Trying to Conceive? 8 Ways To Naturally Boost Fertility
Modern times have brought on a significant spike infertility problems, unparalleled in history. More and more couples are facing difficulties falling pregnant. Although there is much advancement of modern technology in the fertility sphere, these therapies are costly and stressful on the body. How can we boost fertility?
Today we are going to explore eight ways to naturally boost fertility, rooted in simple diet and lifestyle adjustments. These tips might seem minor, but they are fundamental in nourishing hormones and ensuring the body is in optimal balance to support fertility.
1. Boost Fertility Through Rest
Exercise is a vital part of staying healthy and promoting fertility, but overdoing it could be at the root of infertility. Training is a form of stress, and today’s fitness culture often pushes women to over-train. From spin class to HIITT to CrossFit and hot yoga– having an exercise routine that has you exhausted every day of the week could be wreaking havoc on your hormones.
The body requires balance, and this includes significant amounts of rest. If your ‘no pain no gain’ mentality has you addicted to sweat, consider scaling it back and incorporating more rest into your routine so that your hormones and adrenals can have time to catch up.
Since your body can’t distinguish between physical, emotional, or chemical stressors, the stress of exercise is compounded by the strain at work, the air pollution, and whatever else might be weighing on you physically or mentally. Resting the physical body should be paired with an effort to avoid any unnecessary toxins (think body care and household cleaners), as well as a mindfulness practice. Try swapping out two days at the gym for gentle walks in nature or a restorative yoga or meditation class.
2. Eat More Saturated Fat
You read that right! Saturated fat has been unnecessarily demonized in the mainstream health industry, when, in fact, it is an absolute necessity for hormonal health. Cholesterol is the precursor to all our steroid hormones and vitamin D. This includes reproductive hormones like estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone. Without adequate cholesterol in the body, we cannot produce enough hormones, which leads to a wide range of problems.
One major problem women are facing in modern times is estrogen dominance. This hormonal imbalance occurs when there is too much estrogen and not enough progesterone following ovulation. Without enough cholesterol in the body, this shift from estrogen to progesterone cannot happen properly, unleashing a wide range of possible symptoms ranging from discomfort, painful or irregular periods, weight gain, ovarian cysts, fibroids, and can even promote breast cancer. Women on low-fat diets show an 85% increase in infertility rates, so ladies: up your fats!
The benefits of cholesterol go far beyond reproductive health and fertility. This healthy fat is found in every single cell of the body and protects the cellular membrane.
Some of the top contenders for healthy cholesterol foods include:
- Grass-fed tallow (beef fat)
- Pasture-raised lard (pork fat)
- Organic cold-pressed coconut oil
- Full-fat grass-fed butter
- Full-fat organic, unpasteurized yogurt
- Pasture-raised goat milk kefir
- Full-fat sour cream (grass-fed)
- Organic full-fat cream cheese
- Grass-fed, organic, unpasteurized milk
3. Cut Out the Vegetable and Seed Oils
Although fat is integral to fertility and health, not all fats are created equal. We all know trans fats are off the table, but just as toxic are a lesser-known vegetable and seed oils.
Vegetable and seed oils (also known as polyunsaturated fats or PUFAs) are highly volatile fats that become rancid during their processing into oils. These unstable fats become oxidized quickly, and so before they reach your kitchen, they are already highly toxic.
Vegetable and seed oils are the cheap cooking oils that are often used in restaurants, almost always anytime something is fried. They are highly inflammatory, and unlike sugars (that cause short term inflammation), PUFAs cause long-term chronic inflammation that can be detected for months in the body after consuming a single serving.
The worst offenders when it comes to vegetable and seed oils include:
- Canola oil
- Grapeseed Oil
- Sunflower Oil
- Corn Oil
- Soybean Oil
- Generic Vegetable Oil
- Walnut Oil
- Cottonseed Oil
- Sesame Oil
- Peanut Oil
- Margarine
4. Ditch the Chemicals
You’ll notice a general theme that supporting fertility means reducing stress while supporting your hormones. Artificial chemicals are one of the most potent sources of pressure on the body and are found everywhere in our modern world. These endocrine-disrupting ingredients have made their way into things we eat and put on our skin unless we make a conscious effort to live a non-toxic lifestyle.
The primary sources of toxic chemicals to avoid include:
- Herbicides and pesticides
- Cookware (especially non-stick and Teflon)
- Make-up and perfume
- Body care (soap, shampoo, conditioner, gels, sprays, mousse, deodorant, toothpaste)
- Household cleaning products
- Scented products (candle, home deodorizers, and plug-ins)
- Plastics
- EMFs
5. Scale Back on Caffeine
Although a mindful amount of organic coffee can have its place in a healthy lifestyle, it’s wise to scale back on caffeine if your goal is to optimize fertility. Caffeine is known to deplete vitamins, including vitamin B6, and interfere with nutrient absorption of various essential minerals, including iron, magnesium, and calcium. These nutrients are vital for hormonal health and fertility.
Caffeine can also lead to adrenal fatigue by masking an unsustainable lifestyle or poor sleep. Apart from the fact that caffeine itself interferes with deep sleep, it also acts as a band-aid the following morning. If your lifestyle cannot naturally keep up with the amount of sleep that you’re getting, your adrenals will be working overtime until they eventually hit a wall. Cutting back on caffeine will allow you to take an honest look at your habits and life, and see which areas need balance.
Limiting your caffeine intake is also recommended during pregnancy, so tapering off sooner than later will make the process easier for you down the line. If you can’t give up caffeine altogether, aim for 200-300 milligrams per day. It’s worth noting that coffee is not the only source of caffeine and that these sneaky sources of caffeine do add up.
Sources of caffeine include:
- Coffee
- Green tea
- Black tea
- Matcha
- Most soft drink
- Energy drinks
- Enhanced waters (like Vitamin water)
6. Boost Fertility: Eat More Fiber
High fiber foods are one of the best ways to keep your blood sugar balanced, which is imperative for whole-body health, hormones, and fertility. Although fiber can be found in a wide range of foods including vegetables, fruits, and beans, opting for cruciferous vegetables are the all-stars of the fiber world.
Cruciferous vegetables play a crucial role in helping your body metabolize estrogen. In today’s highly estrogen-dominant world, harnessing the power of these veggies might be what you need to support your hormones as they fluctuate throughout the month, and effectively rid your body of excess estrogen.
High-fiber cruciferous vegetables include:
- Brussel sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cauliflower
- Bok choy
- Broccoli
- Collard Greens
- Kale
7. Eat Liver
Food is medicine, and without a doubt aiming to get the majority of your vitamins and minerals from real, whole food is ideal. You cannot out supplement a bad diet, and beef liver comes about as close to the perfect fertility whole food as it gets.
Like most organ meats, liver packs a serious nutritional punch. Organ meat is high in vitamin A, vitamin B12, folate, iron, copper, and zinc. Most people know that folate is a crucial nutrient to support fertility and pregnancy, but unfortunately, most fertility supplements contain a synthetic version called folic acid. Unlike folate, folic acid can lead to fertility problems– so opt for the real thing instead.
It’s important to source only grass-fed, pasture-raised, organic beef liver because your meat is only as healthy as the lifestyle that the animal lived. Liver is often found in the frozen section of your organic butcher, but if not, you can also find high-quality beef liver supplements online.
8. Boost Fertility: Ditch the Soy
Soy products have snuck their way into the health scene, but the phytoestrogens found in soy can interfere with your hormones and wreak havoc on fertility. Phytoestrogens are compounds found in plant-based foods that mimic estrogen in the human body. Studies have not only suggested that these phytoestrogens may interfere with female reproductive health but also lower sperm quality in males. Rodent studies indicate that even minimal amounts of soy consumed during the gestational period can cause a change in the sexual behavior of male offspring.
Although properly fermented soy (like natto) consumed in small quantities can be beneficial for health and help boost fertility, the modern American diet contains gigantic portions of highly-processed and improperly fermented soy. Products like soy milk and soy-based meat alternatives have no place in a healthy diet and should be avoided all-together during preconception and pregnancy.
The Fertility Products We Prefer:
Infertility problems used to be hopeless. But thanks to recent breakthroughs, there are MANY natural supplements and nutritional solutions that can help with fertility. One of those is Femicrine. Femicrine is a uniquely designed formula combining a powerful blend of clinically researched phytonutrients and herbalomics supporting female endocrine health. If taken during menopause, it helps with unpleasant symptoms—but if taken earlier, it can assist in positively influencing a woman’s cellular status, healthy estrogen activity, feminine microbiome, and breast health.
Want to learn more about Femicrine and my other favorite products that boost fertility?
Go here to this dedicated page with many other top products we’ve uncovered…
References:
- Bolumar, F., et al. “Caffeine Intake and Delayed Conception.” Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, vol. 52, no. 8, 1997, pp. 487–488., doi:10.1097/00006254-199708000-00017.
- Esmaillzadeh, Ahmad, and Leila Azadbakht. “Home Use of Vegetable Oils, Markers of Systemic Inflammation, and Endothelial Dysfunction among Women.” The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 88, no. 4, Jan. 2008, pp. 913–921., doi:10.1093/ajcn/88.4.913.
- Fallon, Sally, et al. “The Skinny on Fats.” The Weston A. Price Foundation, 1 Jan. 2000, https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/know-your-fats/the-skinny-on-fats/#benefits. Accessed 30 Aug. 2019.
- Ferrante, Antonio, and Charles Hii. “Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Inflammatory Diseases.” Inflammatory Diseases – A Modern Perspective, 2011, doi:10.5772/25972.
- “Fertility Superfoods: Liver: HRC Fertility.” HRC Fertility RSS, https://www.infertility.org/fertility-superfoods-liver/.
- National Research Council (US) Safe Drinking Water Committee. “Reproductive Toxicology.” Drinking Water and Health: Volume 6., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1986, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK219110/.
- Northrup, Christiane. Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom: Creating Physical and Emotional Health and Healing. Hay House, Inc., 2010.
- Northstone, Kate, and Jean Golding. “Effects of Caffeine Intake on Female Fertility.” Caffeine and Activation Theory, 2006, pp. 199–225., doi:10.1201/9781420006568.ch9.
- “Soy Alert!” The Weston A. Price Foundation, https://www.westonaprice.org/soy-alert/.
- Wisniewski, Amy B., et al. “Exposure to Genistein During Gestation and Lactation Demasculinizes the Reproductive System in Rats.” Journal of Urology, vol. 169, no. 4, 2003, pp. 1582–1586., doi:10.1097/01.ju.0000046780.23389.e0.
- Zeligs, Michael A. “Diet and Estrogen Status: The Cruciferous Connection.” Journal of Medicinal Food, vol. 1, no. 2, 1998, pp. 67–82., doi:10.1089/jmf.1998.1.67.