March 27, 2025 • 21 mins
Going gluten-free is essential for those of us with celiac disease or gluten intolerance, but here’s the thing—just because a food is gluten-free doesn’t mean it’s nutritious. In fact, many gluten-free eaters struggle with nutrient deficiencies without even realizing it!
So, how do you know if you’re getting the vitamins and minerals your body needs? And what can you do if you’re falling short?
In today’s episode, we’re talking about the most common nutrient deficiencies in a gluten-free diet, how they affect your health, and the best ways to make sure you’re getting enough of the right nutrients to thrive—not just survive!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carrie Saunders (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode this podcast is based onmy personal experiences and
isn't medical advice.
Going gluten-free is essentialfor those of us with celiac,
gluten intolerance or choose tobe gluten-free for other health
reasons.
But here's the thing justbecause food is gluten-free
doesn't mean it's necessarilynutritious.
(00:20):
In fact, many gluten-freeeaters struggle with nutrient
deficiencies without evenrealizing it.
So how do you know if you'regetting the vitamins and
minerals your body needs andwhat can you do if you're
falling short?
In today's episode, we'retalking about the most common
nutrient deficiencies in agluten-free diet and how they
can affect your health, and thebest ways to make sure you're
(00:41):
getting enough of the rightnutrients so that you can thrive
, and the best ways to make sureyou're getting enough of the
right nutrients so that you canthrive.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
(01:04):
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love, whether you haveceliac disease, gluten
intolerance or simply choose tolive gluten-free.
This podcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about beinggluten-free and making sure
(01:27):
that we are getting thenutrients that our body needs.
Now why do we need to beespecially concerned with this
when we're gluten-free?
Well, one, if we're celiac, ourbodies are already behind the
game, because when you haveceliac disease, it damages your
small intestine, which damagesyour ability to absorb the
nutrients in your foods.
(01:48):
So you're already behind theball on this, and I'm going to
be talking about some of themost common nutrient
deficiencies, and I want toencourage you to work with your
healthcare provider to test forthese to see if you're in the
thriving range not just theminimum that you need for these
vitamins as well.
I would encourage you to askthem what, ideally, would you
(02:09):
like my vitamin D level to be,for example?
That is something I asked mydoctor one day, because I know
there's lab minimums, but manytimes those lab minimums are
literally minimums.
They are not the survivingminimum.
They are well, they'rebasically the surviving minimum,
not the surviving minimum.
Well, they're basically thesurviving minimum, not the
thriving minimum.
So I encourage you to ask yourdoctor what is your thriving
(02:32):
minimum?
Where would you like me toideally be with these vitamins?
And another reason that we havetrouble when we're gluten-free
with enough nutrients is onemany times the gluten-free
processed foods are notfortified.
So in most people's diets,especially Americans, we really
(02:57):
generally don't eat that great.
We don't eat enough fruits, wedon't eat enough vegetables.
We may be upside down on likehow much carbs we eat versus the
protein we eat.
We're probably more heavy carbsand protein than we are these
other essentials, like thevegetables and the fruits.
I know for me.
I grew up on a meat andpotatoes diet.
(03:17):
That's what I called it.
I literally ate mostly justmeat and potatoes, and that's
only going to provide so manynutrients.
Whenever we eat, generally to anextreme of any sort, we have to
be careful that we're gettingthe other nutrients that are in
the foods we're not eating.
One of the reasons beinggluten-free can be tough in
(03:40):
modern day is many times ourprocessed foods are fortified
with vitamins and minerals.
Well, that's generally not thecase for processed gluten-free
foods.
They're already more expensiveand then that just adds some
more things for themanufacturers to do and they're
just not fortified generallywith the main vitamins we're
going to be talking about today,like processed gluten foods are
(04:03):
, and we want to make sure thatobviously naturally gluten-free
foods, those do have thevitamins we need.
You know, the fruits, thevegetables, the lean proteins,
the carbohydrates that are notprocessed, that we can get in
our diets.
Those all have great nutrientsin them.
But we also, even if we eatwhole-based foods, we need to
(04:25):
make sure that we are gettingtested regularly, especially if
you have celiac, to make surewe're eating enough variety of
them, because it's honestly abit hard to eat enough variety
in our diets many times, justfrom practicality standpoint, to
get all the vitamins andnutrients that we need.
And, like I alluded to earlier,many people with celiac disease
have many, many years of damageto the intestines.
(04:48):
It makes it harder to absorbkey vitamins and minerals and
sometimes that damage ispermanent and we have a really
hard time absorbing it, even ifwe correct our diet.
So how do we combat this?
How do we combat the fact thatin modern day we generally don't
eat quite as a variety of foodas we used to do, and also the
(05:11):
gluten-free foods aren'tfortified to make up for that
fact.
So, first off, we want to gettested by our doctor, like I
suggested.
It's a really good idea to getregular testing from your doctor
on various nutrients that we'regoing to talk about in the
episode and talk to them see ifthere's other ones besides the
most common ones that we'regoing to mention here.
(05:31):
So one of the most commonnutrient deficiencies in a
gluten-free diet is irondeficiency.
Okay, sometimes people think orfind out that they're anemic
and then later find out thatthey actually are celiac and
that's why they're anemic.
Low iron can cause fatigue,weakness, shortness of breath
and many times gluten-freeeaters, especially those with
(05:53):
celiac disease, are at a higherrisk of anemia due to poor iron
absorption.
And a lot of our cereals andpastas are fortified with iron,
especially the cereals.
So some of the best gluten-freeiron sources are red meat,
poultry and fish, Also lentilsand beans, spinach and dark
griefy leans, which is great,and it's great to pair those
(06:17):
with vitamin C for betterabsorption.
This is also something youmight want to talk with your
doctor or nutritionist.
You know what vitamins should Itake and which ones should I
pair them with, because manytimes our vitamins work better
and get absorbed better whenthey're paired with another
vitamin, so make sure you'reaware of that as well.
Also, pumpkin seeds are high iniron, so those are some great
(06:40):
iron choices and this issomething I think you should
regularly be tested for,especially if you have that
fatigue, weakness and shortnessof breath symptoms you know in
it as well.
But we want to make sure we'reabsorbing enough iron.
It is essential for our body towork to have enough iron, so
that's one of the main ones weneed to be looking at.
(07:02):
Also, calcium and vitamin D.
This is for our bone health andour energy levels.
When I was before I actually wasdiagnosed with celiac disease.
One of my symptoms per se wasthat they found my vitamin D
levels were through the floor.
They were so low that I'm notkidding you this one doctor I
(07:23):
had at the time put me on 60,000units of vitamin D per day for
several weeks and then backed medown.
Now that one's one.
From what I understand and fromwhat doctors have told me, it's
okay to take extra of itbecause you just flush it out if
you're not absorbing it.
But even though she had me onthat much vitamin D.
(07:45):
I barely got my vitamin Dlevels up, but again we didn't
know.
I had celiac too, so that wascompounding it as well.
So make sure you have yourvitamin D levels checked.
This is also a modern dayproblem, where we're inside more
.
We're not out in the sun morewe're not out in that morning
sun when it's a great time tosafely get vitamin D.
(08:05):
So make sure your vitamin Dlevels are checked.
Whether you're celiac, glutenintolerant or choose to be
gluten-free, it's a really goodidea, and some of the best
gluten-free sources and I'mgoing to caveat this to say that
some nutritionists you knowkind of want to steer you away
from dairy.
So please talk to your doctorand your nutritionist to make
(08:28):
the best decision for you.
But these are some productsthat do have vitamin D in it, so
you need to work with yourdoctor to see which ones are
appropriate for you.
But dairy products, milk,cheese and yogurt, of course,
fortified plant-based milks likealmond milk, soy milk and oat
milk, leafy greens like kale,fatty fish like salmon and
(08:48):
sardines, and, of course, sunexposure.
It's a really good idea to geta healthy dose, a healthy and
I'm like saying literallyhealthy dose, not a let's get
really tan and burnt in the suntype of dose we get a nice.
You know what they recommend.
What the doctors recommendhealthy dose I think it's about
20 minutes in the morning iswhen they suggest it, because
(09:10):
the sun's not quite as strongthen too.
But when we're looking for thatvitamin D, I do recommend that
you also mushrooms have vitaminD.
I just had like a squirrelmoment there.
Mushrooms also have vitamin Din it too.
But look at the foods that arenaturally vitamin D rich first
Before I would suggest you go tosupplements and things like
(09:31):
that, because we do absorb foodvitamins better than supplement
vitamins.
Obviously, talk to your doctorwhether you need to also
supplement as well, but gettingas much as you can from food is
even better for your system.
Now, another one is vitamin B.
Low vitamin B can present inthe form of brain fog.
(09:52):
This is also one that can giveyou low energy when you don't
have enough mood swings.
For myself, I had a vitamin Bdeficiency and it was causing
numbness in my fingers and myfeet before we knew I had celiac
.
We even did nerve testing whenI was pregnant with my youngest.
I believe I've told a littlebit of this story already on the
(10:14):
podcast before, but we couldn'tfigure out why my fingers and
my feet were going numb.
You know, it kind of felt likethey were falling asleep all the
time, thought it was the babygoing numb.
You know, it kind of felt likethey were falling asleep all the
time, thought it was the babylaying on you know my nerves or
something.
But no, nerve testing was fine.
After I had him I still had theissue until I found out I had
celiac and went gluten-freeseveral years later and I
(10:35):
realized, hey, this problem Iused to have isn't happening
anymore.
So vitamin B deficiency canalso be numbness in your
extremities.
And many wheat-based productsare enriched with vitamin Bs
things like folate, b6, and B12,whereas most gluten-free foods
aren't.
And then again we're talkingabout processed foods here.
(10:57):
So if we want to stay off for,in general, the processed food
wagon, then we need to go forthe things that have, you know,
natural vitamin B in it, likeeggs, dairy meat and fish have
vitamin B many times.
Green leafy vegetables,fortified gluten-free cereals
(11:18):
can have it Many times.
Potatoes can have it,especially if you leave a little
bit of that dirt on the outside.
We do get vitamin B from oursoil, so you know, work with
your doctor to make sure you'renot low in vitamin B.
This is one of the vitaminsthat my doctor likes to check
with me pretty regularly,because I actually am low in
(11:39):
folate still, and so now I'm ona supplement to try to help that
.
Honestly, I can admit I need toeat more leafy green vegetables
.
I'm not a fan of them, but Ireally do need to.
So, saying this on the podcast,maybe it'll help me get back on
track and eat those a bit more.
Now, another vitamin that youmight not think of is magnesium.
(12:00):
This can cause muscle cramps,anxiety, poor sleep if you're
low in it.
It's a very important vitaminfor also helping you really
utilize that calcium that you'regetting, and gluten-free grains
tend to be lower in magnesium,which is essential for your
muscle function, your nervefunction and your bones, and so
(12:21):
some of the best gluten-freesources for magnesium are nuts
and seeds, such as almonds,cashews and pumpkin seeds.
Dark chocolate yes, this oneI'm so excited about.
I am such a dark chocolateaddict.
If you ask any of my friends orfamily like, oh yeah, she loves
chocolate, especially darkchocolate.
I actually eat the 95%.
That's how much I love darkchocolate.
(12:42):
So dark chocolate, yay for that,and obviously go for the higher
percentage.
That's going to be healthierfor you.
It has less sugar, it has moreof the better fats in it and
more of the magnesium in it.
Also avocados.
So if you're an avocado fan,then yay.
Avocados are going to help youwith that magnesium.
Also legumes and whole grainslike quinoa.
So you can find some magnesiumin some of our natural foods
(13:06):
that we can eat that are not,you know, processed.
So make sure you're checking formagnesium.
See if your doctor thinks youshould, it might be worth
checking every so often.
It's a vitamin that minedoesn't check, you know, quite
as often as like vitamin D orthe vitamin Bs.
But you know what, now that I'mmaking this podcast episode, I
might ask her about that, justbecause I'm curious to make sure
(13:27):
that I'm doing all right there.
Now here's a vitamin next thatI've never I don't think I've
ever been tested for, and it'szinc.
So zinc, when you're low in it,it's easy to get ill frequently.
You're going to be slow to heal, you know, wounds and cuts and
things like that, and you'regoing to have some hair loss
potentially.
So having a low zinc, can youknow, these are some of the
(13:50):
symptoms of low zinc, and zincis crucial for immunity and skin
health, and many gluten-freeeaters don't get enough.
So some of the best gluten-freesources for zinc shellfish such
as oysters or shrimp.
Also nuts and seeds, chickpeasand lentils.
So I have a little bit of ashort list here for zinc, but it
(14:11):
is a very essential element andyou can probably see why it's a
little bit harder to get, sinceit's not in as many foods as we
typically eat.
Also, the last thing is fiber.
This can cause digestive issues, constipation and blood sugar
spikes.
So if you're low in fiber, youmay want to consider whether you
need to add more of it, becausemany gluten-free diets lack
(14:32):
fiber, because wheat-basedproducts are naturally high in
fiber.
Now, this one is one that Iwill, you know, say trust your
body, trust your gut.
I wanted to say trust your gut,but we're talking about celiac
disease and stuff like that, soit's kind of funny.
So trust your gut here.
For me personally, my bodydoesn't do well with too much
fiber, so make sure you'refinding that right balance.
(14:55):
Talk to your doctor on whatthey recommend too.
What's the right balance offiber for your body?
Because we're all different,and so some of the best
gluten-free sources for fiber ischia seeds, flax seeds,
vegetables and fruits,especially berries, apples and
pears.
Now, I am totally a fan ofberries, so I will eat those all
day long, so that's usually mygo-to fiber.
(15:17):
I can't do like the heavierfiber, like what you might
consider some of the vegetables.
Those really bother my gut so Ihave to be careful of those.
Also, quinoa, brown rice andbuckwheat are also great places
that you can get digestiblefiber.
So talk to your doctor, seewhat they recommend for your
fiber intake.
They may think that you'redoing just fine with how you are
(15:40):
if your digestive system is,you know, running smoothly and
doing its thing properly.
But if not, then please makesure you talk to them about it
and I bet they'll have some goodsuggestions for you.
So then, how do we make surewe're getting enough of these
nutrients?
And we've touched on these alittle bit.
But we want to make sure we'reeating a variety of whole,
naturally gluten-free foods.
(16:00):
We want to choose fortifiedgluten-free foods when we need
to and when available Absolutelynot necessary if you're doing a
really good job of eating avariety of foods and then we
want to be mindful of thoseprocessed foods too, because
many times our processed foodsthat are gluten-free and just in
(16:21):
general processed foods arehigher in sugar and lower in
nutrition.
They're basically junk food.
I know sometimes they're supertasty, but they're basically
junk food, so we need to makesure we're limiting those.
I know that's sometimes hardfor me to do.
And then we also want toconsider supplements.
Work with your doctor, see ifyou need to take some
supplements in addition tomaking sure your diet is rich in
a variety of things, and, ifyou need to, if you're one of
(16:44):
those people who needs to mealplan to make sure you're eating
nutrient-dense foods every dayand this is something I probably
could do a better job of I needto make sure that I'm eating my
vegetables every day because,I'll be honest with you, I'm
really bad about eating myvegetables.
You can ask my friends and myfamily.
They're like oh yeah, maybeonce a week is what I tend to do
(17:05):
.
I will do it a little bit moreoften than that, but it's just
not my go-to thing.
It's just not how I was growingup.
So, taking into consideration,too, you know like I am, how you
were, you know raised and whattypes of foods you were raised
on and that's going to probablyinfluence your general taste and
work to gradually change thatif needed, just like I need to.
(17:26):
I need to work to gradually getmore green leafy vegetables in
my diet, honestly.
So some key takeaways is thatyou know when we're eating
gluten-free, it isn't just aboutavoiding gluten.
We also need to make sure we'regetting the proper nutrients.
When we're celiac, our bodiesare already damaged.
When we're gluten intolerant,there may be other reasons our
(17:47):
body might be damaged and weneed to make sure we're eating a
variety of foods to make surewe get those good nutrients that
we really need.
We all, even whether we'regluten free or not, we all
probably need to be looking atwhat we're putting in our body
and doing a better job ofputting different you know
fruits and vegetables andproducts in our body that are
natural and whole foods, so thatwe're much healthier people in
(18:10):
general.
And if you're feeling tired,foggy or just off, tell your
doctor.
It may be time to considerhaving some blood tests and
seeing if you're deficient insome of these nutrients and you
might need to change your dietsome and maybe make some simple
supplement changes to add to itas well.
It's definitely worth it.
(18:32):
It's definitely worth feelingbetter.
It's definitely worth it.
It's definitely worth feelingbetter.
It's definitely worth yourhealth.
It's going to help us have amore enjoyable, longer life if
we are taking care of our bodies, and that is considering what
we put into them as well.
And we'd love to hear from youGo ahead and click on that text
carry button at the top.
If you have a specific vitamindeficiency you've experienced
(18:52):
that I didn't touch on, I'd loveto hear it.
Maybe we'll bring it up on theshow because it might be
something I hadn't heard of orhadn't considered before.
Or if you have any sort ofquestions that you would like
the Gluten-Free Engineer toanswer for you, click that text
carry button and we'll see if wecan put it on the show.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
(19:14):
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
(19:35):
episode and we will see you nextweek.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not providemedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
Quick reminder before we get started on this
episode this podcast is based onmy personal experiences and
isn't medical advice.
Going gluten-free is essentialfor those of us with celiac,
gluten intolerance or choose tobe gluten-free for other health
reasons.
But here's the thing justbecause food is gluten-free
doesn't mean it's necessarilynutritious.
(00:20):
In fact, many gluten-freeeaters struggle with nutrient
deficiencies without evenrealizing it.
So how do you know if you'regetting the vitamins and
minerals your body needs andwhat can you do if you're
falling short?
In today's episode, we'retalking about the most common
nutrient deficiencies in agluten-free diet and how they
can affect your health, and thebest ways to make sure you're
(00:41):
getting enough of the rightnutrients so that you can thrive
, and the best ways to make sureyou're getting enough of the
right nutrients so that you canthrive.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
(01:04):
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love, whether you haveceliac disease, gluten
intolerance or simply choose tolive gluten-free.
This podcast is for you.
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the show.
Today we're talking about beinggluten-free and making sure
(01:27):
that we are getting thenutrients that our body needs.
Now why do we need to beespecially concerned with this
when we're gluten-free?
Well, one, if we're celiac, ourbodies are already behind the
game, because when you haveceliac disease, it damages your
small intestine, which damagesyour ability to absorb the
nutrients in your foods.
(01:48):
So you're already behind theball on this, and I'm going to
be talking about some of themost common nutrient
deficiencies, and I want toencourage you to work with your
healthcare provider to test forthese to see if you're in the
thriving range not just theminimum that you need for these
vitamins as well.
I would encourage you to askthem what, ideally, would you
(02:09):
like my vitamin D level to be,for example?
That is something I asked mydoctor one day, because I know
there's lab minimums, but manytimes those lab minimums are
literally minimums.
They are not the survivingminimum.
They are well, they'rebasically the surviving minimum,
not the surviving minimum.
Well, they're basically thesurviving minimum, not the
thriving minimum.
So I encourage you to ask yourdoctor what is your thriving
(02:32):
minimum?
Where would you like me toideally be with these vitamins?
And another reason that we havetrouble when we're gluten-free
with enough nutrients is onemany times the gluten-free
processed foods are notfortified.
So in most people's diets,especially Americans, we really
(02:57):
generally don't eat that great.
We don't eat enough fruits, wedon't eat enough vegetables.
We may be upside down on likehow much carbs we eat versus the
protein we eat.
We're probably more heavy carbsand protein than we are these
other essentials, like thevegetables and the fruits.
I know for me.
I grew up on a meat andpotatoes diet.
(03:17):
That's what I called it.
I literally ate mostly justmeat and potatoes, and that's
only going to provide so manynutrients.
Whenever we eat, generally to anextreme of any sort, we have to
be careful that we're gettingthe other nutrients that are in
the foods we're not eating.
One of the reasons beinggluten-free can be tough in
(03:40):
modern day is many times ourprocessed foods are fortified
with vitamins and minerals.
Well, that's generally not thecase for processed gluten-free
foods.
They're already more expensiveand then that just adds some
more things for themanufacturers to do and they're
just not fortified generallywith the main vitamins we're
going to be talking about today,like processed gluten foods are
(04:03):
, and we want to make sure thatobviously naturally gluten-free
foods, those do have thevitamins we need.
You know, the fruits, thevegetables, the lean proteins,
the carbohydrates that are notprocessed, that we can get in
our diets.
Those all have great nutrientsin them.
But we also, even if we eatwhole-based foods, we need to
(04:25):
make sure that we are gettingtested regularly, especially if
you have celiac, to make surewe're eating enough variety of
them, because it's honestly abit hard to eat enough variety
in our diets many times, justfrom practicality standpoint, to
get all the vitamins andnutrients that we need.
And, like I alluded to earlier,many people with celiac disease
have many, many years of damageto the intestines.
(04:48):
It makes it harder to absorbkey vitamins and minerals and
sometimes that damage ispermanent and we have a really
hard time absorbing it, even ifwe correct our diet.
So how do we combat this?
How do we combat the fact thatin modern day we generally don't
eat quite as a variety of foodas we used to do, and also the
(05:11):
gluten-free foods aren'tfortified to make up for that
fact.
So, first off, we want to gettested by our doctor, like I
suggested.
It's a really good idea to getregular testing from your doctor
on various nutrients that we'regoing to talk about in the
episode and talk to them see ifthere's other ones besides the
most common ones that we'regoing to mention here.
(05:31):
So one of the most commonnutrient deficiencies in a
gluten-free diet is irondeficiency.
Okay, sometimes people think orfind out that they're anemic
and then later find out thatthey actually are celiac and
that's why they're anemic.
Low iron can cause fatigue,weakness, shortness of breath
and many times gluten-freeeaters, especially those with
(05:53):
celiac disease, are at a higherrisk of anemia due to poor iron
absorption.
And a lot of our cereals andpastas are fortified with iron,
especially the cereals.
So some of the best gluten-freeiron sources are red meat,
poultry and fish, Also lentilsand beans, spinach and dark
griefy leans, which is great,and it's great to pair those
(06:17):
with vitamin C for betterabsorption.
This is also something youmight want to talk with your
doctor or nutritionist.
You know what vitamins should Itake and which ones should I
pair them with, because manytimes our vitamins work better
and get absorbed better whenthey're paired with another
vitamin, so make sure you'reaware of that as well.
Also, pumpkin seeds are high iniron, so those are some great
(06:40):
iron choices and this issomething I think you should
regularly be tested for,especially if you have that
fatigue, weakness and shortnessof breath symptoms you know in
it as well.
But we want to make sure we'reabsorbing enough iron.
It is essential for our body towork to have enough iron, so
that's one of the main ones weneed to be looking at.
(07:02):
Also, calcium and vitamin D.
This is for our bone health andour energy levels.
When I was before I actually wasdiagnosed with celiac disease.
One of my symptoms per se wasthat they found my vitamin D
levels were through the floor.
They were so low that I'm notkidding you this one doctor I
(07:23):
had at the time put me on 60,000units of vitamin D per day for
several weeks and then backed medown.
Now that one's one.
From what I understand and fromwhat doctors have told me, it's
okay to take extra of itbecause you just flush it out if
you're not absorbing it.
But even though she had me onthat much vitamin D.
(07:45):
I barely got my vitamin Dlevels up, but again we didn't
know.
I had celiac too, so that wascompounding it as well.
So make sure you have yourvitamin D levels checked.
This is also a modern dayproblem, where we're inside more
.
We're not out in the sun morewe're not out in that morning
sun when it's a great time tosafely get vitamin D.
(08:05):
So make sure your vitamin Dlevels are checked.
Whether you're celiac, glutenintolerant or choose to be
gluten-free, it's a really goodidea, and some of the best
gluten-free sources and I'mgoing to caveat this to say that
some nutritionists you knowkind of want to steer you away
from dairy.
So please talk to your doctorand your nutritionist to make
(08:28):
the best decision for you.
But these are some productsthat do have vitamin D in it, so
you need to work with yourdoctor to see which ones are
appropriate for you.
But dairy products, milk,cheese and yogurt, of course,
fortified plant-based milks likealmond milk, soy milk and oat
milk, leafy greens like kale,fatty fish like salmon and
(08:48):
sardines, and, of course, sunexposure.
It's a really good idea to geta healthy dose, a healthy and
I'm like saying literallyhealthy dose, not a let's get
really tan and burnt in the suntype of dose we get a nice.
You know what they recommend.
What the doctors recommendhealthy dose I think it's about
20 minutes in the morning iswhen they suggest it, because
(09:10):
the sun's not quite as strongthen too.
But when we're looking for thatvitamin D, I do recommend that
you also mushrooms have vitaminD.
I just had like a squirrelmoment there.
Mushrooms also have vitamin Din it too.
But look at the foods that arenaturally vitamin D rich first
Before I would suggest you go tosupplements and things like
(09:31):
that, because we do absorb foodvitamins better than supplement
vitamins.
Obviously, talk to your doctorwhether you need to also
supplement as well, but gettingas much as you can from food is
even better for your system.
Now, another one is vitamin B.
Low vitamin B can present inthe form of brain fog.
(09:52):
This is also one that can giveyou low energy when you don't
have enough mood swings.
For myself, I had a vitamin Bdeficiency and it was causing
numbness in my fingers and myfeet before we knew I had celiac
.
We even did nerve testing whenI was pregnant with my youngest.
I believe I've told a littlebit of this story already on the
(10:14):
podcast before, but we couldn'tfigure out why my fingers and
my feet were going numb.
You know, it kind of felt likethey were falling asleep all the
time, thought it was the babygoing numb.
You know, it kind of felt likethey were falling asleep all the
time, thought it was the babylaying on you know my nerves or
something.
But no, nerve testing was fine.
After I had him I still had theissue until I found out I had
celiac and went gluten-freeseveral years later and I
(10:35):
realized, hey, this problem Iused to have isn't happening
anymore.
So vitamin B deficiency canalso be numbness in your
extremities.
And many wheat-based productsare enriched with vitamin Bs
things like folate, b6, and B12,whereas most gluten-free foods
aren't.
And then again we're talkingabout processed foods here.
(10:57):
So if we want to stay off for,in general, the processed food
wagon, then we need to go forthe things that have, you know,
natural vitamin B in it, likeeggs, dairy meat and fish have
vitamin B many times.
Green leafy vegetables,fortified gluten-free cereals
(11:18):
can have it Many times.
Potatoes can have it,especially if you leave a little
bit of that dirt on the outside.
We do get vitamin B from oursoil, so you know, work with
your doctor to make sure you'renot low in vitamin B.
This is one of the vitaminsthat my doctor likes to check
with me pretty regularly,because I actually am low in
(11:39):
folate still, and so now I'm ona supplement to try to help that
.
Honestly, I can admit I need toeat more leafy green vegetables
.
I'm not a fan of them, but Ireally do need to.
So, saying this on the podcast,maybe it'll help me get back on
track and eat those a bit more.
Now, another vitamin that youmight not think of is magnesium.
(12:00):
This can cause muscle cramps,anxiety, poor sleep if you're
low in it.
It's a very important vitaminfor also helping you really
utilize that calcium that you'regetting, and gluten-free grains
tend to be lower in magnesium,which is essential for your
muscle function, your nervefunction and your bones, and so
(12:21):
some of the best gluten-freesources for magnesium are nuts
and seeds, such as almonds,cashews and pumpkin seeds.
Dark chocolate yes, this oneI'm so excited about.
I am such a dark chocolateaddict.
If you ask any of my friends orfamily like, oh yeah, she loves
chocolate, especially darkchocolate.
I actually eat the 95%.
That's how much I love darkchocolate.
(12:42):
So dark chocolate, yay for that,and obviously go for the higher
percentage.
That's going to be healthierfor you.
It has less sugar, it has moreof the better fats in it and
more of the magnesium in it.
Also avocados.
So if you're an avocado fan,then yay.
Avocados are going to help youwith that magnesium.
Also legumes and whole grainslike quinoa.
So you can find some magnesiumin some of our natural foods
(13:06):
that we can eat that are not,you know, processed.
So make sure you're checking formagnesium.
See if your doctor thinks youshould, it might be worth
checking every so often.
It's a vitamin that minedoesn't check, you know, quite
as often as like vitamin D orthe vitamin Bs.
But you know what, now that I'mmaking this podcast episode, I
might ask her about that, justbecause I'm curious to make sure
(13:27):
that I'm doing all right there.
Now here's a vitamin next thatI've never I don't think I've
ever been tested for, and it'szinc.
So zinc, when you're low in it,it's easy to get ill frequently.
You're going to be slow to heal, you know, wounds and cuts and
things like that, and you'regoing to have some hair loss
potentially.
So having a low zinc, can youknow, these are some of the
(13:50):
symptoms of low zinc, and zincis crucial for immunity and skin
health, and many gluten-freeeaters don't get enough.
So some of the best gluten-freesources for zinc shellfish such
as oysters or shrimp.
Also nuts and seeds, chickpeasand lentils.
So I have a little bit of ashort list here for zinc, but it
(14:11):
is a very essential element andyou can probably see why it's a
little bit harder to get, sinceit's not in as many foods as we
typically eat.
Also, the last thing is fiber.
This can cause digestive issues, constipation and blood sugar
spikes.
So if you're low in fiber, youmay want to consider whether you
need to add more of it, becausemany gluten-free diets lack
(14:32):
fiber, because wheat-basedproducts are naturally high in
fiber.
Now, this one is one that Iwill, you know, say trust your
body, trust your gut.
I wanted to say trust your gut,but we're talking about celiac
disease and stuff like that, soit's kind of funny.
So trust your gut here.
For me personally, my bodydoesn't do well with too much
fiber, so make sure you'refinding that right balance.
(14:55):
Talk to your doctor on whatthey recommend too.
What's the right balance offiber for your body?
Because we're all different,and so some of the best
gluten-free sources for fiber ischia seeds, flax seeds,
vegetables and fruits,especially berries, apples and
pears.
Now, I am totally a fan ofberries, so I will eat those all
day long, so that's usually mygo-to fiber.
(15:17):
I can't do like the heavierfiber, like what you might
consider some of the vegetables.
Those really bother my gut so Ihave to be careful of those.
Also, quinoa, brown rice andbuckwheat are also great places
that you can get digestiblefiber.
So talk to your doctor, seewhat they recommend for your
fiber intake.
They may think that you'redoing just fine with how you are
(15:40):
if your digestive system is,you know, running smoothly and
doing its thing properly.
But if not, then please makesure you talk to them about it
and I bet they'll have some goodsuggestions for you.
So then, how do we make surewe're getting enough of these
nutrients?
And we've touched on these alittle bit.
But we want to make sure we'reeating a variety of whole,
naturally gluten-free foods.
(16:00):
We want to choose fortifiedgluten-free foods when we need
to and when available Absolutelynot necessary if you're doing a
really good job of eating avariety of foods and then we
want to be mindful of thoseprocessed foods too, because
many times our processed foodsthat are gluten-free and just in
(16:21):
general processed foods arehigher in sugar and lower in
nutrition.
They're basically junk food.
I know sometimes they're supertasty, but they're basically
junk food, so we need to makesure we're limiting those.
I know that's sometimes hardfor me to do.
And then we also want toconsider supplements.
Work with your doctor, see ifyou need to take some
supplements in addition tomaking sure your diet is rich in
a variety of things, and, ifyou need to, if you're one of
(16:44):
those people who needs to mealplan to make sure you're eating
nutrient-dense foods every dayand this is something I probably
could do a better job of I needto make sure that I'm eating my
vegetables every day because,I'll be honest with you, I'm
really bad about eating myvegetables.
You can ask my friends and myfamily.
They're like oh yeah, maybeonce a week is what I tend to do
(17:05):
.
I will do it a little bit moreoften than that, but it's just
not my go-to thing.
It's just not how I was growingup.
So, taking into consideration,too, you know like I am, how you
were, you know raised and whattypes of foods you were raised
on and that's going to probablyinfluence your general taste and
work to gradually change thatif needed, just like I need to.
(17:26):
I need to work to gradually getmore green leafy vegetables in
my diet, honestly.
So some key takeaways is thatyou know when we're eating
gluten-free, it isn't just aboutavoiding gluten.
We also need to make sure we'regetting the proper nutrients.
When we're celiac, our bodiesare already damaged.
When we're gluten intolerant,there may be other reasons our
(17:47):
body might be damaged and weneed to make sure we're eating a
variety of foods to make surewe get those good nutrients that
we really need.
We all, even whether we'regluten free or not, we all
probably need to be looking atwhat we're putting in our body
and doing a better job ofputting different you know
fruits and vegetables andproducts in our body that are
natural and whole foods, so thatwe're much healthier people in
(18:10):
general.
And if you're feeling tired,foggy or just off, tell your
doctor.
It may be time to considerhaving some blood tests and
seeing if you're deficient insome of these nutrients and you
might need to change your dietsome and maybe make some simple
supplement changes to add to itas well.
It's definitely worth it.
(18:32):
It's definitely worth feelingbetter.
It's definitely worth it.
It's definitely worth feelingbetter.
It's definitely worth yourhealth.
It's going to help us have amore enjoyable, longer life if
we are taking care of our bodies, and that is considering what
we put into them as well.
And we'd love to hear from youGo ahead and click on that text
carry button at the top.
If you have a specific vitamindeficiency you've experienced
(18:52):
that I didn't touch on, I'd loveto hear it.
Maybe we'll bring it up on theshow because it might be
something I hadn't heard of orhadn't considered before.
Or if you have any sort ofquestions that you would like
the Gluten-Free Engineer toanswer for you, click that text
carry button and we'll see if wecan put it on the show.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with
(19:14):
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an
(19:35):
episode and we will see you nextweek.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not providemedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.
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