Unexplained Infertility? It Might Be Caused by Gluten
I’ve never been able to get pregnant. Yup – infertile. A loaded word that often makes a woman feel less than a woman. Unexplained infertility. I have no hormonal problems, I don’t have PCOS, my cycles were regular as clockwork, and my period was 3 days long, always. I did suffer PMS and severe cramps. I’ve written previously how these resolved partly with the zone diet and omega 3, and fully with paleo + supplements.
I was almost 49 when I switched to a paleo diet. All my joint inflammation went as well – quickly and totally. My regular swelling knees stopped swelling. (Similar to my mother’s – she has lupus. I had a mildly positive ANA like her). I used to get regular ganglion cysts – unsightly bumps on my wrists, I had a very large one on my left wrist – it disappeared in weeks. I’ve had no recurrence.
I discovered I have Hashimoto’s – my first checkup in years when I turned 50 showed a slightly elevated TSH and my thyroid antibodies were very high (Thyroglobulin 1036, Thyroperoxidase 1586 U/mL)
Hashimoto’s is strongly linked to celiac disease. I immediately banned gluten from my diet, in fact I banned all grains as there is cross-reactivity with all grains. (I’m still symptom free as far as the Hashi’s goes, and hoping to stay that way) I highly recommend you follow Dr Kharazians diet recommendations if you have Hashimoto’s.
What I will never know though – is if gluten caused my infertility.
This Link popped up on Twitter:
Abstract
Celiac disease is an autoimmune disorder which can present with a variety of non-gastrointestinal manifestations. In women, it may manifest with an assortment of gynecologic or obstetric disorders. Some reports have linked female infertility with undiagnosed celiac disease. Though there are a number of studies from Europe and the Middle East, only two prior American studies have examined the prevalence of “silent” celiac disease in a female infertility population. We prospectively performed serologic screening for celiac disease in 188 infertile women (ages 25–39). While we did not demonstrate an increased prevalence of celiac disease in our overall infertile female population, we were able to detect a significantly increased prevalence (5.9%) of undiagnosed celiac disease among women presenting with unexplained infertility (n=51). Our findings suggest the importance of screening infertile female patients, particularly those with unexplained infertility, for celiac disease.
And in the text (full text) – please go and read it if infertility affects you – the authors note thatone of the 4 women diagnosed had NO gut symptoms at all. On a positive note – they go on to say:
All four patients underwent nutritional counseling concerning the gluten-free diet. All four conceived within a year of their celiac diagnosis and diet changes. Patient A conceived naturally within a month of her diagnosis and diet change.
If unexplained infertility is something you suffer from, and even (IMO) if you do not have a positive test for celiac, try a gluten free diet.
I wish I’d known far younger than 50!
However the door for me was not closed with regards to having children. We have two wonderful Russian siblings, now teens, who we adopted from Siberia 10 years ago.
I also recommend: Chris Kresser’s Healthy Baby Code
About Julianne Taylor, RN
I am passionate about the power of diet for health and fat loss. The paleo diet transformed my own health. I currently work with individuals, and deliver paleo nutrition seminars on a regular basis nation wide.
