Eating turkey, probiotics may treat people with celiac disease

Toronto, Oct 22 : In good news for people with celiac disease, researchers have found that tryptophan, an amino acid present in high amounts in turkey, along with some probiotics may help them heal and respond better to gluten-free diet.
Celiac disease is the destruction of the lining of the upper gut, which occurs when a person with certain predisposing genes consumes gluten in the diet. However, not everyone with celiac genes and eating gluten will develop the disease.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, which cannot be produced by the body and needs to be consumed through foods such as poultry products, chocolate, bananas and cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower.
The study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, investigated whether the breakdown of tryptophan by gut bacteria gets altered in celiac disease and if this pathway could be targeted as a potential therapy.
The findings highlighted the potential therapeutic value of targeting tryptophan metabolism in the gut in celiac disease to better control the symptoms, despite the gluten-free diet, and accelerate intestinal healing.
“The only treatment for celiac disease is a strict adherence to a gluten-free diet, which is difficult to follow, and doesn’t always lead to complete recovery of the gut or symptom resolution,” said study author Elena Verdu from the McMaster University in Canada.