Gluten-free diet

Good day, Mr. Magister,

I would like to ask how you would supplement calcium for a 3-year-old child with autism, for whom a gluten-free diet and the exclusion of dairy products, due to their casein content, are recommended to improve their condition. Such a young child probably won't eat almonds, cashews, poppy seeds, too many legumes, etc.?

Thank you very much for your response.

The described situation and similar ones do not always end unhappily, nor do they necessarily indicate a bigger problem. While ensuring sufficient intake of any nutrients presents a challenge in terms of values related to RI, it does not mean it is a condition or necessity. Reference intake values are always related to the needs of an averaged population, and it is known that the body can thrive even with lower intake levels of some of them. Calcium is a typical example of such a situation - there is an effort to increase its intake due to concerns about poor bone development (which, of course, can occur not only in adults in relation to the development of osteopenia or osteoporosis but also in young children whose skeletal structures require a certain amount of calcium and protein for proper development), but in reality, the total amount on the plate is not a guarantee of meeting the required dose. The key aspect is the amount of the substance that can be absorbed from the diet into the body, and also the proportion of the total absorbed amount that the body can effectively metabolize plays a role.

In practice, if you know that due to health limitations, you are unable to provide the generally required doses of calcium and you do not want or cannot supplement, you still have the option to adjust your diet to target those factors that influence the absorption of the substance from the intestines and its subsequent metabolism in the body. For calcium, this includes a well-functioning gut microbiota, which (not only through the production of vitamin K2) influences the level of absorption, as well as "monitoring" the correct ratios with other elements (magnesium, phosphorus).

Hello,
I would like to ask what you think about a gluten-free diet for people who do not suffer from celiac disease. Nowadays, it's quite a popular method for losing weight.
Thank you and have a nice day.

I am of the opinion that a gluten-free diet for healthy individuals does not have a significant impact on health or weight reduction. However, consider this as an entry postulate into the discussion, because it is an indisputable fact that the Western diet has an unattractive excess of gluten-containing grain products, which in some respects leads to increased metabolic burden. In reality, it's not just about gluten, but also the excess of technologically processed carbohydrates with all the known health implications. As soon as an individual in this situation starts to address a change in their diet and opts for a gluten-free approach, it very often (though this is not a requirement) leads to the choice of gluten-free alternatives with higher quality grains (lower GI, higher fiber and micronutrient content, easier digestibility, less presence of additives...) and simultaneously a reduction in their volume in the diet. These (at first glance not essential) changes can have a significant impact on the individual in many cases, which then gives the impression that gluten is the culprit for all that is wrong in nutrition.