An article released in Current Sports Medicine Reports, a publication produced by the American College of Sports Medicine, overviews the topics of celiac disease and the gluten-free diet as they affect athletes.

In ‘Celiac Disease and the Athlete’, authors Lee Mancini, MD, CSCS*D, CSN of the UMass Memorial Medicine Center’s Sports Medicine Center, Thomas Trojian, MD, FACSM, Sports Medicine Fellowship Director at the University of Connecticut Health Center, and UMass Memorial Medical Center’s Angela Mancini, MD, advocate comprehensive celiac and gluten-free diet education for sports medicine physicians.

“Sports medicine physicians need to recognize that celiac disease can present with a number of different symptoms and, therefore, should consider celiac disease part of their differential in evaluating athletes with prolonged unexplained illnesses. Sports medicine physicians must be familiar with the appropriate laboratory tests and diagnostic procedures used to establish diagnosis of celiac disease. The sports medicine physician must coordinate a multidisciplinary approach in helping the newly diagnosed athlete with celiac disease.”

‘Celiac Disease and the Athlete’ also details:

• The importance of specific follow-up tests (including tTG, Bone Mineral Density (BMD) and Iron levels).
• Different health and nutritional considerations affecting newly diagnosed athletes with celiac and athletes with long-standing celiac disease.
• Recommended caloric and key nutrient intake – highlighting specific nutrients that can affect athletic performance: carbohydrates, vitamin D, calcium, and iron.
• Proper social and lifestyle management education, including tips for instructing athletes, teammates, coaches and training staff on celiac disease and the gluten-free diet.

To download ‘Celiac Disease and the Athlete’, featured in March/April 2011 edition of Current Sports Medicine Reports, click here.

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• Webinar Archives: The Gluten-Free Effect on Athletes
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