Do gluten free diets really heal infertility?

In a word YES!!!

What is gluten and why does it cause infertility?

Gluten, as its name suggests, is a very sticky “gluey” substance. Because of this it’s incredibly difficult to digest and a bagel can often takes days to completely digest. Now, imagine you eat a bagel every day or, more likely, a bagel for breakfast, then a “healthy” whole wheat sandwich for lunch, and rolls, tortillas, breaded something or other with dinner, and some snacks in between—maybe crackers, maybe some tortilla chips, etc., oh, and then you make sure to take your prenatal vitamin which likely uses gluten as a binder. So, you’re putting gluten on top of gluten on top of gluten and then adding in some more gluten for snacks. You see where this is going. Your body can’t possibly keep up with digesting it all.

Since your digestive tract is constantly burdened by digesting gluten it can’t repair itself properly and thus becomes permeable. What that means is that you basically have holes in your digestive tract. These holes allow pathogens, undigested food particles, bacteria…you name it, direct access to your blood stream. Once these foreign objects get into your blood stream they have free access to anywhere in your body they choose to go. Which means they can settle into your reproductive organs causing things to grow where they’re not supposed to i.e. fibroids, cysts, endometriosis, it also interferes with sperm production. The other places they go are to your vital organs such as liver, kidneys, and heart. All 3 of these organs are absolutely critical for fertility and reproduction, according to Chinese Medicine.

But you tried a gluten free diet and you still didn’t end up pregnant, right?

This is because it can take 6-8 months for your digestive tract to heal from the damage the gluten caused. That’s 6-8 months just to repair the digestive tract, once that’s repaired then your body can go to work healing the other organs that were affected. After 6-8 months is when the fibroids start to shrink, the hormones become more regulated because liver enzymes begin returning to normal, you begin sleeping better, having more energy to exercise more to stabilize blood sugar…the list goes on. So, if all you do is get off gluten plan on a good 18 months before your body is actually well enough to be able to conceive. BUT, don’t despair, there are plenty of things you can do to speed this process up.

Foods that heal infertility

Three amazing superfoods at healing the digestive tract are goji berries, aloe vera (this should be fresh from a plant you keep in your home and harvest yourself. Don’t worry it’s very easy), and royal jelly. Royal jelly is the richest form of honey. It’s what the queen bee feeds on to be able to be the only fertile bee in the colony. It’s absolutely packed with amino acids, enzymes, vitamins…it’s simply amazing stuff.

Another great thing to add to your diet is bone broth. Again, you should make this yourself. Bone broth is, arguably, the best way to increase your mineral consumption. It’s also packed with amino acids that aid in healing the digestive tract and closing up those holes. To make bone broth simply place bones in a pot and completely cover with water plus about 2 inches, add a splash of raw, unfiltered apple cider vinegar (helps extract minerals from bones) and cover and simmer for 24-48 hours (can also be done in a crock pot on low).

One last tip—when going gluten free it’s best to stay away from gluten free “products”. When searching for gluten free recipes type in “paleo”…pancakes, bread, etc., rather than “gluten free” (paleo is simply a grain free diet so none of their recipes will have gluten). Things like xanthan gum, guar gum, starches, and things like that…nasty stuff. They don’t necessarily taste bad but nasty for your health.