Trying to get pregnant? Whether you are just starting the journey to prep your body to house a precious treasure, or you know the agony of trying for months or years, we take the same approach: try to add health to your body. Optimizing your gut and balancing your hormones are two huge pieces of the fertility puzzle.
Leaky gut is a pervasive condition that causes your body to have trouble doing all the things your gut should do – digest food, absorb nutrients, and protect your bloodstream from things such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, undigested proteins, etc. When things that belong in the gut enter the bloodstream, your body attacks this and this can cause inflammation, autoimmune conditions such as thyroid, IBS, Crohn’s or other gut disorders, and PCOS.
Healing and sealing the gut is a process that requires time and diligence. Foods such as processed chips/crackers/cereals, grains, sugar, and conventional dairy and meat often need to be avoided to repair. A focus on healthy fat (olive oil, coconut oil, nuts, avocado, fish oil) is often the best way to feel satiated while reducing grains. See our Top 7 post for the best foods to eat to repair your gut and get those nutrients back into your body. We also highly recommend Weston A Price's Motherhood Diet to prep your body to build a tiny person.
As far as hormones, only detailed lab tests can tell us what your specific imbalances may be. However, a common piece of the puzzle is insulin, which lowers the sugar in your bloodstream. A healthy diet and exercise are the best way to keep insulin in check, and this affects many other hormones. Reducing stress in whatever way feels good to you is another huge piece of the puzzle – deep breathing, meditation, movement/exercise, cultivating good relationships, and one of my favorites - chiropractic care.
If you are interested in learning more about your increasing fertility, please call us for a consult.