5 Tips to Optimize your Fertility Naturally
One in eight couples will experience some sort of challenge in getting pregnant. The good news is that there are things both of you can do to maximize your fertility, naturally! The most important time to optimize your fertility (and that of your male partner if you have one) is 100 days before conception. Studies have shown that improvements in diet, lifestyle, environment and blood flow can improve both egg and sperm quality. Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Eat good fats. Good nutrition is vital for a healthy body and reproductive system. Because hormones are formed from fats and cholesterol one area to focus on is eating enough healthy fats like avocados, nuts and seeds, coconut oil, pasture-raised eggs and wild caught fish. Aim for 2 TBS a day. How you choose to eat today will influence both egg and sperm quality 3 months from now.
2. Get enough exercise. A sedentary lifestyle has been linked with higher rates of infertility. However daily intense exercise has also been linked to difficulty conceiving in some women and may impact men’s sperm as well. Daily moderate exercise can reduce stress, fight inflammation, and control blood sugar all of which help fertility.
3. Increase your stress resilience. We can’t avoid stress with our modern, hectic, lifestyles but we can practice good stress reduction tools to minimize the impact of stress. Stress hormones can disrupt the link between the brain and the ovaries ultimately impacting ovulation. Several studies have shown a link between levels of day to day stress and lower chances of pregnancy. So, how can you increase your stress resilience? Having a positive support system, cultivating a gratitude practice, viewing stress as a challenge rather than a threat, and developing a regular meditation or yoga practice can all increase your stress resilience.
4. Limit chemicals. This includes the obvious ones like quitting smoking but also reducing or eliminating caffeine and alcohol and endocrine disruptors like BPA. Research has shown that the more caffeine a woman drinks the more her fertility is impacted. Similarly, high alcohol intake significantly impairs fertility of both men and women. Too much alcohol has been shown to decrease sperm counts and testosterone in men. Lastly, bisphenol-A (BPA) is a type of plastic used in everything from aluminum can liners to paper receipts to plastic water bottles. It is an endocrine disrupter in that it mimics estrogen in the body and therefore has obvious fertility implications.
5. Get acupuncture. Acupuncture and herbal medicine work to optimize fertility by improving both egg and sperm quality; regulating menstrual cycles; improving blood flow to the ovaries, uterus and endometrium; reducing stress; and supporting overall health. Our goal at Karuna Acupuncutre is to partner with you to foster optimum health for a healthy conception, healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. Curious if acupuncture can optimize your fertility? Call us today to schedule your free consultation!