10/2009). Adams states that "B-vitamin supplements are helpful in raising vitamin B6, B12 and folate levels and in reducing homocysteine levels in people with celiac disease." It also goes on to say that people with CD may have higher rates of hyperhomocysteinemia-- which I had to look up-- due to low levels of folate and vitamin B12.

Hyperphomocysteinemia (according to my old nursing school books) is simply too much homocysteine in the blood. Basically, homocysteine is a protein waste product--in fact it is an amino acid itself (proteins are amino acids), and it creates little 'irregularities' inside the surface of our blood vessels. The problem is that these little irregularities tend to snag fats which in turn begin to build up in our arteries. Too much homocysteine can lead to coronary disease, stroke and peripheral vascular diseases. In fact, it can damage the inner lining of the arteries and in turn may end up causing blood clots.

The American Heart Association says that:

"Several studies have found that higher blood levels of B vitamins are related, at least partly, to lower concentrations of homocysteine. Other recent evidence shows that low blood levels of folic acid are linked with a higher risk of fatal coronary heart disease and stroke."

Adams (Celiac.com) reminds us that:

"The best way to prevent Hyperhomocysteinaemia is to eat things that contain B6, B12, and folate such as potato, greens, beans and fish."

In his article, Adams states that a team of researchers set out to evalutate the effectiveness of vitamin supplements for B6, B12, and folate on homocysteine levels in people with CD (check Celiac.com for specifics). What they found was that those with CD who used vitamin supplements had higher blood levels of vitamin B6, and folate, and that they also showed lower levels of plasma homocysteine.

Ultimately, the study "confirms earlier studies suggesting that both the presence and severity of celiac disease determined homocysteine levels" and "the regular use of supplemental B vitamins resulted in higher levels of serum vitamin B6, folate, vitamin B12 and lower levels of plasma homocysteine in patients with celiac disease" (Adams).

So I do believe I will continue taking my Biotin supplement because it also contains vitamins B12, B6, B2, and B1 and others. According to Adams, B vitamins seem to offer some protection against the death of the villi in my intestines. It could very well be that I didn't develop the adverse affects of CD earlier because I have had these supplements in my system for the past few years. As my budget waned through this financially stressful year, I was taking fewer supplements, often skipping days without them. And then my body said "OK, can't do it anymore. Wake up and recognize the problem."

Today I have an appointment at the clinic, and will present my ideas and lifelong symptoms. Until now, I had never made the connection between my health and anything wrong because to me it was normal-- it was all I knew. I adapted and moved on, just like every other kid with something wrong. And because the symptoms of CD are so diverse, it is no wonder that nobody else caught it earlier, either.
If you are interested in where I buy my vitamin supplements, I buy them from Andrew Lessman's ProCaps Laboratories. I like these supplements because they are all natural with no additives or fillers and contain no gluten, etc. They can be purchased on Autoship, which means they will be shipped to me regularly, or I can delay and change the shipment times. And the best part is that they are affordable.