A new study from Lund University in Sweden suggests that young children who eat more fiber may have a lower risk of developing celiac disease. The strongest effect was seen in babies under 1 year old, where a fiber-rich diet appeared to significantly reduce the likelihood of the disease developing later in childhood.
This research is the first to investigate how fiber intake in early childhood might influence the risk of celiac disease, a condition in which the immune system reacts abnormally to gluten, damaging the small intestine.
While previous studies have explored genetic and environmental risk factors, this study focuses on diet, offering a potential way to reduce risk through early nutrition.
The study is based on data from the TEDDY cohort, a long-term research project that follows children with a genetic risk of type 1 diabetes and celiac disease in Sweden, Germany, Finland, and the United States.
The research team tracked the diets of 6,500 children from birth until at least age 13, using food records completed by parents. Blood samples were also taken regularly to check for antibodies specific to celiac disease, allowing researchers to determine when the disease began in each child.
Strongest Protection in the First Year
The results showed that children who consumed more fiber between 6 and 12 months of age had a nearly 40% lower risk of developing celiac disease compared to those with lower fiber intake.
The protective effect was also seen in children up to 2 years old, but it was weaker, reducing the risk by about 5%. After age 2, fiber intake no longer seemed to affect the likelihood of developing the disease.
Initially, researchers thought the type of fiber—whether from fruits, vegetables, grains, or legumes—might be important. However, their findings showed that the total amount of fiber consumed mattered more than the source.
“At first, we thought that different types of fiber might have different effects, but when we analyzed them separately, we found that the overall fiber intake was what made the difference,” said Elin Hård af Segerstad, a pediatric dietitian and researcher at Lund University.
Celiac disease affects about 7% of children in the study, with most cases diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 4. The general risk of developing the disease was 7.8 cases per 1,000 person-years. The study found that an increase of just three extra grams of fiber per day in a baby’s diet was linked to a significant reduction in risk.
How Could Fiber Help?
The researchers believe that fiber plays a role in shaping the gut microbiota—the community of bacteria in the digestive system—which develops mostly in the first two years of life. A healthier gut microbiota may help strengthen the immune system and protect the intestine, making the body less likely to react negatively to gluten.
“This is our theory, but it’s only speculation at this stage,” Hård af Segerstad explained. “It’s exciting to identify a potential protective factor, but this is an observational study. Before we can recommend increasing fiber intake in infants to prevent celiac disease, we need clinical trials to confirm these findings.”
What This Means for Parents
Although the findings suggest that fiber may be beneficial in reducing the risk of celiac disease, no official recommendations can be made yet. However, fiber-rich foods are already known to support overall digestive health, so including more fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes in a baby’s diet may have multiple benefits.
As more research is conducted, scientists hope to better understand how early diet influences immune-related conditions like celiac disease. If further studies confirm these findings, increasing fiber intake in infancy could become a simple and natural way to help protect against the disease.
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The research findings can be found in Gastroenterology.
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