Secreted by the pituitary gland, follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is critical for conception of a child. Less equals more, however, as too-high levels of this hormone can mean you have dysfunction of the ovaries, which can make it harder for you to conceive a child. Even if you undergo fertility treatments, high FSH may lower your chances for success. At the time of publication, doctors have yet to find a successful medical treatment for high FSH, so some women turn to natural methods of lowering it. Many include exercise in their FSH-lowering efforts.
Definition
Follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) is a hormone critical to human reproduction. In the female, it stimulates the ovaries to create follicles in which an egg will mature. Once at least one egg is ready for release, luteinizing hormone (LH) stimulates the release of the egg in a process called ovulation. If a sperm meets this egg after its release, fertilization and pregnancy may occur.
Levels
With low levels of FSH, your chances of successful ovulation and conception may prove low. When levels rise too high, however, your chances of conception may prove just as low. High levels of FSH often appear in women who have diminished ovarian reserve. This means they have fewer-than-optimal eggs, and the eggs they do have left may prove of lower quality. This often occurs in women approaching menopause, including those who will begin menopause prematurely.
Exercise
Some alternative health practitioners theorize that you can use exercise to help lower your FSH, but scientist have yet to prove this as a fact. Exercising can improve blood flow to the ovaries, which may affect the endocrine system by encouraging it to produce less FSH. This does not, however, necessarily mean a woman's chances of conceiving will improve. If your high FSH decreases due to exercise, but you have low ovarian reserve or poor-quality eggs, the lowered hormone level is unlikely to improve your chances for conception.
Considerations
Too much exercise can interfere with infertility. If you attempt to use strenuous and frequent exercise to lower your FSH, you may decrease your chances for conception instead. Exercising too much may lower your body weight to below the normal range. As a result, hormones essential to conception may become even more imbalanced, leading to infertility. According to the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 30 minutes of exercise daily will usually prove safe for women who are pregnant. The same level of exercise usually proves safe in pre-pregnancy as well.
