Have you ever found that you have trouble with canker sores? Over the years I’ve talked to a number of people that mentioned having a problem with canker sores prior to their celiac diagnosis. Though not all the time, I’ve heard some mention that the problem cleared up significantly while following a strict gluten-free diet.
While doing a little bit of research on this topic for this post, I can across the following blog post with some information. According to the Expert Doctor’s Health Tips Blog:
It’s well known that canker sores can run in families. One of the reasons for this is because whatever is causing this ulcer may have some genetic cause or reason. I’ve found that people who have gluten intolerance and/or have celiac disease have canker sores until they stop eating gluten. This could be one genetic connection, since celiac disease is genetic and passed on in the genes although the genes still need to be triggered by something unknown. One can carry the gene but not have full-blown celiac disease yet or ever.
It appears that some experts believe it is associated with the body’s immune system. Here again, it could also relate back to Celiac Disease because gluten flattens the villi in the small intestine and nutrients can’t be absorbed so the immune system suffers and its defenses are broken down. This leads me to believe that nutritional deficiencies could also play a part.
This was true for me. In my case, I was diagnosed with another autoimmune disease called “apthous stomatitis” which is actually what I mistook the canker sores for. A certain dental paste prescription helped, but later being diagnosed with Celiac and going on a gluten free diet worked wonders.