Nutrition

If we take a close look at our nutrition, you will be surprised at some of the choices we make. We need to be more conscious about the foods we consume. You want to avoid foods high in preservatives, processed foods, refined sugars, caffeine, and alcohol. Clinical research suggests that alcohol intake negatively impacts IVF success, is associated with a longer time to conception and is associated with increased miscarriage risk. For men, chronic alcohol consumption negatively impacts sperm quality and can cause acute drops in sperm count. Studies on caffeine and fertility are inconclusive, however, caffeine is known to decrease blood flow to the uterus. Caffeine can also increase anxiety and stress levels. Too much caffeine may increase the risk of clotting and miscarriage. Best to avoid coffee if you are having implantation problems or have a history of recurrent miscarriages. My advice is its best to eliminate coffee altogether.

Key Nutrients & Vitamins

The best way to nourish our body is to eat well. However, there are specific nutrients that can help improve our fertility. Studies have shown that vitamins can improve fertility in both men and women. Certain vitamins are essential to maintain healthy sperm production and ovulation.

Royal Jelly: Royal Jelly is rich in amino acids, lipids, sugars, vitamins, and most importantly, proteins. It has been shown to improve egg quality and balance hormones. Royal Jelly should only be taken during natural conception.

CoQ10: is contained in every cell in the human body. It promotes good blood circulation. Studies have shown that women taking CoQ10 have higher fertilization rate in IVF with ingracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI). May improve blood flow, enrich endometrium, and improve fertilization rates, “mitochondrial nutrients” may improve egg quality and response to ovarian stimulation. Can improve sperm quality. It is important for sperm and egg production.

B Vitamins: B vitamins help reduce our stress levels and are important for embryonic development.

Vitamin E: It is an important antioxidant for reproduction and fertility.  Research has shown it can improve the overall health of men’s sperm and in women can increase our overall egg health. It has been shown to increase the endometrial lining.

Selenium: improve fertilization rates, prevents chromosome breakage

Magnesium: improves fertilization rates.

Lifestyle

The truth is the older we get the more lifestyle choice matters. What we do now, can impact our fertility later in life. If want healthy eggs and active sperm you also need to be healthy and active. Fitness and exercise will help control your body weight, regulate your hormones, increase your self-esteem and help manage your stress levels. All of which influence our reproductive health.

Acupuncture

In recent studies, it has been shown that women having IVF treatment can boost their chances of falling pregnant by 65 percent simply by having acupuncture. A review combining the results of seven previous studies has found that acupuncture also increases the chances of having an ongoing pregnancy (beyond 12 weeks from gestation) by 87 per cent — and nearly doubles the chance of a successful live birth, increasing that by 91 percent. If you’re new to the fertility process some of this information may be new to you.

With natural conception acupuncture can:

Regulate the Menses: works by regulating our hormones and menstrual cycle. Controlling irregular menstruation can enable couples to better predict the time of ovulation.

Increase Uterine Lining: It increases blood flow to the uterus, resulting in a thicker healthier uterine lining. I have seen dramatic improvements with acupuncture and herbal therapy in treating thin endometrial lining.

Improve Sperm: Separate studies have shown that acupuncture can increase sperm count and sperm motility.

Prevents Miscarriage: Particular herbal formulas and acupuncture treatments are known to help secure a growing embryo and prevent a miscarriage.

Acupuncture & IVF

In conjunction with in-vitro fertilization (IVF), acupuncture may help:

Regulate hormones: Women’s hormones must fall within a desired range to continue with treatment. Acupuncture helps regulate your hormones.

Increase number of follicles and improve egg quality: Obtaining good quality eggs is the most important factor and desired outcome. Specific points help stimulate our ovaries and build endometrial lining.

Increases changes of Implantation: Acupuncture helps creates a receptive environment for the embryo to implant. As mentioned earlier in the study it increases your chances of falling pregnant by 65%.

Relieves stress: Acupuncture has been shown to increase beta-endorphins “happy hormones” in the blood thereby reducing stress levels.