Inflammation is the body’s natural defense system. It helps protect us against bacteria, viruses, toxic chemicals and even helps to repair a cut on your finger. However, if inflammation levels are too high for too long, you develop chronic inflammation which is the ROOT OF EVERY SINGLE DISEASE known to man, as well as INFERTILITY.

As a society, we often eat foods of convenience, with little regard to nutritional value. As a society, we are becoming more and more sick with increasing rates of infertility in all industrialized countries. Currently, 1 in 5 women aged 15-49 years are unable to get pregnant after one year of trying. This is an alarming number, and we have to stop and ask ourselves, why?

It is hard to ignore the fact that with rising rates of chronic illness and infertility, there has also been an increase in chemical food additives, portion sizes, easy availability of convenience foods, coupled with eating fewer home cooked meals, and less physical activity.

The Standard American Diet (SAD) consists of calorie-dense, processed foods with little to no nutritional value. This means that at least 3 times per day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), we are putting food into our body that is not nourishing life, food that promotes inflammation, increases risk of chronic disease, weight gain, and infertility. A healthy diet is crucial to not only improve fertility outcomes, but to reduce your risk for chronic disease as well.

Overweight and obesity are significantly related with reduced pregnancy rates, adverse pregnancy outcomes i.e., gestational diabetes, hypertension, premature births, and fertility related conditions like PCOS. A higher BMI is linked to lower live birth rates, higher miscarriage rates and longer time to conceive.

While weight status may be a sensitive subject for some, overweight/obesity is a state of inflammation and should be addressed immediately if trying to conceive. The recommend BMI to increase your fertility success is 18.5-24.9.

Estrogen is a steroid hormone produced by fat cells. Simply put, the more body fat you have, the more estrogen being produced. High levels of estrogen will cause your body to think it is on birth control, reducing your chance of becoming pregnant. This is another reason why a healthy BMI is crucial when trying to conceive. Recent studies show that IVF success rates are directly proportional to BMI, so going into embryo transfer when already overweight has the potential to decrease successful outcomes.

Endocrine disruptors are chemicals found in food, beverages, household and personal products, and cosmetics that mimic the natural hormones found in our body. The endocrine system releases hormones that tell other cells in our body what to do. When these chemicals get into our body, either through food, skin or air, they directly stimulate or inhibit the endocrine system causing it to either overproduce or underproduce hormones (for example an over or under active thyroid). This is particularly dangerous to hormone sensitive organs like the uterus and breasts as well as human development.

Xenoestrogens are a type of endocrine disruptors that specifically have estrogen-like effects. These are commonly found in cosmetics, household cleaners, and many unexpected sources. They build up in fat cells, increasing your total amount of estrogen and have been associated with many conditions including breast, prostate and testicular cancer, early onset puberty, obesity, infertility, endometriosis, miscarriages, and diabetes.

When working with our dietitian, she will review all cosmetics, household and personal products that you use, and help you eliminate ones that may be impacting your ability to become pregnant. She will also discuss how to avoid endocrine disruptors in food so that we can ensure you have eliminated all sources of environmental contaminants and hormone disrupting chemicals that may be working against your fertility.

It takes 90 days/ three full menstrual cycles for eggs to mature and be available for fertilization. This means the sooner you start making dietary and lifestyle changes the better your odds for success, no matter if you are trying to conceive naturally on your own, or with the help of medical technology.

It is highly recommended to start acupuncture and work with a dietitian a minimum of 90 days prior to trying to conceive or for the purpose of improving egg quality, especially for IVF egg retrieval.

Proper nutrition and improved blood flow are BOTH important factors to ensure that eggs develop optimally. While acupuncture improves blood flow to the uterus and ovaries, the quality of the blood is determined by the nutrients and hormones it contains, and this is directly influenced by dietary choices and supplementation. Therefore, it is important to realize there is great power in the day to day choices one makes which will positively contribute to optimized fertility outcomes and general health.

Everything that you put in or on your body has an impact on your fertility outcome. By working with our dietitian, you will learn how you can eat to maximize egg quality, reduce exposure to harmful chemicals in the environment, and provide you with a strategic plan for success.

Trying to become pregnant can be an emotional, time consuming and expensive process. However, the longer you wait to receive the right intervention, the longer it takes for you to become pregnant. Just like training for a marathon, you are training to optimize your fertility potential to make a perfect baby.

Wherever you are in your fertility journey, it is important that you start making healthy lifestyle changes immediately. Not only do we want to increase your chance at becoming pregnant, but also to ensure you stay healthy during your pregnancy and reduce all possible risks so that you can be called “mom” someday.