Vitamin K

Question
Hi Dr.

I am 53. All my life I have had digestive issues which have gotten worse now in my 50's, most notably abdominal bloating in spite of actually eating very little.

I have most of the classic symptoms of celiac disease so I went gluten free after Xmas and a month later am feeling much better and a bit less bloated.I had two beers and some fod containg flour a couple nights ago and the bloating and indigestion returned so I think I am on the right track.

My doctor tested me and the blood work came back normal.He said this often happens sp as long as it is helping stay off the gluten.

I am trying to find vitamins and supplements that might help.One is vitamin K. People with celiac cant process it, and a deficiency symptom is easy bruising. I get bruised all the time.

Should I try it? Any thing else you would suggest?

Thanks!


Answer
You want to be careful about assuming a diagnosis, but many people will feel better off of gluten when they have digestive issues.  In fact, there may be several foods that you are sensitive to.  Without knowing what test you had done, it is hard to recommend anything for Celiac.  You should probably wait for a flare up and then have a complete stool analysis done that includes anti gliadin and transglutaminase components.  I would go see a functional medicine practitioner about this.  There are many wonderful vitamins/herbs that can help restore the gut lining.  There is a lot of clinical research out there for things like glutamine, aloe, slippery elm, licorice, etc...  Your holistic health care doc should be able to give you a supplement that will help.