Celiacs Are At Higher Risk Of Heart Disease

New research published in the British Medical Journal has found that most people with celiac disease have fewer risk factors for cardiovascular problems, yet have a greater chance of developing them. This is likely due to the elevated levels of inflammation in a person with celiac disease or other autoimmune disease. Chronically raised inflammation can raise the risk of heart attacks and strokes.

The UK Biobank is a population based study that analyzed half a million 40 to 69 year olds from England, Scotland, and Wales between 2006 and 2010. 2083 participants had celiac disease but no cardiovascular disease when the study began. Their cardiovascular health was monitored for just over 12 years. Individuals with celiac disease were more likely to be women and of white ethnicity. During the study period, 40,687 people were diagnosed with cardiovascular disease. 9 in every 1000 people diagnosed were celiacs, compared to 7.4 per 1000 in those without celiac disease. This means there is a 27 percent heightened risk of cardiovascular disease for people with celiac disease compared with those who don’t have it. Interestingly, people with celiac disease had fewer of the known risk factors for cardiovascular disease (being overweight, having high blood pressure, a history of smoking, or high cholesterol).

Celiac disease is an autoimmune condition. That means when affected individuals consume gluten, their immune system attacks their small intestine. The chronic inflammation to the gut lining can impair nutrient absorption and lead to many nutritional deficiencies. The most common ones are iron, calcium, selenium, vitamin D and other fat soluble vitamins (A, E and K), and essential fatty acids. The excessively permeable gut lining allows a large volume of waste products to diffuse into the bloodstream. They quickly make their way to the liver, where they can cause damage to liver cells and consequent raised liver enzymes. Bacteria, bacterial toxins, fungi, undigested food and waste products can cause significant harm to the liver if they are present in large quantities. This is common in people with celiac disease that has not been diagnosed, or if a person is not adhering to a gluten free diet. It can also occur in people with other bowel conditions such as colitis or inflammatory bowel disease.

Research has shown that people with celiac disease are three times more likely to be diagnosed with a fatty liver, even if they are not overweight. People with a fatty liver get more cardiovascular disease.

How to protect your heart if you’re a celiac:

It’s vital to avoid all gluten all the time. Even trace amounts. The inflammatory chemicals your immune system produces when you consume gluten can cause serious tissue damage to your small intestine and liver.
A good liver tonic will help to protect your liver from harm, and this will reduce systemic inflammation in your body. Livatone Plus contains nutrients required for phase 1 and 2 liver detoxification, helping to make your liver more efficient. The milk thistle and n-acetyl cysteine help to reduce inflammation in the liver and enable damaged cells to repair.
Selenium helps to reduce inflammation and autoimmunity because it is required for the production of glutathione. This is your body’s own powerful antioxidant and detoxifier. Selenium levels are low in the soils of much of the world, therefore foods tend to be deficient. Anyone with poor digestive health will not absorb selenium well enough from food, therefore supplementation is usually necessary. Brazil nuts contain some selenium but all nuts contain phytic acid, which binds with minerals and reduces their absorption.
Focus on healing your gut. Avoiding gluten is necessary but often not sufficient to heal the intestinal lining. Sometimes there is an overgrowth of harmful gut microbes present. Intestinal Parasite Cleanse capsules help to address this. My Ultimate Gut Health powder and bone broth are both wonderful for soothing an inflamed gut and enabling faster tissue repair. They help to reduce the toxin load that arrives at the liver from the intestines.
Most people with autoimmune disease have a higher requirement for probiotics than the average person. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kim chi and apple cider vinegar are all good sources, as is a probiotic in supplement form, such as Floratone.