Can Probiotics Prevent the Development of Celiac Disease?

Probiotics, or "friendly bacteria," are essential in establishing a healthy gut flora, and this may be a crucial factor both in helping to prevent celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that affects at least 3 million Americans,i as well as in reducing adverse (though seldom diagnosed) symptoms associated with intolerance to gluten-containing grains, in many more.

If you have celiac disease, consuming gluten (a gluey type of protein found in wheat, rye and barley) causes your immune system to mistakenly attack your small intestine, which inhibits the absorption of nutrients.

This is a very serious condition that requires the complete and lifelong elimination of all gluten-containing foods from your diet.

Left untreated, it can lead to a number of health complications and diseases, including other autoimmune disorders, osteoporosis, infertility, neurological conditions and even cancer.

Unfortunately, the condition is often missed by physicians, as symptoms may either be completely absent, or those that do occur, such as weight loss, anemia, diarrhea or bloating, may be attributed to other conditions.

In fact, it takes an average of four years for someone with symptoms of celiac disease to be correctly diagnosed in the United States, and during this time the risk of serious complications rises significantly.

Can Celiac Disease be Prevented with Probiotics?

Once celiac disease develops, the only known way to prevent ongoing damage to your small intestine is by following a strict gluten-free diet. Prevention would be a far better option, but it's conventionally been said that there is no way to prevent celiac disease from occurring.

Now researchers may have uncovered a promising strategy that, for the first time, appears to cause celiac disease progression to reverse, and that strategy is consuming probiotics.

Using a mouse model for celiac disease to investigate the influence of probiotics, taken orally, on disease development, researchers revealed that when mice were fed the probiotic strain Saccharomyces boulardii KK1, the pathological changes associated with celiac disease progression began to reverse. Researchers stated in the journal Laboratory Investigation:

"The selected probiotic treatment reversing disease development will allow the study of the role of probiotics as a new therapeutic approach of CD [celiac disease]."

It's already known that your gut microflora play a critical role at the onset of celiac disease. And past research has shown probiotics may help heal intestinal barrier function in people with celiac disease,ii as well as alleviate the severity of the condition by influencing inflammation to varying degrees.iii It is also possible that the millions of people who suffer from "out of intestine" varieties of celiac disease or wheat intolerance, which can express itself in over 125 health conditions,iv may benefit from supporting their microflora with a regular supply of friendly bacteria.

source: foodconsumer