Note: The Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) does not approve of security or efficiency supplements. Talk to a health professional to know if an additional supplement is suitable for your individual health and on any drug interaction or concern of potential safety.
If you have eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE), pain and difficulty swallowing can make it difficult to eat and get the nutrients you need every day. If this is the case for you, taking certain supplements can help replace these nutrients.
Vitamin D levels tend to be lower in people with EOE vitamin, especially in children. But according to your symptoms and if you have an elimination diet to manage them, you could also be low in iron, zinc and other nutrients.
Although certain supplements can help fill the nutritional gaps from a limited diet with EOE, some have more benefits than others. It is important to speak to your doctor before trying a new supplement to make sure that it suits you, determine the safest dose and make sure that it does not interact with the drugs you take.
These seven supplements can help you get the nutrients you need and improve the symptoms of the EOE.
1. Iron
Iron is a vital part of hemoglobin, a protein in red blood cells that help your body use oxygen. This nutrient also works to maintain the mucosa of your gastrointestinal tract (GI), including your esophagus.
If you should limit meat in your diet due to the EOE, it can drop your level of iron, explains Ekta Gupta, MBBS, gastroenterologist at the University of Maryland Medical Center and Associate Professor at the University of Maryland University School in Baltimore.
“Iron can be an important supplement if someone limits its consumption of meat or nuts,” said Alex Koral, MD, gastroenterologist from Yale Medicine to Trumbull, Connecticut. “Most of a supplement is not necessary for the most part, but it is important for those who have signs of iron deficiency or anemia.”
Most people can safely take iron, but your health care provider can recommend against this if you have a condition that causes iron overload in your blood.
Additional iron can be accompanied by side effects such as nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, metallic taste, teeth coloring and stomach aches. These supplements can also interact with certain drugs, such as Levodopa-Carbidopa (Sinemet) for Parkinson’s disease and levothyroxine (synthroid) for a deficiency in thyroid hormones.
2. Vitamin D
The vitamin of helps your GI tract to absorb calcium, which maintains your strong and healthy bones. It also works with other nutrients to reduce inflammation and promote cell growth and immune function.
“Vitamin D has an immunomodlator [immune system-altering] The properties and low levels are associated with increased allergic inflammation, ”explains Dr. Gupta. Vitamin can also support the healing of the mucous membrane of the digestive tract and help reduce lining rockets, she said.
Both a lack of vitamin D of the diet and taking proton pump inhibitors (PPI) – EOE current treatment – can affect bone health, explains Dr. Koral. “If someone has proven a vitamin D deficiency, he should take a regular supplement under the direction of his doctor.”
It is important to talk to your doctor about what you need before trying it. Too much vitamin D can cause high levels of calcium, which can cause kidney and heart problems in extreme cases. Vitamin D supplements can also interact with drugs, including orlistat (xenic) for weight loss, statina drugs for cholesterol, thiazide diuretics for blood pressure and steroids.
Some groups have a higher risk of vitamin D toxicity. If you are pregnant, dialysis or if you have inflammatory intestine disease, your vitamin D dosage must be regularly monitored and adjusted by a health care provider.
3. Butyrate
Your body makes butyrate (a short -chain fatty acid, or SCFA) when good bacteria in your large intestine break down dietary fibers.
“SCFA, in particular butyrate, can help maintain the integrity of the intestinal barrier and remove inflammatory cytokines [proteins] Which can sometimes be useful to control symptoms, ”explains Gupta. But, she says, research on the potential advantages of butyrate for the EOE is always limited, and it is not yet widely recommended for all people with EOE.
If your doctor gives you the right one, you can buy butyrate as a supplement, which usually includes butyric acid and a type of salt. But the best way to get nutrient is to eat enough fiber in your diet. The American Department of Agriculture (USDA) recommends obtaining 25 grams (G) of fiber per day for women and 35 g for men.
Little information exists on the safety of butyrate supplements, but some people reported bloating and food intolerances when they are taken. Your supplier may recommend that you take butyrate supplements if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
4. Probiotics
Probiotic supplements can help deliver good bacteria to the intestine, which play a vital role in keeping your healthy intestinal microbiome.
When people talk about the intestinal microbiome, they generally refer to the community of microbes of your large intestine, which can affect inflammation in the whole of your gastrointestinal tract. But your esophagus also has a microbiome.
“There are emerging data on the microbiome in the EOE,” said Claire Beveridge, MD, gastroenterologist at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio. Probiotics can keep the microbiome healthy and reduce the symptoms of the EOE, but more research is necessary to know with certainty, says Dr. Beveridge. “Although we are currently lacking in human data, the use of probiotics in patients with EOE was worth investigating.”
A research review revealed that people with EOE had an increased risk of unbalanced intestinal microbiome, a factor also associated with PPI treatment. Probiotics are promising for EOE, but specific types can be more useful than others, so your doctor’s advice are essential when they choose.
Probiotics have a very low risk of side effects, but can cause infections in people with a weakened immune system. These supplements can also change the functioning of certain drugs in your body, such as levodopa-carbidopa (sinemet), digoxin (lanoxine) and tacrolimus (program).
5. Quercetine
Quercetin is a flavonoid (natural chemical) found in fruits, vegetables and some drinks. This chemical has anti-inflammatory properties and helps stabilize mastocytes, which play a role in the allergic reactions that causes EOE, explains Gupta.
Studies have not yet tested quercetin on humans with EOE, but research has shown potential advantages for other inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and asthma. There is not yet a lot of research on the safety of long -term quercetin supplementation, but existing studies have not shown harmful side effects.
Quercetin can affect the functioning of certain drugs, including cancer drugs, heart disease and high blood pressure, so it is important to speak to your doctor before trying it.
6. Vitamin B12
Everyone needs vitamin B12 for the function of the central nervous system and the creation of red blood cells and DNA. A small study revealed to obtain enough vitamin B12 alongside other nutrients helped reduce the symptoms of the EOE, but no more research is necessary to prove how it works.
“In patients with EOE who are treated with proton pump inhibitors, vitamin B12 and magnesium levels can sometimes be low, but we generally do not provide supplementation in a preventive way,” explains Beveridge. But if your doctor finds that you have a deficiency in these nutrients, he may recommend an additional cost.
Vitamin B12 is considered safe, even in high doses, although it can interact with certain drugs. Other drugs, such as PPI and Metformin, can decrease vitamin B12 levels.
7. Zinc
Zinc plays a role in immune function, wound healing and cell growth. It also helps keep the mucous mucosa of your healthy gastrointestinal tract.
Few research has further evaluated the effects of zinc supplementation for the EOE, but a small study of 39 adults with an illness reported improved symptoms while taking several food supplements, including zinc.
High levels of zinc can cause nausea, stunning, headache, stomach aches, vomiting and bad appetite. These supplements are not recommended if you are pregnant or breastfeeding and you have no deficiency. Zinc can also interact with antibiotics, drugs that treat rheumatoid arthritis and thiazide diuretics, so it is always better to ask your supplier before starting it.
The point to take away
If you have eosinophilic esophagitis (EOE), you may not get all the nutrients you need food alone. Some people turn to supplements to help fill this gap.
Some health care providers recommend supplements for low iron and vitamin D levels. Some other supplements have proven to be promising, but still need more evidence of efficiency in research before they can be widely recommended for EOE.
If you have been and want to know more about taking supplements, your supplier can offer recommendations according to your needs.