Get your body back in balance to boost the odds of making a baby
Get your body back in balance to boost the odds of making a baby
From your age to your genetics, there are some factors in getting pregnant that you simply can’t control. But taking a closer look at your lifestyle could help to maximise your chances of conceiving. Understanding your body and learning how to nourish it, so that it functions as well as it can, could have a huge impact, or so says fertility and women’s health expert Emma Cannon (emmacannon.co.uk). Her new book Fertile (£20, Vermilion) is designed to teach you to do just that. Essentially, it’s Emma’s way of helping you come as close to the experience of a visit to her clinic as possible – giving you the guidance you need to live a more balanced lifestyle.
Fertility Fundamentals
Emma’s approach is holistic and she believes living a fertile life is down to being a calmer, happier and healthier person. ‘Regulating our lifestyles – more rest, correct bodyweight, following a good diet, having regular sex, consuming less alcohol, reducing stress is all key,’ she says. And, while age plays a factor, (fertility starts to decline from the age of 35) it is certainly only one piece of the puzzle. ‘Clearly fertility and age are a hot topic and although science will have us believe that we all age in the same way at the same pace, clinical experience demonstrates otherwise, and while it is important to factor age into the equation, it is certainly not the only factor. As we get older it is important to address lifestyle issues, since the protective mechanisms in the body decrease and our natural repair mechanisms are impaired as we age,’ she continues.
The importance of traditional Chinese medicine
Chinese medicine could hold the secret to boosting fertility, says Emma. Ever heard of Jing? It’s one of the core principles of Chinese medicine used to describe our ‘essence’ or ‘constitution’ and also defines our reproductive capacities and reflects the quality of our eggs. Jing is our vital energy and completely unique to the individual, but we can all nourish it through a healthy diet and lifestyle. Someone who has good jing has a robust immune system and is calm in both body and mind, whereas a person with diminished jing will be stressed and suffer low immunity. Balancing your internal climate can be achieved through eating jing-enhancing foods. These include walnuts, almonds, pistachios, artichokes, eggs, seaweeds and mackerel. According to traditional Chinese medicine, our internal climate is divided into different categories – Cold, Damp, Blood Deficient, Hot and Blood Stagnant. These categories describe our tendencies and knowing which category you fall into allows you to develop better self-awareness. The list is extensive, but here’s a short synopsis of each category.
Cold Someone experiencing a Cold tendency may follow a raw food diet, suffer painful periods, experience sluggish digestion and a pale complexion. Eating more warming foods like carrots and beetroot, avoiding raw food and incorporating spices like ginger and cinnamon can help to balance a Cold internal climate.
Damp A Damp tendency is common with people who live or work in humid environments. They may suffer from allergies or skin conditions, find it difficult to concentrate with a fuzzy head. Damp-relieving foods include garlic, mustard greens, barley water and parsley, while sugar and wheat should be avoided.
Blood Deficient Presenting with Blood Deficiency is common in women who are always on the go. Dry skin and hair, cracking nails and irregular periods are all signs of blood deficiency. A Blood Deficient constitution can be nourished with apricots, leafy greens and meat. Alcohol and sugar should be avoided and rest is very important too. Hot Heat is essential for our body to function properly but when the body becomes too hot, this causes inflammation and is a culmination of too many internal and external toxins. Thirst, a strong temper, early and heavy periods are all signs of a Hot constitution, and to restore balance cooling foods like bitter salad leaves, cottage cheese and spinach can be useful. Eating raw foods can help as can cooling teas like peppermint.
Stagnant A Stagnant tendency comes when we feel stuck and frustrated with our lives and this is common in couples who have been trying to conceive for a while. Symptoms include irregular periods, discomfort after eating and feeling indecisive or frustrated. Foods that move the blood can help a Stagnant tendency: aubergines, pickles, quinoa and turmeric. Exercise, taking up a new hobby and practising gratitude for what you have in your life are also beneficial steps to take.
The fertility diet
The way we choose to live our lives will have an inevitable effect on our fertility, so making wiser choices can make a big difference to your chances of conception. Firstly, maintaining a healthy weight is important. Body fat helps convert the male hormone androgen into oestrogen which is needed for ovulation, so being too thin can hamper fertility. On the opposite end of the scale, being overweight can also affect fertility by increasing the risk of insulin resistance which can lead to an overproduction of the hormone leptin, which again can result in irregular ovulation. The optimal BMI for fertility is considered to be between 20 and 24. The best way to regulate your weight is through a healthy diet and regular exercise. There are some basic rules about what makes up a healthy diet for all of us – consume less sugar and refined
on.→ foods and eat more fruit, and so
I believe that we will discover that the gut has a major role to play in human fertility and reproduction
But Emma believes we are all different, which means we all require a slightly different approach nutritionally, dependent on our constitution.
Nourishing your body means nurturing digestion. Emma maintains that fertility and digestion are inextricably linked and it’s common for women with irregular menstrual cycles to have compromised digestion. ‘The gut is the gateway to the immune system and plays a role in moderating our immune response. This is important in fertility since the female’s immune system must adapt to allow the fertilised embryo to implant. The role of microbes and the benefits to human health are only just being fully researched and understood, but I believe that we will discover that the gut has a major role to play in human fertility and reproduction,’ she shares.
To improve digestion, her advice is to avoid eating raw foods after 4pm, eat regularly and allow time for meals, chew food slowly to help you absorb more nutrients from your food, try and eat dinner early so that your body can digest food before bedtime and incorporate homemade broths into your diet as these are packed with nutrients.
Alcohol consumption should also be kept to a minimum as drinking as little as two units per day can make it harder to conceive – like most things, it’s likely that moderation is the best route. When it comes to smoking, quitting altogether is definitely the best route as it increases the risk of miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy.
In terms of working out, according to Emma, cultivating QI (vital energy) is likely to benefit fertility. She favours mindful types of exercise such as yoga, walking, meditation, dancing and cycling over vigorous high-impact sessions.
An American study found that couples demonstrating high levels of stress experienced a 29 per cent reduction in fertility, but practising self-awareness – noticing how much noise there is in your mind and deciding to switch off – is a better way to deal with stress. The secret is to exercise moderation in all aspects of life and then wait for the magic to happen!