FAB RESEARCH COMMENT:
In this thoughtful blog, autism-and-diet expert Dr Paul Whiteley discusses the findings from a new review concerning Vitamin D and coeliac disease - the auto-immune disease that is the classic form of dietary gluten intolerance.
The review concludes that once a gluten-free diet is implemented by individuals with coeliac disease, this appears to correct the Vitamin D deficiency that they typically show, without suppementation being needed.
Dr Whiteley considers whether the same might perhaps be true for other forms of gluten intolerance - which appear to affect a sub-set of individuals with autism, or related neurodevelopmental conditions like schizophrenia.
These conditions also appear to be linked with low Vitamin D levels - but as association studies alone cannot address issues of causality, further research is needed to disentangle, and hopefully explain, some of these links in a way that could improve treatment options.
Read the underlying research here: