Fertility - could there be a more important physiological role your body needs to play!!
Your body send out signs and signals monthly to let you know how your hormone (and overall) health is doing. Listening in and being aware of imbalances is the first step to optimising your fertility. Because, to be in a state of balance and a high state of health - and thereby fertile - you first need to understand the root cause to your health problems and fix them!
A robust level of key micronutrients are needed to conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy
and modern life works against optimal micronutrient levels - such as stress, drinking excess caffeine, alcohol, processed food, and ubiquitous environmental toxins. The frequency of eating, however, gives you an amazing tool to nourish your body and your fertility. Look at every meal as an opportunity.
Here's a little list of the fertility factors you need to address and the way you can do so through diet.
Building and balancing hormones - without hormone balance you won't fall pregnant or maintain your pregnancy easily, and hormones are so often imbalanced today due to stress, toxins, gut issues, medication use (including the pill) and diets lacking in essential nutrients.
> healthy fats like nuts, seeds, eggs, avocados, cold water fish, pastured meats as building black to hormones
> good quality protein and B vitamin rich foods like leafy greens for hormone production
> B6 from dark poultry meat, avocados, leafy greens, legumes, nuts - it is essential for corpus luteum and progesterone and because it is so often depleted
> decrease oestrogen excess with detoxifying compounds like limonene from lemon peel, sulforaphane from broccoli sprouts, green tea, phytoestrogens from lignans in flaxseed and try out seed cycling
Support healthy ovulation
> zinc is vital here for the production of follicle stimulating hormone (FSG) from the brain which triggers the ovaries to ovulate and therefore produce progesterone, its also vital fro sperm motility
Support healthy follicles and egg production, and nourish your ovaries
> a diet high in vegetables and fruits for their phytonutrient and antioxidant benefits
> healthy fats again for the health of cell membranes - avocados and eggs are great!
> CoQ10 from red meat, poultry fish, tofu and broccoli (lesser qty) for mitochondria health which then supports follicle health and for sperm motility.
> thyroid nutrients (iodine, selenium, iron, zin , tyrosine (protein)) for follicle cellular health
> Vitamin A from eggs, seafood, and orange pigmented foods for zinc metabolism, healthy sperm, healthy fallopian tubes
Reduce inflammation - to support blood flow, optimise your egg quality and sperm motility, for hormone regulation and reproductive tissue health
> probiotics for gut health
> turmeric as potent anti-inflammatory
> omega 3 EFAs from cold water oily fish
Build healthy endometrium - your uterus lining which is necessary to be rich for implantation
> good blood flow through exercise
> iron, B12 and folate for nutrient rich blood
> marrow from bone broth is full of blood cells and stem cells and is prized a a sacred. regenerative food in native cultures
> vitamin E from avocados and leafy greens for circulation
> royal jelly was found in a Japanese study in 2007 to contain properties that might support healthy uterine muscles and lining and is rich in folic acid and zinc
Keep blood sugar in check - this tells your brain the environment (aka your body) is safe and it's ok to reproduce now which is vitally important to the rest of the downstream effects that the brains signalling hormones produce
> eat healthy fats (above mentioned sources), around 1-2 tablespoons per meal
> eat adequate protein - around 0.8g per kg of body weight
> include complex carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetable, legumes
> cinnamon is a great spice for blood sugar regulation, you can add it to your morning elixir or breakfast and sip on tea with whole or half quills throughout the day
Nourish your adrenals - again, happy adrenals tells your brain the environment is safe and it's ok to reproduce
> vitamin C from oranges, lemons, kiwi fruit, capsicum, green leafy vegetables
> magnesium from wholegrain, green leafy vegetables, cacao, almonds, cashew
> B vitamins from green leafy vegetables
Nourish your thyroid - this endocrine system is involved in the signalling of every cell, its vital to brain health and signalling as well as hormone production of the mama hormone 'pregnenolone', and follicle development
> for thyroid (T4) production need adequate iron from red meat, fish, poultry, or green leafy vegetables, wholegrain and nuts and seeds with vitamin C for absorption; iodine from seafood and seaweed or iodised salt; and tyrosine from protein
Support gut health - this will ensure you metabolise oestrogen properly and reduce any oestrogen dominance, and it will also reduce inflammation in the body as the gut controls the immune system
> probiotic foods like yoghurt, kefir and fermented veg
> prebiotic foods found in vegetable, particularly onions and garlic
> bone broth to support a robust, healthy gut lining
> weed out ay food intolerance to take the load off
Whilst everyone is individualised, this is certainly a great checklist to begin your journey to optimal fertility.
How you care for your body now has a downstream effect and rarely do you see overnight miracles. So if you want to make babies one day, pay attention to your health now and allow at the very least three months prior to conception to further work on and optimise your body's balance.
References
Brighten, J., (2019). Beyond the pill. Harper One. Brighten, J., (2016). 9 Ways to Improve Low Progesterone & Boost Fertility. Retrieved from https://drbrighten.com/boost-low-progesterone/ Hill, M., (2020). Explaining cycle-related changes. Retrieved from https://www.maisiehill.com/blog/explain-your-cycle Hendrickson-Jack, L., (2019). The Fifth Vital Sign. Fertility Friday Publishing Inc. Trickey, R., (2003). Women, hormones, the menstrual cycle. Allen & Unwin
Vitti, A., (2015). Woman Code. Harper One.
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