Oladapo Ashiru
Did you know that consuming trans fats hidden in foods such as doughnuts, biscuits, lollies, candy, chocolate, chips and other junk foods may increase your risk of infertility by as much as 70 per cent?
Scientists from the Harvard University School of Public Health in the United States advise women wanting to get pregnant to avoid all trans fats.
The sole purpose of adding trans fats to food is to extend its shelf life. To minimise your consumption of trans fats, be diligent about reading the ingredients and avoid the most likely culprits altogether. Trans fats are mostly listed as ‘hydrogenated fat’ or ‘hardened vegetable fat’ or simply ‘vegetable fat.’
Minimise animal-derived estrogens
Dairy products account for an average of 60 to 70 per cent of estrogens consumed. Humans consume milk from cows in the second half of pregnancy when cow’s estrogen levels are high.
We usually associate dairy and drinking milk with calcium, and never think about what else we may be consuming along with the calcium (and dairy, by the way is not the best source of calcium).
Here is a list of hormones that have been found in cows’ milk: Prolactin, somatostatin, melatonin, oxytocin, growth hormone, luteinising releasing hormone, thyroid stimulating hormone, estrogens, progesterone, insulin, corticosteroids, among others.
Do you think excess consumption of all these hormones could disrupt your own hormonal balance? You bet! Consumption of milk has been linked to certain cases of male infertility.
Excess estrogen and pesticide exposure has been linked to PCOS and endometriosis. Studies have found higher concentrations of pesticides in cheese than in non-organically grown fruit and vegetables. The first line of naturopathic treatment I recommend for PCOS and endometriosis is to minimise intake of animal products.
Animal products have a high content of hormones, pesticides and herbicides, which are known endocrine disruptors. They wreak havoc on your hormones and this can lead to anovulation and ultimately infertility.
Avoid the two most common allergens
The link between food intolerances and anti-sperm antibodies is now well established. Studies have found that women with multiple allergies and food intolerances were more likely to miscarry.
An overactive immune system is more likely to attack its own body cells. From an immunological point of view, an embryo and sperm cell are foreign bodies. But Mother Nature was clever; she programmed our immune systems to distinguish between an everyday invader and a sperm cell or embryo.
A normal and healthy immune response to an embryo or sperm cell is orchestrated by Th2 cytokines. They suppress your killer cells (that is what they are called) to leave the embryo unharmed. Because of this protection, many pregnant women are poor wound healers and can come down really badly with a cold or flu. Your natural protection has been suppressed so that your baby can develop properly.
An abnormal immune response to the implantation of the fertilised egg is orchestrated by Th1 cytokines. Rather than suppressing your killer cells, they stimulate their activity. This can lead to defects and the loss of the fetus.
The two most widely spread food intolerances are gluten and dairy. I recommend all my patients have an IgG immunoglobulin test done to check if you are dairy and gluten intolerant.
But since most people have some level of allergy to gluten and/or dairy, it is advisable to avoid gluten and dairy altogether during the preconception and pregnancy period.
Have an STD check
Many people believe that their partners are STD-free. However, there are some STD’s, which can be asymptomatic, meaning that you may not be aware you have them, as there are no obvious symptoms. One such STD is a chlamydia infection. In men, chlamydia infection can lead to sperm abnormalities including sperm antibodies.
In women, it can lead to scarring, blocked tubes and miscarriage.
A study found 60 per cent of asymptomatic male partners of infected females attending a fertility clinic were found to be infected with Chlamydia. Most STD’s are easy to treat, so it pays both partners to have an STD check. There is no point in only one partner going for a test as the other partner can re-infect them again.
Change your habits
Did you know that women who drink coffee before and during pregnancy have twice the risk of miscarriage?
You may not want to hear this, but drinking coffee decreases fertility. A large study from Connecticut found as little as one cup of coffee per day increases the risk of not conceiving by 55 per cent.
If you have two-three cups per day, that risk rises to 100 per cent and continues to increase with an additional cup up by 176 per cent.
Alcohol is harmful to women’s eggs and men’s sperm and as little as one glass can reduce fertility by 50 per cent. This can further lead to damage of the developing embryo and may result in miscarriage.
Although it is been known for a long time that drinking while pregnant is a no-no, drinking before pregnancy has been largely ignored. This does not stop with coffee and alcohol.
For a woman, who wants to conceive, I recommend that she takes quality preconception and pregnancy supplement regardless of whether or not she is eating organic produce or healthy foods.
Women are not likely to be get all the nutrients the body needs for optimal fertility from their diet. This is why supplementation is important.
Getting pregnant and growing a new human being with your own reserves, requires a surplus of nutrients and energy. In your body’s accounting terms, pregnancy is a luxury, a splurge of energy and nutrients.
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