Dr Marilyn Glenville, author of the bestselling Getting Pregnant Faster and the UK's leading Nutritionist in women's health shares her top tips to helping you conceive naturally.
As infertility rates continue to climb, more and more experts are looking at nutritional deficiencies as a potential cause of delayed conception. Environmental toxins are also being reviewed as a possible cause. An accumulation of modern day issues are also linked including pesticides, plastics, petrochemical by-products and other synthetic oestrogen and oestrogen imitators. Add to that the excess of hormones and hormone-like compounds we consume in everyday food, and humankind is suddenly on toxic overload. This toxic overload can affect ovulation in women, and can lower sperm count, sperm viability and the amount of seminal fluid produced in men.
I have found that if a couple embark upon a fertility boosting diet and lifestyle plan for three months before trying for a baby, then their chances of getting pregnant faster increase significantly. The operative word here is ‘couple’. Both the male and female must make the changes. Both need to participate fully. It is extremely important that both the female and the male take all of the steps to change lifestyle.
There is now a great deal of scientific knowledge about the use of nutritional supplements and their beneficial effects on both male and female fertility.
Supplements are necessary because even with the best intentions, it is not easy to get sufficient nutrients from just the diet. The independent Food Commission’s Food Magazine highlighted in 2005, that comparing fruits and vegetables from the 1930s to the 1980s, modern fruits and vegetables were depleted in minerals by an average of 20%, with the level of zinc dropped by 59%. In 2006, the Food Commission looked at the mineral content of meat and dairy from the 1930s and found that the mineral depletion overall was significant.
Folic Acid
It is now known that folic acid can prevent spina bifida. Folic acid is undoubtedly important, but it is just part of the very important B-complex family of vitamins that are necessary to produce the genetic material s DNA and RNA. Together with vitamin B12, folic acid works to ensure that the baby’s genetic codes are intact.
Zinc
Zinc is the most widely studied nutrient in terms of fertility for both men and women. It is an essential component of genetic material and a zinc deficiency can cause chromosome changes in either men or women, leading to reduced fertility and an increased risk of miscarriage. Zinc is found in high concentrations in the sperm and is needed to make the outer layer and tail of the sperm and is, therefore, essential for the health of sperm
Selenium
Selenium is an antioxidant that helps to protect the body from highly reactive chemical fragments called free radicals. For this reason, selenium can prevent chromosome breakage, which is known to be a cause of birth defects and miscarriages. Good levels of selenium are also essential to maximise sperm formation. Blood selenium levels have been found to be lower in men with low sperm counts.
Essential Fatty Acids
These essential fats found in oily fish, nuts and seeds have a profound effect on every system of the body, including the reproductive system and they are crucial for healthy hormone functioning. For men essential fatty acid supplementation is important because the semen is rich in prostaglandins, which are produced from these fats. Men with poor sperm quality, abnormal sperm, poor motility or low count, can have inadequate of these beneficial prostaglandins.
Vitamin E
Vitamin E is another powerful antioxidant and has been shown to increase fertility when given to both men and women. With men, vitamin E helps to increase fertilisation rate. If a woman over the age of 35 is told that her fertility problems are caused by her age, then it is likely that she could benefit from taking both vitamins E and C. These antioxidants have been shown to significantly reduce age-related ovulation decline.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C is also an antioxidant, and studies show that vitamin C enhances sperm quality and also seems to stop the sperm from clumping together (agglutination) making them more motile. One study has shown that women taking the drug clomiphene to stimulate ovulation will have a better chance of ovulating if vitamin C is taken alongside the drug.
L-Arginine
This is an amino acid found in many foods and the head of the sperm contains an exceptional amount of this nutrient, which is essential for sperm production. Supplementing with L-arginine can help to increase both the sperm count and quality.
Note: People who have herpes attacks (either cold sores or genital herpes) should not supplement arginine because it stimulates the virus.
L-Carnitine
This amino acid is essential for normal functioning of sperm cells. According to research, it appears that the higher the levels of L-Carnitine in the sperm cells, the better the sperm count and motility.
For more information on the supplements, visit www.naturalhealthpractice.com.
Marilyn's unique Fertility Retreat Weekend in luxury health resort, Champneys this November, will help show you how nutrition can be used to aid conception and help prevent miscarriage. This retreat will cover the best diet, supplements and lifestyle factors to maximise chances of getting and staying pregnant. Marilyn will also demonstrate how to improve the chances for a successful IVF and how nutrition can help even when there has been diagnosis of an immuno-biological problem. More info at www.champneys.com and www.marilynglenville.co.uk
Tagged in Pregnancy couple Women's Issues