If you have undiagnosed celiac disease, a condition in which your body reacts strongly to the protein gluten in the grains wheat, barley and rye, you risk many serious health complications, including osteoporosis and, in rare cases, cancer. Celiac disease also can cause infertility, in both men and women; a handful of studies shows that men with undiagnosed celiac disease experience infertility more often than men without the condition. However, if you have celiac and you follow the gluten-free diet, you may be able to reverse your infertility.
Celiac and Diet Basics
When you have celiac disease, your body's immune system reacts to the gluten protein in many common foods by attacking the lining of your small intestine. This means you can't absorb nutrients normally, and can cause widespread nutritional deficiencies that impact virtually every body system, including your endocrine system, which controls your fertility. To diagnose celiac disease, your doctor first will test your blood for antibodies to gluten, then will perform a minor surgical procedure to examine your small intestine. If you have celiac disease, you must avoid gluten for life, which means substituting gluten-containing breads and other baked goods for gluten-free alternatives. In most cases, the gluten-free diet will reverse your nutritional deficiencies and resolve the health problems associated with them.
Research on Male Infertility
Although researchers have studied the effects of celiac disease on female fertility extensively, relatively little research has been done on celiac disease's effects on male fertility. However, the studies that have been done point to a substantial effect. For example, a 1982 study reported in the journal "Gut" found that men with untreated celiac disease had poor sperm quality and low sperm counts, both of which contribute to infertility. In addition, almost 20 percent of men with celiac had infertile marriages, leading researchers to conclude that their celiac disease was to blame.
Research on Couples
A more recent study -- published in May 2011 in the "Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research" -- looked for celiac disease in both the male and female members of infertile couples, comparing them to a healthy control group. The researchers found signs of celiac disease twice as often in the infertile group as they did in the control group, both in men and women. They recommended that those infertile men and women with celiac disease follow the gluten-free diet in an effort to see if their fertility improved along with their overall health.
Considerations
If you're a male who wants to improve your fertility and your doctor diagnoses you with celiac disease, it's possible -- even likely -- that the gluten-free diet will help you have children. A study reported in the "World Journal of Gastroenterology" in December 2010 found that fertility improved in celiac men who adopted the gluten-free diet and followed it strictly. However, if you don't have celiac disease, there's no evidence you can improve your fertility through the gluten-free diet.
References
- Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University: Associated Conditions
- "Gut"; Male Gonadal Function in Coeliac Disease; M.J. Farthing, et al.; July 1982
- "Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Research"; Fertility Disorder Associated with Celiac Disease"; M. Khoshbaten, et al.; May 2011
- "World Journal of Gastroenterology"; Reproductive Changes Associated with Celiac Disease; Hugh James Freeman; December 2010
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