Amanda Liu | ALES Graduate Seminar

A graduate exam seminar is a presentation of the student’s final research project for their degree.
This is an ALES MSc Final Exam Seminar by Amanda Liu. This seminar is open to the general public to attend.
Thesis Topic: Folate Content of Gluten Free Food Purchases and Child Dietary Intake in Households with Children with Celiac Disease

MSc with Drs. Diana Mager and Justine Turner.

Seminar Abstract:

Celiac Disease (CD) is a gastrointestinal autoimmune disease triggered by the consumption of gluten, and treated with life-long adherence to the Gluten Free Diet (GFD). Gluten is a family of proteins commonly found in wheat, barley, and rye. Children following the GFD have low folate intakes which may be secondary to the lack of routine folate fortification in gluten free (GF) grains in Canada. The study objectives were to examine (1) the dietary folate intake in children on the GFD, (2) the folate content of their household’s food purchases, and (3) to assess the impact of daily folate supplementation on folate intake. Household food purchase receipts were collected from 73 families for a 30 day period (16,470 items). Children with CD’s dietary intake were assessed using two 24 hour recalls (one weekend/one weekday). Folate-rich foods were defined as ≥60µg folate/100g of food. The effect of daily folate supplementation on overall child folate intake was studied by examining the impact of adding 400µg/d to daily folate intake and comparing intakes against the Folate Estimated Average Requirement for age and sex (EAR). Child folate intake was considered low (198ug [138-259]) with only 29% (n=22) of children meeting the EAR for folate without daily supplementation. Seventy-six percent of food items purchased were GF (n=12,460). Median folate content of purchased foods was 15µg/100g [5-36], with legumes having the highest folate concentration (61μg/100g [25-87]). The low folate content of GF grain products (22μg/100g [8-36]) were due to inconsistent folate fortification. Food purchased and child dietary intakes for all food categories were found to be in similar percentages except for dairy products (12% of total purchased foods vs. 18% of intake). Supplementation with 400µg folate is enough to help all children meet the folate EAR. Low folate intake and low folate content of household GF food purchases highlight the need for folate fortification in the GF food supply. Consideration for folate supplementation is needed to improve the nutritional quality of the GFD for children with CD.