Our body will only work well if it is given the exact things it needs. Our diet is a huge factor in fertility.
The largest factor is how many calories we are eating.
Studies show, women needs to be eating around 2500 calories daily, for our hormones to work perfectly.
This calorie amount is registered by your gut cells, who then send messages up to our hormone centre (the hypothalamus and pituitary glands) telling them to make our hormones in the perfect amount and stimulate our ovaries, as the body is well fed and can take on a baby (which will act like a parasite and take a large chunk of our calories and nutrients).
If we are undereating then our body will not feel safe enough to take on a baby as we are not eating enough to do so.
Your hypothalamus then starts to reduce and even stop the messages down to the ovaries to tell it how to work, what hormones to release, and when.
This can stop your entire cycle, or really cause major problems with releasing an egg.
Your body does this to protect you, because if you are not eating enough food, your body starts to worry and go into protection/starvation mode. It will begin to shut down all non-essential bodily functions. And as much as you would love a baby, your hormonal fertility system, is the least essential body system there is.
You can survive without having a baby, and so your body will shut it down first.
Apps like My Fitness Pal - is a great way to track your carlorie intake.
The type of calories matter!
Now eating 2500 calories a day doesn't mean to eat a load of sugary treats and junk food.
The make-up of the calories should be in this order of importance
- fats, protein, carbohydrates.
Do not fear fats!
I know! I said it! In fact, avoiding fat and eating low fat diets for years can definitely cause hormonal imbalances in women, and is very often seen in middle/late aged women since their generation was taught to fear fat.
Our sex hormones are ALL made from fat! So if you still are eating low-fat everything, calorie counting and avoiding anything fatty - this is exactly what you need to read today.
So what fats should you eat? Opt for avocado, olive oil, eggs, coconut oil, ghee, oily fish, almond butter, tahini and raw nuts and seeds.
Your baby also will rely on your omega-3 stores when it is growing. I speak about the importance of fats for a growing baby in my instagram highlights, and in my pregnancy e-book.
This may be a shock to some, but sugar is one of the worst things you can be putting into your body if you are trying for a baby….
It's a big long science explanation, but I am going to compress the information here. Studies show that..
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Sugar increases insulin, which increases androgens, cysts on ovaries, FSH levels, and limits ovulation (as seen in PCOS)
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Sugar lowers egg quality and prevents eggs from maturing completely
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Embryo quality is significantly less when the mother has moderate amounts of sugar in her diet
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With a moderate intake of sugar, this changes the way placental cellsattach to the uterus, increasing the risk of non-attachment or early miscarriage.
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Sugar intake increases cortisol - which your body percieves as stress!
