Up until last week I have been the kind of person who says "I will NEVER go gluten free unless medically needed!" or "I'm on a gluten ONLY diet" (which definitely has never been true, but I have jokingly made that comment). Well, after researching gluten intolerance, I have found enough evidence that has given me a change of heart and a desire to give it a go.
After a personal message from a friend who shared her experience with clean eating after experiencing infertility, I sent her a response and figured I could share it here too for any who feel they need an explanation for my personal health choices. So here ya go:
I am going gluten free for a couple different reasons. I ran into a friend the other day who has hypothyroidism (Hashimoto's to be exact) and infertility, and is now happy-healthy-baby pregnant. I asked her how they found success and she shared her story with me about going gluten free. The only change they made after multiple failed IUI's and a previous miscarriage was their diet. Gluten can have a strong connection with hypothyroidism, and she is now off her meds. You can read a brief article on the connection here. She knows that I also have hypothyroidism and infertility, and recommended that I look into it as well.
So of course I started researching everything about going gluten free, and I noticed that I have a lot of the symptoms associated with a gluten intolerance: Itchy, scratchy rash, Foggy Brain and trouble focusing, Depression, Anxiety, and Irritability, slight dysfunctional digestion (I get random episodes of burps after eating- yep, TMI, but hey, you asked why I'm doing this!), and of course, unexplained infertility and miscarriages. Go ahead and google "gluten free and infertility" and you will find many articles that address this issue.
While I'm not sure my symptoms are necessarily from gluten, I figured I could try it for 6 months (that's what my friend recommended as was recommended to her) and see how I feel. The only way to know if you have a gluten intolerance is to cut it out 100%. We aren't trying any other fertility treatments right now and if this does happen to work, it will be a whole lot cheaper than seeing a specialist again. If it can work to treat hypothyroidism, that will also save the expense of medication and doctor appointments to retest every six months.
The more I look into eating gluten free, the easier I see it becoming. Knowing that corn, potatoes, and quinoa are okay (I've been clueless about what all gluten is in, I always hear how it's in everything), it makes it easy for me to give up pastas and breads. The things I'm worried about the most are baked goods. I have a huge sweet tooth. I know that a "no sugar diet" would also help with any systemic inflammation, but I'm not ready to give up sugar. I've already tried out a gluten free peanut butter cookie from Our Best Bites here and I loved it. I hope to be able to ease out sugar gradually though as we start eating cleaner.
I have no idea if eating gluten free will help my infertility--that's one of the big problems with unexplained infertility AND miscarriages, we have no idea what's causing them-- but I think it's a worth a shot. Don't you?
4 comments:
I wondered if that is the reason, but like you said, it really isn't any of my business. You can make some pretty awesome stuff going gluten free! My BIL girlfriend has ciliac and they made some pretty awesome food. I will have to ask them where they shop. (They are there in Portland). Anyways, good luck going Gluten Free. It really is in a lot of things but you can do it.
It is ABSOLUTELY worth a shot! For me the hardest thing has been the social aspect and having to pass on food events or watch other people eat things that I can't. But it is completely worth it if it will help. If you ever want to chat GF or have questions or anything, please e-mail or message me - I'd love to be a support as you make the transition! Sending love and prayers that this will be the solution you're looking for!
Derek has Celiac disease. My recommendation, read all the lables on EVERYTHING at first. We thought we were GF for a long time only to find out the blue cheese, a lot of salad dressings/sauces, malt flavoring, and lots of other stuff that aren't necessarily "wheat" or "flour" in the ingredient list have it in there. Tons of awesome blogs out there to help you know what to look for.
I've been gluten free since a week before Thanksgiving to see if it helps my infertility! I have PCOS, and a lot of women are able to become pregnant with just going gluten free, and dairy free, I've also cut out dairy since Thanksgiving too. I hope you have great success! It's hard, but worth a 6 month trial for sure!
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