Health

Report Shows Fiber Intake During Pregnancy Decreases the Risk for Celiac Disease

Published

6 years ago

August 14, 2019

A recent study has shown that pregnant women who eat high amounts of fiber could protect their children from Celiac disease.

Children are being diagnosed with celiac disease more than ever before. Historically, the majority of diagnoses occurred after a child turned 18 years old, but the number of younger children being diagnosed is increasing.

Celiac disease is dangerous because of the lasting effects it can have on a child’s body when left untreated.

The small intestine is at risk, as is their mental health and nutrition. There are no proven ways to prevent celiac disease or treat it other than a lifelong gluten-free diet.

The connection between a high-fiber diet of the mother and a lower rate of celiac disease in children could be the answer doctors have been seeking.

What is celiac disease, exactly?

Once you have celiac disease, there is no getting rid of it. Treatment is the only option and that means you must follow a strict gluten-free diet that will last the rest of your life.

The disease itself affects both the digestive and immune systems, causing discomfort in the stomach and other unpleasant symptoms.

When gluten, a protein that binds foods such as wheat and barley, enters a Celiac’s digestive system, the immune system responds by attacking the small intestine. This can cause damage that prevents the body from properly digesting food and other nutrients.

Celiac disease can also have many other negative effects on the body that make life less comfortable.

Bloating is a common symptom of celiac disease in both adults and children because of its impact on the digestive system. The digestive tract becomes inflamed, resulting in bloating.

Constant stomach pains, cramping, nausea, and headache are also common symptoms of celiac disease.

Weight loss can be a particularly dangerous symptom for children because of how rapidly they grow. It is often found that removing gluten from the diet causes children with celiac disease to regain their lost weight.

Intake of more fiber could help

Based on a study of 88,000 children born between 1999 and 2009, a high fiber diet in pregnant women resulted in fewer celiac diagnoses in the first 11 years of their children’s lives.

Pediatric celiac disease was 8% lower for every 10 grams of fiber a mother ingested during pregnancy. Fiber from fruits and vegetables rather than from cereals decreased the risk the most.

Having a gluten-free diet during pregnancy has no impact on the child’s tendency to develop celiac disease.

The main reason fiber is thought to affect the likelihood of celiac disease is because of the impact it has on the baby’s gut flora. Fiber leads to more diverse gut flora, which in turn leads to a stronger immune system.

Since celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder, it is important to strengthen the immune system to fight against it.

Anything a mother eats during her pregnancy affects the baby’s health. A poor diet during pregnancy full of fatty foods could cause the child to be obese or develop high cholesterol.

The environment in which a baby develops largely affects its growth and development once it is born. Maintaining healthy eating habits that offer the baby multiple nutrients is the best way to ensure their general good health.

Causes of celiac disease

Only around 1% of the population has celiac disease, but the people who do have it face daily struggles. In addition to the prenatal environment, other factors contribute to a diagnosis of celiac disease.

According to Healthcare Weekly, one of the main causes of celiac disease is a person’s genes. The disease is hereditary, so if close relatives have celiac, a child is also more likely to have it.

Having other autoimmune issues also makes a person more susceptible to celiac disease. Since celiac is an autoimmune disease, it can become more readily present in a person with other autoimmune problems.

The increased presence of celiac disease could be attributed to more awareness of the symptoms of celiac, leading to more diagnoses. Another factor could be a result of changes in agriculture and farming over the years which may have generated growth in the number of Celiacs.

Gluten products, like wheat and flour, are now mass-produced with ease because of modern farming procedures, but this could be affecting human health and nutrition.

The high levels of modified gluten present throughout the food industry that people are ingesting is thought to be causing more cases of celiac disease.

How to test for celiac disease

Early diagnosis is very important when it comes to celiac disease, especially for children. Catching the disease early will prevent further and more serious complications.

Having your child tested for celiac disease early on is a smart way to catch the disease before it can have lasting effects. If you have a family history of celiac, getting tested is the right thing to do.

With the at-home test from imawareTM, it is easy to see if your child has celiac. The test recognizes specific biomarkers that show whether the disease is present in the body.

If you have symptoms even though the test doesn’t indicate the presence of Celiac disease, please consult a doctor.

Take the test and open up a conversation with your doctor on this topic sooner rather than later.

Problems when it is not treated in children

The short-term symptoms of celiac disease are uncomfortable, especially for children. They can be treated by simply cutting out gluten. Caught early, any damage caused by the disease will almost always be resolved by a gluten-free diet.

If children go untreated for too long, more serious issues will occur. A person develops the most in their childhood years, and celiac disease could put a damper on the changes a child goes through.

A late diagnosis of celiac disease could cause issues with a child’s weight gain and growth. Delayed diagnosis and treatment also makes it more likely the child will commence puberty later than normal.

Other dangers that go along with untreated celiac disease in children include chronic fatigue, iron-deficiency, anemia, and osteoporosis.

Don’t allow your children to suffer from celiac disease symptoms. Provide them with enough nutrients during pregnancy and after their birth to keep their bodies strong and their development on track.

By getting them tested early on, you could prevent your child from struggles later in life.

Health

The Scientist as Storyteller: How Steven Quay Makes Complex Medicine Relatable

Published

1 month ago

July 23, 2025

Michelle Langton

Scientific discovery often struggles to reach the people it is meant to serve. The distance between research and public understanding can be vast. For most scientists, publishing in peer-reviewed journals is the endpoint. For Dr. Steven Quay, it is only the beginning. His career has been defined not just by what he has discovered, but by how he communicates it.

Scientific trust today faces growing skepticism and misinformation spreads faster than facts, Quay has embraced a rare role. He is both a scientist and a storyteller. His ability to bridge the technical and the human is what makes his voice resonate across disciplines, institutions, and communities.

Writing as a Lens into the Human Side of Science

One of the clearest examples of Quay’s narrative instinct lies in his writing. He has authored three major books, each rooted in a different part of his life and expertise. Together, they show how a medical researcher can also be an accessible public thinker.

In Stay Safe: A Physician’s Guide to Survive Coronavirus, published June 5, 2020, during the first days of the pandemic, Quay offered plainspoken, evidence-based guidance on protecting oneself and one’s family. It was not framed as a political statement or a policy directive. It was personal and grounded in the daily realities people faced. He wrote it not just as a scientist, but as someone who wanted to help others navigate a frightening time with clarity and calm.

His second book, The Origin of the Virus, tackled a more complex and controversial subject: the question of how SARS-CoV-2 emerged. Rather than speculate, Quay walked readers through the scientific evidence with the kind of transparency that is often lacking in public discourse. The tone was methodical, never alarmist. What set the book apart was its balance, engaging to a lay reader, yet rigorous enough to be taken seriously by professionals.

Then there is A Ride Through Northville, a deeply personal departure from the world of virology and oncology. Here, Quay revisits his childhood in Michigan, capturing the streets, friendships, and quiet moments that shaped him long before he entered a lab. The structure of the book mimics the experience of riding a bike through town, evoking memory not as a chronology, but as a sensory journey. For a scientist whose career has involved high-stakes research and global debates, this book offers a rare window into the reflective, grounded person behind the work.

Speaking Clearly Without Speaking Down

Quay’s communication skill is not limited to the written word. He has also become a frequent guest on health-focused podcasts and a speaker at public science forums. His TEDx talk on breast cancer prevention is one of the most viewed videos on the subject, and for good reason. He does not rely on drama or abstract theory. Instead, he explains mammographic density, hormonal risk, and clinical trial design in a way that makes the science both comprehensible and actionable.

In interviews, Quay has a habit of slowing things down. He avoids jargon unless he defines it. He is comfortable saying, “We don’t know yet,” which, in the realm of public science, is a kind of honesty that builds trust. He often discusses Atossa Therapeutics’ trials in plain terms, describing how experimental drugs like (Z)-endoxifen might help certain patients respond better to treatment. He emphasizes that these are ongoing studies, not marketing pitches, which sets him apart from many biotech executives.

Educating the Public Without Oversimplifying

One of the challenges of public-facing science is resisting the urge to oversimplify. Many well-intentioned scientists flatten complexity to fit the constraints of social media or mainstream news. Quay does not follow that path. He explains mechanisms and hypotheses with nuance, trusting that readers and listeners are capable of understanding more than they are often given credit for.

His social media presence reflects the same philosophy. He shares articles and research updates, but rarely with alarm or bravado. When he comments on current medical debates, he tends to lead with evidence rather than opinion. That steady tone has earned him a following that spans across ideological and professional divides.

During the pandemic, this approach stood out. While others chased headlines, Quay focused on distilling evolving guidance into practical advice. He acknowledged the limits of current knowledge, updated his views as new data emerged, and emphasized science as an iterative process. His voice became one that many people turned to not for certainty, but for clarity.

A Scientist’s Responsibility Beyond the Lab

Quay has often said that science does not exist in isolation. It is part of society. That belief informs why he writes, speaks, and engages in public discourse as actively as he does. He sees the scientist’s role not just as a producer of knowledge, but as a custodian of its meaning.

He has testified before the U.S. Congress and advised the State Department, not as a politician but as a physician-scientist committed to accuracy. In each case, his contribution has been grounded in data but shaped by a recognition of the human implications of policy and research.

This is especially evident in his work on breast cancer. By advocating for better screening tools and more personalized treatments, Quay speaks not only to clinicians and investors but to women facing real fears about their health. He explains the science behind mammographic density and hormonal modulation not just with charts, but with stories about what those risks mean in someone’s life.

Storytelling as a Form of Service

What makes Quay’s communication style compelling is that it never feels performative. He is not branding himself or building a media empire. He is doing what he believes scientists should do: make their work useful.

In every form of his storytelling, from the deeply personal to the technically specific, there is a throughline of responsibility. He understands that science touches people’s lives in ways that go far beyond the lab. For him, that means speaking clearly, writing honestly, and never underestimating the audience.