Effect of Nutri-Gluten Free Flour on Intervening Anaemia in Celiac Children

Aditi Gupta, Vimla Dunkwal, Madhu Goyal

Abstract: The only effective treatment is a life-long gluten free diet (Kupper, 2005). Strict adherence to the diet allows the intestine to heal, leading to resolution of all the symptoms in most cases (Akonberg and Thomas, 2008). Zamani et al. (2008) in a cross-sectional study of gluten sensitive enteropathy in 4120 patients with iron deficiency anaemia (IDA) also found that the severity of anaemia was in parallel with the severity of duodenal lesions. There was high prevalence (14.6 %) of gluten sensitive enteropathy in patients with IDA of obscure origin. Acknowledging the need for flour and other non gluten containing food stuffs, here is an attempt designed to serve celiac patients. In present study the grains used to making flour for celiac patients are totally gluten free and nutritious such as finger millet, sorghum, soyabean, rice, maize, pearl millet, black gram. Keeping in view the nutritional and health benefits of millets, in the present study efforts were made to study functional and nutritional characteristics of composite flour and to explore its effect on blood hemoglobin level of school going children age of 6-12 years suffering from celiac disease. In the study nutri-celiac flour had been served to improving health status focusing iron deficiency of the celiac subjects. Two study groups were framed i. e. Control group (n=60) and experimental group (n=60). In experimental group each subject given 100 g gluten free flour on daily basis for the period of 4 months.

Keywords: celiac aneamia diet effect flour