Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that causes damage to the small intestine, resulting in an interference of the body’s ability to properly absorb nutrients from food. The Natural Fertility Diet can easily be made gluten-free, so please read on to learn why this may be important.
Celiac disease affects about 1 out of 133 people, though many people that have the condition are not even aware of it. If proper attention is not paid to the disorder and a gluten-free diet is not followed, many health problems can occur, including infertility.
The Gluten-Free Diet
People that suffer from celiac disease are unable to digest and process gluten, which is a protein that is found in many grains like barley, rye and wheat. There are many food products on the market that contain gluten, and when these products are consumed by an individual with celiac disease, a variety of symptoms can occur.
Unfortunately, many of the symptoms that present themselves from celiac disease are symptoms that are common with other digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome, diverticulitis and inflammatory bowel disease. As such, in many cases the celiac disease is not properly diagnosed so it is not properly treated.
People that suffer from celiac disease must follow a gluten-free diet. When they eat foods containing gluten, their body’s own immune system actually begins to destroy the small intestine which prevents proper absorption of nutrients from food that can lead to a variety of health concerns.
The Gluten-Free Diet and Fertility
The longer that celiac disease goes untreated, the higher the risks are of developing problems with fertility and conception. Clinical studies have shown that women with untreated celiac disease have a very high rate of infertility with difficulties in conceiving. Untreated celiac disease also seems to affect a man’s fertility as it creates a hormonal imbalance that causes reproductive disturbances.
The largest concern in women with untreated celiac disease is the high risk of miscarriage the condition seems to cause. In a case study performed on a group of women ages 22-38 years of age with untreated celiac disease, all suffered from recurrent miscarriages over a course of 11 years. All of the women were placed on a gluten-free diet and evaluated for the long-term to determine the effect of the gluten-free diet on their fertility. Out of the 13 women, 6 became pregnant within 1-4 years after starting the gluten-free diet with one having a successful multiple birth.
There is no evidence showing that a gluten-free diet will help the fertility of a woman that does not have celiac disease, though there is significant evidence that those women that do will benefit greatly from the change in diet. Not only can switching to the gluten-free diet help to improve the ability to conceive, but it also improves the woman’s ability to carry the pregnancy full-term.
If you have been diagnosed with celiac disease and have difficulties with fertility, it is essential to switch to the gluten-free diet to improve fertility. If you have been diagnosed with another digestive disorder and are having problems conceiving, it may be worthwhile to be tested for celiac disease if you have not already done so to make sure a proper diagnosis has been made that can help you make any necessary changes to your diet if you do in fact suffer from the disease.
- Infertilityandmiscarriage2 – jccglutenfree. (n.d.). Retrieved from: http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/infertilityandmiscarriage2
- Celiac Disease | NIDDK. (n.d.). Retrieved from: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/celiac-disease
Hethir Rodriguez is the Founder and President of Natural Fertility Info.com. She has been a Certified Herbalist for over 19 years, holds a Bachelors degree (BS) in Nutrition Sciences and is a Certified Birth Doula. Since founding Natural Fertility Info.com in 2007, Hethir has written and co-authored over 1200+ articles on Fertility; and her research, articles, and guides have been read by over 40,000,000 people. Hethir has dedicated her life to helping provide a source for high quality, research based information and support for those on their journey to becoming parents.
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Hello!
Nice article. But what about people that are gluten intolerant, but do not have celiac disease? This can also be a huge problem.
I recently found out I have Hashimoto thyroiditis and I had 2 miscarriages 2 years ago. A lot of research show, that gluten is a huge problem in Hashimoto.
Thank you.
Dear Petra,
Indeed if gluten intolerant or one has Hashimoto’s, then it would be best to limit or avoid gluten while also naturally support gut health and proper digestion.
I have experienced two miscarriages and delivered a stillborn daughter. I was not told about the impact eating gluten could have on my unborn baby. I was diagnosed in 2009 with Celiac disease, but was asymptomatic. I was told it would have no impact on my pregnancy. Then, I lost the first baby at 10 weeks, another at 16 weeks, and then a baby girl at 26 weeks… nothing physically was wrong and they didn’t know why it happened. I have a feeling it was not following a gluten-free diet – here is to next time!!
Dear Megan,
I am so very sorry for your losses! Thank you for having the courage to share your experiences here.
In preparation for pregnancy and along with dietary changes, the 5 Steps To Decreasing the Chance of Recurrent Miscarriages may be helpful as well.
Wishing for you peace and ease when trying to conceive again and may you have a happy and healthy full-term pregnancy!
I am so sorry to hear of all your losses. I hope you can have a baby soon. You’re right, most Dr.’s know next to nothing about nutrition and even less about natural supplements. I’ll be saying a prayer for you that you heal and can have a baby.
Update 2014 – We are back! We have been away for a while and we sure have missed all of your wonderful questions and thoughts on our articles. Moving forward, one of our staff herbalists will be here to respond to comments! We look forward to connecting with our readers once again!
I was infertile for 6 years with 2 miscarriages. I started a gluten free diet in January 2009 and had a beautiful baby boy in February 2010 with no complications and no other fertility treatments. I turely believe it was the GF diet.
hi There
Could you please point me to the clinical studies references that you mention here please? the ones that indicate that untreated celiac disease is linked to a higher rate of infertility
thank you
fen
Hi Fen,
Here are the references used for this article:
1. http://jccglutenfree.googlepages.com/infertilityandmiscarriage2
2. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/
Another helpful article: http://natural-fertility-info.com/celiac-disease-and-infertility.html
I hope this helps.
Dalene
I am newely diagnoised celiac, and also have had diabetice for some years. I thought that i was going trough early menopause, but now i am wondering if it had to do with celiac disease.
If i stick to the diet will my fertility improve, i.e. will my periods come back ?
Hi Linda,
There is no way to know without sticking to a gluten-free diet to see if that changes your fertiilty. Please let us know how your fertility changes after sticking to this diet. I wish you the best of luck, I know how hard transitioning to a new way of eating can be.
Warmly,
Dalene
Thank you for your insights on celiac disease. I was not aware that women who suffered from celiac disease also had problems with fertility and miscarriages. You are right, getting the proper diagnosis is crucial for anyone suffering from this very treatable disease, Especially women trying to conceive. A gluten free diet is a relatively simple course of treatment and absolutely worth the effort for good health and fertility.