Recovering Celiac Disease and Bulimia

Contributor: Crystal Karges, MS, RDN, IBCLC, Special Projects Coordinator at Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope

With the entire craze that surrounds eating “gluten-free” or gluten free diets, there is often misconception about the purpose of following this type of diet or how this might benefit an individual. Used more as a dieting fad rather than a therapeutic measure, the intention of a gluten free diet has become quite misunderstood.

For an individual who has celiac disease, following a gluten free diet is essential to managing this disease. What exactly is celiac disease? This genetic autoimmune disorder is a disease in which the small intestine of the digestive tract is hypersensitive to gluten, leading to complications in digesting food.

Consumption of foods with gluten can actually damage the villi of the small intestine and interfere with the absorption process of nutrients from food.

Celiac Disease Along with Bulimia Can Result in Severe Malnutrition

A person with celiac disease will often experience many painful and uncomfortable symptoms related to this disease, including fatigue, weakness, bloating and gas, disruptions in bowel movements, and weight loss. For an individual who is also dealing with bulimia in addition to celiac disease, severe malnutrition may result without proper care and attention.

Because individuals with celiac disease react adversely to gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, barley, and rye, avoiding food products that have gluten is essential to preventing further complications from the celiac disease. This can be difficult to manage in addition to an eating disorder, such as bulimia.

However, as the gluten free market has expanded in recent years, there are a variety of products that can be incorporated as part of a healthy diet that are conducive to recovery for bulimia as well.

Bulimia Can Irritate Symptoms of Celiac Disease

If you have been struggling with celiac disease and bulimia, it is essential that you seek out professional help and support for managing these complex diseases. Working with a medical doctor, registered dietitian, and counselor can be invaluable resources in terms of guiding you in how to best manage these diseases.

Bulimia behaviors can further exasperate symptoms of celiac disease, and it is important to take the necessary steps to effectively manage both of these diseases for recovery.

Community Discussion – Share your thoughts here!

How you been managing Celiac Disease while in recovery from Bulimia? If so, what resources or tools were helpful to you in recovering from both celiac disease and bulimia? How did working with a professional treatment team help you with this?

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Crystal is a Masters-level Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) with a specialty focus in eating disorders, maternal/child health and wellness, and intuitive eating. Combining clinical experience with a love of social media and writing, Crystal serves as the Special Projects Coordinator for Eating Disorder Hope/Addiction Hope, where her passion to help others find recovery and healing is integrated into each part of her work.

As a Certified Intuitive Eating Counselor, Crystal has dedicated her career to helping others establish a healthy relationship with food and body through her work with EDH/AH and nutrition private practice.

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The opinions and views of our guest contributors are shared to provide a broad perspective of eating disorders. These are not necessarily the views of Eating Disorder Hope, but an effort to offer discussion of various issues by different concerned individuals.

We at Eating Disorder Hope understand that eating disorders result from a combination of environmental and genetic factors. If you or a loved one are suffering from an eating disorder, please know that there is hope for you, and seek immediate professional help.

Last Updated & Reviewed By: Jacquelyn Ekern, MS, LPC on January 24, 2016
Published on EatingDisorderHope.com