Top 5 Tips for Fertility
When we get asked about fertility quite often I think people assume that I will suggest a supplement or a miracle food that they are not eating enough of. What we tend to find when we are trying to improve a woman’s chances of conceiving (assuming no underlying medical condition) is improving current lifestyle and dietary practices, since much of what we are already doing will either improve or reduce our fertility.
Before I give you my top tips I think it is important to understand the difference between chronological age and biological age. You see as women age, their ability to produce oocytes of good quality and quantity is going to decrease. Chronological age is the age determined by passage of time since birth; however, biological age is determined by physiology rather than chronology. Although the chronological age is an important predictive factor for fertility and ovarian response, it has been found that reproductive aging varies among individuals. This is because chronological and biological aging may differ significantly, since both genetics and the environment contribute to biological age. Reproductive functions are therefore more influenced by biological rather than chronological age; and we can help slow down our biological ageing.
1) Reduce your alcohol intake. Yup, I am sorry to say but alcohol is not your fertility friend. A study of healthy non-alcoholic women found that a substantial portion who drank small amounts of alcohol (i.e., social drinkers) stopped cycling normally and became at least temporarily infertile. This anovulation was associated with a reduced or absent pituitary LH secretion. All the affected women had reported normal menstrual cycles before the study. This is consistent with data from a representative national sample of 917 women, which showed increased rates of menstrual disturbances and infertility associated with increasing self-reported alcohol consumption. We aren’t saying never drink again but if your goal is improving your fertility we really want to limit alcohol intake.
2) Focus on getting to a healthy weight: The prevalence of obesity in infertile women is high, and it is well known that there is an association between obesity and infertility. Overweight women have a higher incidence of menstrual dysfunction and anovulation. While the exact mechanism is complicated and multifaceted the combination of insulin resistance, increased leptin levels and hyperandrogenaemia typically occurs in obese women causing hormonal dysfunction. Similarly, anovulation, changes in adipokine levels and the HPG axis, and steroidogenesis in obese women affects the reproductive system.
3) Eat the colours of the rainbow: you may have heard people talking about eating the colours of the rainbow, the rationale behind this is usually because it gets you to focus on a variety of different plant based foods. Different colours usually represent different phytochemicals contained within the plant food sources and the more variety we can get the more we can not only improve our gut health but also our intake of antioxidants. Why is this important? Well oxidative stress occurs from the imbalance between Reactive oxygen species (free radicals) production and our antioxidant defences. Aging is a process characterized by the progressive loss of tissue and organ function. The oxidative stress theory of aging is based on the hypothesis that age-associated functional losses are due to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species damage. If we can increase our intake of antioxidants we can reduce the level of oxidative stress within our body (hopefully slow the biological aging process… although within reason).
4) Control your blood glucose levels: Whether you have something like PCOS or not we want to be able to have better control over our blood sugar levels. Why? Well helping to balance our blood sugar levels will also help balance our insulin levels which will in turn help improve our insulin sensitivity. This will help balance our hormones and in turn improve menstrual function, energy levels and cognitive function. Try eating some salad or vegetables before you tuck into your main meal. By introducing fibre at the start of the meal we can blunt the subsequent insulin spike after eating and improve overall glycaemic control.
5) Get active but find your balance: While we are always stressing the importance of exercise for female health, we know it is equally important to find the right balance for you. The old saying too much of a good thing is true when it comes to exercise and fertility. Excessive exercise may negatively affect your reproductive system. If you plan to increase your activity levels, do it gradually and make sure you are fuelling yourself correctly alongside this increase.
Looking for guidance on your fertility journey?
Sign up to our Female Health 101 Program today. With the help of your very own 1:1 Coach, our program will take a deep look into your lifestyle & provide personalised actionable insights to balance your hormones and improve your fertility.