It's true -- we are what we eat, and that goes for your fertility, too. If you eat nothing but junk, or follow nutritionally unbalanced fad diets, your body's hormonal system simply won't be able to keep up and all systems may become out of sync. And there's more to your fertility cycles than just your period.
Reproductive Cycles
Think of your fertility cycles as two connected circles: your menstrual cycle and your ovulatory cycle. Each results from a series of hormonal events that take place in a number of different glands and organs in your body. These two cycles are dependent on each other. If one is off-kilter, the other may become so. It may seem like getting pregnant is easy, but taking all the factors into account, it's easy to see how one glitch in the cycles can snowball into infertility.
Hormonal Relay
The substances in charge of your fertility cycles are hormones, found in what's known as the endocrine system of the body. The healthy female body has a very regular hormonal relay system. Your hypothalamus in your brain secretes the Gonadotropin-releasing hormone, or GnRH, into your pituitary gland, which in turn sends the follicle stimulating hormone , or FSH, into your bloodstream, causing the undeveloped eggs in your ovaries to mature. Those developing eggs secrete estrogen, which starts to prepare the lining of your uterus for possible pregnancy. The pituitary gland senses the increased estrogen and decreases the FSH it's emitting. Then it sends the luteinizing hormone, or LH, to the ovaries to prompt the developing eggs to use progesterone being made by the ovary. And all of that is just the first half of your monthly cycle.
Timing Is Everything
If one aspect of your hormonal relay goes slower or faster than is optimal, the whole system is affected. If your ovaries don't emit eggs at the right time, they may not be in the right place at the right time to meet Mr. Right Sperm, even if you're using an at-home ovulation predictor kit. If your uterus isn't ready to greet and care for the potential result of sperm and egg meeting, there's no safe place for the embryo to implant. Women's apparent symptoms of reproductive functioning -- menstrual periods, premenstrual sensitivities and mild monthly discomfort -- aren't necessarily rendering a full picture of her fertility. Some women have regular periods all the while having ovulation disorders.
Fueling the Cycles
Your overall health is dependent on what you eat, and so is your reproductive health. At Pulling Down the Moon, Beth Heller, M.S., describes the concept of "energy balance" -- the notion that women should be mindful of the amount of energy they take in, through food, measured against the amount of energy they expend, through both activity and metabolism. She says that the body will use calories in order of importance to the survival of your body. Reproduction is considered less essential than things like cell function and respiration, so women who are dieting while trying to conceive may be robbing themselves of pregnancy chances. Breea Johnson, M.S., R.D., gets very specific about essential fatty acids' effects on your monthly cycles' discomfort symptoms. She says balance here involves decreasing your intake of omega-6 while upping the amount of omega-3 in your diet. You'll find more omega-3 in flaxseed, walnuts, soybeans and some dark green leafy vegetables.
The Weight Issue
For optimal fertility, the American Society for Reproductive Medicine recommends that you maintain your body's optimal weight -- don't aim for too thin and avoid being overweight. Body mass index, or BMI, is definitely linked to fertility for men and women. In women, being at either weight extreme can mean ovulation disorders. The American Dietetic Association explains that your body's fat cells are related to the amount of estrogen your body produces. The good news is that many ovulation disorders are treatable, often by just making adjustments to your diet and physical activity levels.
References
- Beth Heller, M.S.; Co-Director, Pulling Down the Moon; Chicago
- Breea Johnson, M.S., R.D., L.D.N.; Nutritionist, Pulling Down the Moon; Chicago
- American Society for Reproductive Medicine: Weight and Fertility
- American Dietetic Association EatRight.org: Fertility and Nutrition
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