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All that a physician should know about gluten-free diet

  • Review Article
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Indian Journal of Gastroenterology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Gluten-free diet (GFD) is the only definitive treatment for patients with celiac disease (CeD). Strict adherence to GFD improves the symptoms, nutritional deficiencies, and the overall well-being of the patients. The management of CeD is truly different and unique from the treatment of other medical or surgical diseases. While prescribing a GFD is easy, the key to the success lies in the dietary counseling by a nutrition specialist/physician and maintenance of adherence to the prescribed diet by the patient. When restricting gluten from all possible sources, it is pertinent to recommend a diet that is healthy and balanced for patients with celiac disease. Those following GFD must be counseled properly on the ways of balancing their diets and of avoiding cross contamination. They should be taught how to read food labels properly and given tips for dining out or during traveling. Regular follow up with patients is required for assessing the compliance and monitoring growth and the status of recovery. In this review article, we have compiled, for the physicians and gastroenterologists, the relevant information about GFD including counseling, adherence, nutritional adequacy, and many other related issues.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Home Science, Lady Irwin College, University of Delhi, Sikandra Road, New Delhi, 110 001, India

    Wajiha Mehtab

  2. Department of Gastroenterology and Human Nutrition, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Ansari Nagar, New Delhi, 110 029, India

    Namrata Singh & Govind K. Makharia

  3. Department of Food Technology, Lakshmibai College, University of Delhi, Ashok Vihar III, New Delhi, 110 052, India

    Anita Malhotra

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  1. Wajiha Mehtab
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  2. Namrata Singh
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  4. Govind K. Makharia
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Correspondence to Govind K. Makharia.

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WM, NS, AM, and GKM declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Mehtab, W., Singh, N., Malhotra, A. et al. All that a physician should know about gluten-free diet. Indian J Gastroenterol 37, 392–401 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12664-018-0895-0

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