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From:
Holly Martz <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Sun, 23 Jul 2000 20:25:47 EDT
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Hello everyone,

The result of my quest for information about the fertility of Celiac males
has been very encouraging!!!

I had MANY men (or their wives) email me to tell me that they conceived lots
of children VERY easily.  Most of them even conceived BEFORE they were
diagnosed and GF.  One man even said that having children was so easy, he
didn't even realize that there were Celiacs who were infertile.

From my research, it seems that Celiac women have more trouble with
infertility than men.  Sometimes it is because their menstraul cycles are
irregular and they aren't ovulating.  Mostly, it is because without proper
nutritional absorption, they are unable to maintain the pregnancies they do
achieve (they often miscarry when not GF).

With the celiac men who DO have problems with infertility, the problem
usually stems from low sperm motility.  Less often, their sperm count is low.
The good news is that a GF diet restores the sperm motility and number to
NORMAL LEVELS!!!

From some medical journal articles I found on Medline, I learned that this
low sperm count and motility stems from hormonal imbalances related to
nutritional disturbances.  Zinc and certain vitamins) are necessary for male
fertility, and they are often not absorbed in high enough quantities when a
celiac patient is eating gluten.  The hormonal imbalances include:

1.  Low testosterone
2.  High prolactin
3.  High FSH and LH

A GF diet can bring all of these hormone levels back to normal, except the
high FSH.  But evidently, this high FSH does not affect the sperm count.

The moral of the story is that when a Celiac patient is GF (and even in many
cases when the patient is still sick and undiagnosed), their fertility should
be completely NORMAL.  Doctors agree that GF-diets can alleviate ALL the
medical problems and symptoms which Celiacs can have.  This is true of men
and women.

So, rest assured that when you desire to have kids, you will be able to (if
your reproductive organs are otherwise normal).  Thank you to all of you who
wrote and contributed some very encouraging personal stories.

Goodluck to all of you,

Holly Martz

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