During Tend Women’s Health Week (10–16 August), the focus is on empowering Kiwi women to prioritise their own wellbeing and stop putting their health on the back burner. For those of us living with coeliac disease, there is one crucial area of wellness that silently requires our attention as we age: our bones. While we often focus heavily on gut symptoms, what is happening inside our skeletons is just as vital.

The Coeliac-Bone Connection

When someone with undiagnosed coeliac disease consumes gluten, it causes inflammation that flattens the tiny, finger-like villi in the small intestine. This area is the body’s primary "absorption zone" for critical bone-building nutrients, specifically calcium and Vitamin D.

If a woman goes undiagnosed for years, her body is forced to "borrow" calcium from her skeletal reserves to keep blood levels stable. Combined with the natural drop in bone-protecting estrogen that occurs during menopause, coeliac wāhine face a unique, heightened risk for early-onset osteopenia and osteoporosis.

What the New Zealand Research Tells Us

Exciting local research has given us a clearer picture of how this affects women right here in Aotearoa.

• The Massey University Study (2024): A recent study conducted in the Lower North Island looked closely at premenopausal women with coeliac disease who were adhering to a strict gluten-free diet. The great news? The researchers found that staying strictly gluten-free successfully allowed their bone density to recover to the same level as healthy controls. Healing the gut works.
• The Dietary Catch: However, the researchers also uncovered a warning sign: the coeliac women had significantly lower intakes of dietary fibre, and both groups fell short on their daily calcium targets.
• The Weight Factor: This aligns with a review published in the New Zealand Medical Journal, which tracked adults referred for bone density scans. It highlighted that coeliac individuals with a low body mass index (a BMI under 20, often caused by prolonged malabsorption before diagnosis) were at a much higher risk. This highlights the importance of being a healthy weight.

Three Steps to Protect Your Bones This Week

Your bones are living tissue. They can heal, rebuild, and strengthen, but they need the right tools. Use this Women’s Health Week to take action:

1. Advocate for a DEXA Scan: If you were diagnosed with coeliac disease later in life, have experienced prolonged vitamin deficiencies, or are approaching menopause, talk to your GP. Ask if you qualify for a dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) scan to get a baseline measure of your bone strength.
2. Upgrade Your Gluten-Free Calcium: Fill your trolley with dairy (or calcium-fortified plant milks), canned salmon or sardines with the soft bones included, almonds, tofu, and dark leafy greens.
3. Vitamin D Exposure: Get yourself outside in the sunshine this week, as we enter the final month of winter make the most of the increasing sunny days!
4. Move to Build Mass: Bones respond to mechanical stress by becoming denser. Incorporate regular weight-bearing and resistance exercises into your week, such as brisk walking, hiking, weight training, or tennis.

This Tend Women's Health Week, remember that taking care of yourself isn't selfish. Looking after your nutritional needs and advocating for your health is the foundational framework that keeps you standing strong for everything else.

• Want to know more about managing bone density? Read Coeliac NZ’s fact sheet: Osteoporosis & Coeliac Disease Fact Sheet.
• Head to Celebrating Women’s Health in Aotearoa | Women’s Health Week 2026 to find out more about events happening near you this Women’s Health Week.

References:

Bolland, M. J. (2016). Outcomes of bone density measurements in coeliac disease. The New Zealand Medical Journal, 129(1429), 37–44.

Lungaro, L., Manza, F., Costanzini, A., Barbalinardo, M., Gentili, D., Caputo, F., Guarino, M., Zoli, G., Volta, U., De Giorgio, R., & Caio, G. (2023). Osteoporosis and celiac disease: Updates and hidden pitfalls. Nutrients, 15(5), 1089. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15051089

Schraders, K., Coad, J., & Kruger, M. (2024). Bone health in premenopausal women with coeliac disease: An observational study. Nutrients, 16(14), 2178. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16142178