My daughter has had diabetes and celiac for a little over a year. Lately, it’s been hard to get her numbers right. I remember a doctor in the U.,S. saying that celiac made it harder to control diabetes. I have been searching the Internet to see if I can find more about this but have not had any success. Does celiac make it more difficult to control her sugar? Although she follows a gluten free diet, could eating gluten (without us knowing, like cross contamination) make her numbers go out of control?

Celiac, by itself, does not change glucose control. Following a gluten free diet, however, usually means needing more fast-acting insulin because gluten-free foods generally have less fiber, get absorbed somewhat faster than many other carbohydrates and thus require somewhat more insulin coverage. There are some reports that those with celiac disease have more problems with hypoglycemia when untreated but this is not consistently reported. Most of our patients who have both (about 10% in a European/Caucasian population) do quite well. You should review these questions in more detail with your diabetes team and especially with your team dietitian, if one is available.

SB