Eight Steps to Enhancing Fertility
Infertility affects an alarming number of couples these days. Sometimes the causes of infertility are not individual but caused by multiple factors. The trick is to identify them.
We’ve never been more aware of good health, yet, ironically, our diets have never been worse. Dramatic increases in obesity, diabetes and others evidence this. What choices can you make to increase your chances of getting pregnant? Here are a few suggestions:
1. Watch what you eat. Diet affects every system in your body. Soy contains phytoestrogens and also impairs sperm swimming towards your egg. Undiagnosed sensitivity to gluten (celiac disease), when the body reacts negatively to grains and flours, inhibits sperm, egg and hormone production.
Avoid chemical sweeteners and genetically modified foods, including all corn and soy products. Choose dairy products that are BHG-free to avoid ingestion of bovine growth hormone, and opt for organic and local produce whenever possible, avoiding processed foods and artificial ingredients.
Hidden trans-fats, such as hydrogenated oils and vegetable fats in packaged foods, used to extend shelf life, may increase infertility by 70%! Preparing fresh foods has been proven to take as little time on average as heating prepared foods. Try it. Simple is good!
2. Minimize chemicals and toxic exposure. Even if you don’t think you’re exposed, you probably are. Non-stick cookware when heated leaches chemicals into the food we cook, as do plastic food containers and using plastic wrap in microwaves—using plastic in any form in a microwave is a bad idea.
Vinyl flooring; formaldehyde in new carpets, mattresses, air fresheners, polishes and upholstery cleaners; dry cleaning fluids; high VOC paint fumes; petroleum products—they all emit toxins into the air. (This affects men’s fertility as well as women’s.) Avoid cookware with aluminum surfaces that touch food, too.
3. Drink filtered water. Drugs, including chemotherapy, antidepressants, steroids, birth control pills and other hormone medications have all been identified in our water supply. Most bottled water is tap water. Stick to spring water or reverse-osmosis filtered water.
Ideally, choose a dual filtration system that will filter particles less than one micron, to filter out heavy metals and drugs. Filter your shower, too, as your skin is your body’s largest organ and absorbs chemicals including chlorine and heavy metals when showering.
4. Allergies. Women who suffer from food intolerances and allergies have a greater risk of miscarriage. The most common food allergens? Gluten and dairy. Skip them when possible. They can even increase the failure rate of in vitro treatments.
5. Drinking coffee, smoking and drinking alcohol. These have all been proven to decrease fertility. Studies show just one glass of wine or one cup of coffee can decrease fertility by 50 to 55%. Smoking reduces sperm quality substantially in men.
6. Get enough nutrients. Important ones for fertility include B6 and B12, calcium, folic acid, magnesium, omega-3s, selenium, vitamin C, and zinc.
7. See your doctor. Get a salivary hormone test to ensure hormone levels are optimal. Progesterone supplements are cheaper than in vitro! Skip the topical creams—they’re less effective. Get checked for STDs—both of you. They’re easy to treat but even easier to miss and they can prevent you from becoming pregnant.
8. Improve overall health habits. Sleep-deprived? You’ve heard it before—get your 8 hours. Skip the late TV which inhibits sleep. Exercise strengthens the body and battles stress, obesity and diet-related diseases such as diabetes, are all problems that decrease your fertility.
The bottom line? A healthy body makes a healthy baby. If you think, eat, drink and live smart, you’ll increase your fertility level dramatically.
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