<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

I had a few questions for some of the people who contributed to the
question of "Do we need vitamins?".  My main question is how do
people know they are deficient?  Is there a test that covers most all
of the basic vitamin levels?  My secondary question is this: what are
the sources for the individuals who are pretty certain that a
celiac's absorbtion level will stay low even after staying on a GF
diet.  Where are they getting this information?  I found this area
very interesting and would like to pursue this with our doctor.

Thanks!

(I picked out a few of the responses from the summary that pertained
to my questions.)

......  I have been gf for a year  ... my
absorption level is still a little on the low side.

......  The general concensus is we need to take vitamins to catch
up and to cover anything we are not absorbing well. After 3 years I
still don't absorb fats right, so all of the fat soluable vitamins
(A,E,K) are an unknown.....

....... No.  You will never absorb nutrients like people that
aren't celiac, you might the fat but not the vitamins and the trace
elements.

....... Depends on the state of your gut....celiacs suffer
from leaky gut which leads to malabsorption.  My nuttrionist told me
to take one LGlutamine capsule and one acidophilus capsule with each
meal.  This will heal the gut, but you will need to take it on a
regular basis forever.

....... Yes, you need an external source of  vitamins.  That's the
short version.  The longer version is that you will probably never
again absorb vitamins at the same level you did before becoming CD.

....... People with cd will always have problems with
malabsorption of vitamin and minerals. That is why it is important
that we supplement.

Jenny Cronin
Shorewood,Il