4 Ways to Increase Fertility

Approximately 10-15% of couples are impacted by infertility. According to the CDC, an estimated 11% of women of childbearing age experience difficulty getting pregnant or carrying a pregnancy to term. However, infertility isn’t necessarily a woman’s health problem. In approximately 40% of infertile couples, the male partner is either the sole or a contributing cause of infertility. Lifestyle factors such as nutrition, exercise, stress, weight, smoking, and alcohol consumption can have substantial effects on fertility.  Therefore, it makes sense that modifying these lifestyle factors would be an effective way to increase fertility.

The Real First Trimester…Preconception

Most people think of pregnancy as three trimesters, but in actuality there is a very important trimester that we’re not considering and that occurs during the 3 months before you get pregnant. It’s important to understand that the vitality and quality of the egg and sperm are determined between 2 and 3 months prior to conception. Egg maturation takes approximately 90 days and sperm just over 60 days, which means that you have the opportunity to influence whether you have a healthy conception, pregnancy, and child during this preconception phase. This is great news!

In fact, you have the ability to either positively or negatively affect the DNA of your child (and even your grandchildren!) through what is known as epigenetics. Epigenetics essentially turns genes on or off – some genes we want to be off and others we want to be on for optimum health. Factors that influence epigenetics include diet, physical activity, food/environmental toxins, stress, as well as other lifestyle factors and disease states.

When working with clients who want to get pregnant, I start them on an individualized preconception program at least 3 months before trying to conceive and ideally 6 months before, especially for those who have GI issues that need to be resolved or have any other chronic health issues. There are a few things that I have just about every client work on though during the program, partners included!

Here are 4 things you can do during the preconception phase to increase fertility.

IMPROVE DIGESTION

One of the most important (if not the most important) things you can do during the preconception phase is improve your digestion and heal any gut issues you may have. Your ability to absorb nutrients is critical during pregnancy. If you regularly experience gastrointestinal issues such as gas, bloating, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or constipation it’s crucial that you get to the root cause before getting pregnant. You can read more about this in my previous post, Gut Health 101.

Your microflora (oral, vaginal, and intestinal) play a significant role in establishing the immune system of your child. We now know that the fetus does not develop in a sterile environment and in fact, the microbiome is first established in the womb.¹ This inoculation also occurs during birth (vaginal) and breastfeeding. Essentially, you want a healthy symbiotic (balanced) flora as this is what you will be passing on to your child.

The good news is that by simply changing your diet you can improve your digestion and balance your gut flora, which brings us to the next step.

EAT A NUTRIENT DENSE DIET

The nutrients in the food we eat act as messengers influencing our epigenome by altering gene expression. With every bite of food we eat we are signaling our cells and ultimately affecting the fate of our DNA. The diet of the mother and father during preconception plays a major role in establishing the health of the child well into their adulthood.

Choose organic whenever possible, especially fruits and vegetables, meat, and dairy. This will reduce your exposure to pesticides, GMOs, hormones, and antibiotics used in conventional farming practices, which can alter the gut flora and disrupt hormone balance. It’s also important to eat foods in their natural state as much as possible. Refined and processed foods are lacking many of the nutrients and energy found in whole foods and are often fortified with low quality synthetic nutrients.

Foods that increase fertility and promote pregnancy

• Healthy fats provide the fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, as well as cholesterol, a building block for sex hormones, and essential fatty acids (EFA’s). Include plenty of pastured/grass-fed meats, avocado, coconut, olives, and pastured butter/ghee. Foods high in EFA’s include cold-water wild caught fish, flaxseeds, chia, hemp, and walnuts. It is especially important for men to increase their consumption of omega-3s and reduce their intake of omega-6 fatty acids. Studies have found the omega-6/omega-3 ratio to be significantly higher in infertile men and this imbalance is considered one of the most common diet related causes of male infertility.²
• Include a rainbow of vegetables and fruits daily, especially leafy greens. Leafy green vegetables are extremely nutrient dense and provide an excellent source of folate, which helps prevent certain birth defects. They are also essential for feeding your gut bacteria and promoting a healthy balanced flora. Fruits and vegetables also help maintain a more alkaline pH which is especially important when trying to conceive.
• Bone Broth is an excellent source of fat, protein, and trace minerals (especially calcium, magnesium, and potassium), as well as amino acids such as glutamine, which is the preferred fuel source for the cells in our gut making it essential for improving digestion and healing leaky gut. It’s easy and inexpensive to make at home or you can buy ready-made broth from Sea Breeze Farm at Seattle Farmers Markets (fresh poultry or meat broth, $9 a quart) or order it online (here is a review of the top brands). I recommend 1 cup of bone broth each day. You can drink it warm with a dash of unrefined salt or as a base in a soup.
• Prebiotic/Probiotic Foods are so important for improving digestion, balancing the gut flora, and supporting the immune system. See my Gut Health 101 post for a list of prebiotic and probiotic rich foods. I recommend including a variety of these foods in your diet daily in order to get the most benefit.

It is also important to be aware of foods that have a negative affect on fertility and overall health. The following foods should be limited or avoided as much as possible to help increase fertility.

• Gluten – You can read an excellent article by functional medicine practitioner, Dr. Kelly Brogan here where she explains the connection between gluten and infertility.
• Soy – Men who are trying to conceive should avoid soy and soy containing foods (look for soy protein isolate, soy lecithin, hydrolyzed soy protein, etc.). Studies have found an association between soy intake and lower sperm concentrations.³
• Sugar – Unfortunately, sugar is quite addicting and found just about everywhere these days. Sugar contributes added calories without any nutritional substance and can negatively affect our hormones, especially insulin. It’s important to have balanced blood sugar levels when becoming pregnant to reduce your chances of developing gestational diabetes during pregnancy. In addition, sugar feeds certain bacteria that can promote an imbalanced gut flora and poor digestion. Try to limit added sugar and only use unrefined sugars such as stevia, coconut sugar, raw honey, or maple syrup on occasion. Avoid artificial sweeteners as well which when consumed prenatally have been linked to preterm births and may be associated with the development of asthma in children.⁴ Fruit in its whole food form is perfectly healthy and loaded with fiber, phytonutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
• Caffeine – I’m the first to admit that I love my cup of coffee in the morning. However, coffee does have an affect on our hormones, specifically by releasing cortisol (see “decrease stress” below). Generally, having a cup of coffee with a balanced breakfast is fine for most people, but avoid drinking coffee without a meal and try to limit yourself to one cup a day. Ideally, alternating with green tea every other day would be a better option. If you are feeling fatigued on a regular basis and using coffee to keep you awake then this could be a sign that your cortisol levels are not ideal and in that case you should avoid coffee completely.

REMOVE TOXINS

Toxic chemicals that enter our body can also affect the epigenome. Many of these chemicals are known to be endocrine (hormone) disruptors, neurotoxins, and carcinogens. There are at least 50 industrial chemicals that are known to cause reproductive issues (too many to list). Researchers from the University of California San Francisco tested 268 pregnant women for many of these chemicals and found certain polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB’s), organochlorine pesticides, PFCs, phenols, PBDEs, phthalates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and perchlorate were detected in 99–100% of pregnant women.⁵ These chemicals can cross the placenta and enter the fetus, so this not only affects your fertility, but also the future health of your child.

I encourage you to start reading ingredient labels and look out for the following toxins that are known to affect fertility. Many of these toxins also cause infertility in men, so don’t forget to go through his personal care products also!

• Bisphenol A (BPA) is a hormone disruptor that may also alter DNA. Here are some things you can do to limit your exposure:
  • Avoid drinking or eating out of plastic containers
  • Opt for an emailed receipt whenever possible and try to avoid handling paper receipts
  • Avoid canned foods

• Xenoestrogens disrupt normal hormone functioning and are commonly found in beauty and personal care products. The Environmental Working Group website and their app Skin Deep are both great resources to see how toxic your current beauty care products are. Avoid the following ingredients whenever possible:
  • Parabens
  • Phthalates (DBP, DEHP, DEP and others)
  • Sodium Lauryl (or laureth) sulfates (SLS)
  • Ethanolamines (MEA/DEA/TEA)
  • Propylene glycol
  • BHA and BHT
  • Triclosan and Triclocarban (found in antibacterial products)

• Perfluorinated chemicals are found in non-stick and stain-proof products and have been shown to negatively affect reproductive health including the quality of sperm and lower sperm counts.

(If you are looking for cleaner beauty products, I highly recommend checking out Beautycounter, which is a skin care and cosmetic line that is safe for pregnant women.)

DECREASE STRESS

Finally, one of the biggest causes of infertility is stress! The same hormonal pathway that makes your sex hormones also makes your stress hormones. This is important because when you are stressed you make more cortisol and less progesterone, which then affects fertility. Stress can also affect your immune system and lead to inflammation and digestive issues. This makes stress management key! Try to relax by taking a hot bath, a yoga class, meditating, journaling, getting a massage, going for a walk, or whatever else makes you feel calm and present.

Final thoughts…

This is certainly not an all-encompassing list as there are many different factors that can affect fertility. If you are planning on trying to conceive or have been experiencing fertility issues, I recommend finding a functional nutritionist or functional medicine practitioner who can help you optimize your health for a healthy, successful pregnancy. If you are already pregnant it’s not too late to start eating a more nutrient dense diet, balance your gut flora, remove toxins from your environment, or reduce your stress. Detoxing is not safe during pregnancy, but there are many safe diet and lifestyle changes that you can make to support the health of your baby.

 

1. Aagaard, K., Ma, J., Antony, K. M., Ganu, R., Petrosino, J., & Versalovic, J. (2014). The placenta harbors a unique microbiome. Science Translational Medicine, 6(237), 237ra65.

2. Safarinejad, Mohammad Reza, and Shiva Safarinejad. “The roles of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids in idiopathic male infertility.” Asian J Androl14.4 (2012): 514-5.

3. Chavarro, Jorge E. et al. “Soy Food and Isoflavone Intake in Relation to Semen Quality Parameters among Men from an Infertility Clinic.” Human Reproduction (Oxford, England)23.11 (2008): 2584–2590.

4. Bernardo, W. M., et al. “Adverse effects of the consumption of artificial sweeteners-systematic review.” Revista da Associação Médica Brasileira62.2 (2016): 120-122.

5. Woodruff, Tracey J., Ami R. Zota, and Jackie M. Schwartz. “Environmental Chemicals in Pregnant Women in the United States: NHANES 2003–2004.”Environmental Health Perspectives119.6 (2011): 878–885.