Female and Male Fertility CD
There are many terrible diseases associated with celiac disease, however none is as insidious as its effect on fertility. While other diseases manifest with observable symptoms, infertility is the absence of something (pregnancy) that until recently could not be proven or inferred. While the information cited below is not definitive, it strongly suggests that Untreated CD can increase infertility and that maintaining a strict gluten-free diet can greatly reduce the effects of infertility.
The effects on pregnancy are better defined and are discussed at the end of this article.
FEMALE FERTILITY CD
The works on celiac disease and infertility seem to cite the same statistics, which since the year 2000 have all kept the same positive message. That is, if you are celiac, you must maintain your gluten-free diet while trying to get pregnant and once you do, during pregnancy. The only additional advice is to replace any vitamins and minerals you may be lacking by excluding gluten-containing grains from your diet.
The reason for maintaining a gluten-free diet during conception attempts is that infertility and miscarriage in celiacs are thought to be caused by malabsorptive effects, due to the body’s inability to absorb the nutrients needed to conceive and then have a healthy baby. In fact, studies have shown that “the incidence of celiac disease in women with unexplained infertility has been estimated at between 4 and 8 percent.“
The researchers also found that “women with CD who were not on the gluten-free diet began their menstrual cycle up to a year and a half later than women with celiac disease who were on the diet. In addition, the researchers found that up to 39% of The women who did not follow the gluten-free diet experienced periods of amenorrhea (irregular periods), compared to only nine percent of women with the disease who followed the gluten-free diet. test positive for antibodies related to disease C. at a rate that is ten times higher than the normal population.
It is observed that many of these ‘infertile’ women often give birth to healthy babies, with the help of a strict gluten-free diet. In Australia, the typical method of solving infertility problems is to see a naturopath, take lots of vitamins, and then see an IVF specialist. The reality with this is that these methods are very expensive and time consuming and if you have celiac disease and don’t know it, your chances of conceiving may not increase.
They technically call this unexplained infertility. And the explanation may well lie in being celiac or being intolerant to gluten. Either way, if you’re borderline age or other health or conception issues and you’re not getting enough nutrition, the central effect of celiac disease is to further decrease your vital nutrition for conception.
Celiac disease and infertility make the menstrual cycle an ‘on and off’ thing. Unfortunately, under those conditions, it can take longer, if at all, to get pregnant, as a gluten-free diet can lead to an earlier menstrual cycle and earlier menopause.
While none of this data proves that celiac disease causes infertility, it strongly suggests that people diagnosed as celiac are likely to have a harder time conceiving and may greatly improve their chances by following a strict gluten-free diet.
MALE FERTILITY
Male infertility is often more difficult to prove than female infertility. Typical male tests are just to see if the shape, number, and overall agility of the sperm are “normal.” What these simplified tests do not show has nothing to do with the normality of the complex genetic code carried by sperm. Looking normal and being normal are very different things when it comes to sperm. So even if the little ones swim well and seem to be doing just fine, it’s quite possible that they contain too much junk DNA to have a mature embryo.
The other issue is that masculinity usually dictates that the man’s area be manipulated and if a couple does not get pregnant it is because of “woman’s problems.” Most of the time in an IVF cycle is spent making sure the woman’s egg is okay, the man is there to provide support. Men, don’t forget to get tested for celiac disease if you have any of the symptoms.
“A male CD person has a higher risk of infertility and other reproductive disorders, as well as a higher incidence of hypoandrogenism.” This medical condition means a deficiency of androgens in the body that leads to a lack of virility and sexual potency.
Regarding the nutritional aspects, the folic acid deficiency CD can affect rapidly proliferating tissues, such as the embryo and the seminiferous epithelium. More attention should be paid to deficiencies of fat-soluble vitamins, such as A and E, seen in Cel. D. Vitamin A is important for Sertoli cell function, as well as for early spermatogenetic stages. Vitamin E supports the correct differentiation and function of the epidymal epithelium, the maturation of spermatids and the secretion of proteins by the prostate. Therefore, male patients should be considered vulnerable subjects” (ref 4).
The practical conclusion of this is that just as EC has a profound effect on a woman’s fertility, has a similar effect on male fertility through the quality of his sperm. Once again, a gluten-free diet is the only viable “fix” to infertility problems for men experiencing unexplained infertility.
THE PREGNANCY
The adverse effects of this disease are equally devastating in pregnancy, although in terms of conception, celiac pregnancies can be restored to almost normal by following a gluten-free diet. Instead of “gilding the lily”, I’ll simply quote the below known statistics:
“In a study of 25 patients and 60 pregnancies of celiac women, researchers found that 21% of women not following the gf diet experienced pregnancy loss and 16% of women experienced fetal growth restriction.” “In a large Danish study of 211 babies and 127 mothers with celiac disease, researchers found that the mean birth weight of infants born to mothers with a g-containing diet was significantly lower than that of infants born to mothers without celiac disease. Interestingly, this very study determined that women on the gf diet gave birth to children who weighed more than those born to mothers without cd!” (reference 5)
“In a case-control study looking at the effect of the gfree diet on pregnancy and lactation, researchers found that women with celiac disease not following the gfree diet experienced miscarriages at a rate of 17.8%. , compared to 2.4% of women with celiac disease who were on the gf diet.” In a group of women with celiac disease who had been pregnant more than once, the researchers looked at the effect of the gluten-free diet on their future pregnancies. They concluded that instituting the gluten-free diet at diagnosis resulted in a 35.6% relative decrease in pregnancy loss, a 29.4% decrease in low birth weight infants, and a increase of two and a half months of breastfeeding”. (ref 5)
As you can easily see, celiac disease, caused by the consumption of grains that include gluten, has far-reaching effects when it comes to inhibiting reproduction. If you have any of the symptoms (discussed on the site in the reference box), it’s a relatively simple process to get checked out. Unexplained infertility is a growing subset of the reasons people are unable to have children. If you think you have some of the symptoms, other than infertility, there are several non-invasive tests you can try before going down the IVF path.
