Optimizing Fertility with Health Basics
Nutrition, movement, sleep, and mental health form the four facets critical to getting your body as healthy as possible. Like legs to ensure the sturdiness of a square table, each is as equally important as the others. If one goes unattended then the others don’t have the same integrity they normally would.
You don’t need to complicate the process. You only need to implement simple changes. These add up to get you to a state of optimal health and with it, optimal fertility.
When it comes to designing a fertility diet, I remind people of several principles to follow that lead them in the right direction. Some are obvious and seem simple like eating local, fresh, and whole foods. Others are seldom, if at all, thought of but have a surprising impact on your ability to conceive.
In addition, I also recommend a first step for everyone before working with a qualified practitioner, regardless of diet. You want to have more days than not where you forgo consuming the foods that can cause you issues.
As far as movement, you don’t have to go for a long run or do a spin class for an hour every day. Your main goal here isn’t to lose weight or train as an athlete. In fact, that kind of exercise habit can work against your fertility efforts. In the context of fertility, your biggest considerations include pelvic blood flow and nervous system regulation. So focus on finding the right form of movement for you, one that you enjoy
Surprisingly, sleep doesn’t get mentioned as often as even mental health these days as an important aspect of health. Therefore, most people don’t prioritize it. Instead, they’ll wear their lack of sleep as a badge of honor, practically bragging that they can get by just fine on a few measly hours of shuteye.
But good, quality sleep is just as, if not more, important than nutrition or exercise. Your body completes certain physiological processes only during this time, as well as goes through its various detoxifications. If you’re having trouble sleeping, that’s your signal that something’s off so you’ll want to see a qualified expert.
More often, mental health is associated with stress. When the stress factors turn on your nervous system, other parts of your body like the digestive and reproductive systems fall to the wayside in the meantime. You can’t eliminate stress forever but you do want to pay attention to how you process and deal with it. Use any stress regulation tool or strategy you desire to regulate the nervous system and bring it back into balance.
If all of this seems overwhelming, just start working on one facet. Let it become ingrained and go from there.
Show Notes:
[01:08] - I’ve made a lot of observations over the years. One of the most obvious ones involves the habits of those who tend to get better fertility results.
[02:09] - Health is always evolving and perfection doesn’t exist. Attaining the “ultimate” level of health in order to conceive isn’t a reasonable use of your time.
[02:41] - Do you think you have to go through rigid regiments, like unreasonable diets or long daily meditations? Think again. Here’s how I coach people instead.
[03:44] - Food has a huge impact on the quality and integrity of ourselves, including egg and sperm cells.
[04:08] - Nutrition isn’t a “one size fits all” facet. Here’s how I always encourage people under my care when it comes to what they put in their body.
[04:51] - Prioritize choosing foods that offer the greatest nutritional density. I provide a couple of examples to demonstrate.
[06:23] - The inflammation impact of food is more about what you can leave off of your plate. You vote on this particular scale with every food or drink you consume every day.
[07:12] - People can have different reactions to different foods, but processed sugar guarantees to have an impact on more than just your blood sugar.
[08:49] - Health facet number two is movement. But caution: in some cases, exercising too much can work against your goal of conceiving.
[09:43] - You can move in a way that is simple and not overwhelming. Here are some recommendations, including an easy one that most of us can do.
[10:39] - Sleep is the missing pillar of health that we don’t talk about enough. Sleep habits can have an even greater effect on your health than the previously mentioned facets.
[11:36] - According to sleep research, you need this many hours of good quality sleep each night for optimal health. Getting less can lead to a whole host of medical problems.
[13:09] - Mental health, otherwise known as stress, does NOT cause infertility (in case you were worried).
[13:56] - When your nervous system tunes into survival mode, other body systems aren’t as important. If you want to conceive, rest and digest is the stage you want to be.
[15:04] - Engage in activities that reset your nervous system and reduce the stress. Free apps are available out there to help, including fertility-focused ones.
Links and Resources:
@fertilityacademy on Instagram
Sign up for the FREE Feeding Fertility Online Course - www.michellekapler.com
