Celiac Disease and Depression

If you’ve felt depressed since your celiac diagnosis, or even before, you’re not imagining a connection. The relationship between celiac disease and depression is real and well-documented.

Here’s what we know and what you can do.

The Connection Is Real

Studies show that people with celiac disease have higher rates of depression and anxiety than the general population. This isn’t coincidental.

Before Diagnosis

Many people with undiagnosed celiac experience depression:

• From malabsorption of nutrients that affect brain chemistry
• From chronic inflammation
• From feeling sick all the time without knowing why
• From being dismissed by doctors or told it’s “just stress”

The depression might have been a symptom of your celiac disease all along.

After Diagnosis

Depression can also occur after diagnosis:

• The grief of losing foods you love
• The social isolation of dietary restriction
• The stress of constant vigilance
• The frustration of navigating a gluten-filled world

Knowing why you feel bad doesn’t automatically make you feel better.

The Biology

Nutrient Deficiencies

Damaged intestines don’t absorb nutrients well. Deficiencies linked to depression include:

B12 and folate: Essential for neurotransmitter production. Common deficiencies in untreated celiac.

Iron: Low iron causes fatigue and mood changes.

Vitamin D: Low vitamin D is associated with depression. Common in celiac.

Zinc: Affects mood regulation. Often low in celiacs.

Even after starting the GF diet, these deficiencies take time to correct.

Inflammation

Celiac disease causes intestinal inflammation. But inflammation isn’t confined to the gut:

• Inflammatory markers circulate throughout the body
• Brain inflammation affects mood and cognition
• The gut-brain axis connects intestinal health to mental health

Research suggests that inflammation itself contributes to depression.

The Gut-Brain Axis

Your gut and brain communicate constantly. A damaged, inflamed gut sends different signals than a healthy one. The microbiome changes in celiac disease may affect:

• Neurotransmitter production
• Stress response
• Mood regulation

The GF diet helps heal the gut, which may help heal the brain too.

Symptoms to Watch

Depression can look like:

• Persistent sadness or emptiness
• Loss of interest in things you used to enjoy
• Changes in sleep (too much or too little)
• Changes in appetite
• Difficulty concentrating (overlaps with “brain fog”)
• Fatigue beyond what celiac should cause
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Thoughts of death or suicide

If you’re experiencing these, take them seriously.

What Helps

Give the GF Diet Time

For many people, depression improves significantly after 6-12 months of strict GF eating:

• Nutrient absorption improves
• Inflammation decreases
• The gut heals

This isn’t instant and it isn’t universal, but it happens for many.

Address Deficiencies

Work with your doctor to check and correct:

• B12 (may need supplementation)
• Folate
• Iron
• Vitamin D
• Zinc

Correcting deficiencies can meaningfully improve mood.

Consider Professional Support

Therapy: Especially useful for:

• Processing the grief of diagnosis
• Developing coping strategies
• Addressing anxiety around food
• Working through relationship impacts

Medication: Antidepressants can help. Having celiac doesn’t mean you shouldn’t take medication for depression if you need it.

Psychiatry: For medication management if needed.

Don’t avoid mental health care because you think it “should” get better with diet alone. Get help if you need it.

Lifestyle Factors

Exercise: Proven to help depression. Start small if you’re fatigued.

Sleep: Prioritize sleep hygiene. Poor sleep worsens depression.

Social connection: Isolation makes depression worse. Connect with others, including other celiacs who understand.

Stress management: Chronic stress worsens both celiac and depression.

Community

Other people who understand celiac can help more than you might expect:

• Support groups (in-person or online)
• Celiac foundations
• Friends or family with celiac

Feeling understood matters.

Brain Fog vs. Depression

Celiac-related brain fog and depression overlap but aren’t identical:

Brain fog:

• Difficulty concentrating
• Mental sluggishness
• Memory issues
• Often improves significantly with GF diet

Depression:

• Persistent low mood
• Loss of interest
• May or may not improve fully with diet alone

You can have both. If brain fog clears but mood doesn’t, that’s worth addressing separately.

When to Get Help Urgently

If you’re experiencing:

• Thoughts of suicide or self-harm
• Inability to function in daily life
• Severe hopelessness

Please reach out for help immediately:

• National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 988
• Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741
• Emergency room if you’re in immediate danger

Depression is treatable. Celiac doesn’t mean you have to suffer.

A Prayer for Dark Days

Lord, some days the heaviness is more than I can carry.

I know my body is healing. I know this should get better. But right now, it’s dark.

Be with me in the darkness. Not to explain it, just to be with me.

Help me take the next step: the next meal, the next hour, the next day.

Send people who understand. Send help that works. Send hope that lasts.

I believe. Help my unbelief.

Amen.

It Does Get Better

For most people with celiac-related depression:

• The GF diet helps significantly over time
• Nutritional correction helps
• Time helps

The depression you’re experiencing now isn’t permanent. But you don’t have to wait it out alone.

Treat the celiac. Treat the depression. Let both heal.