Episode 6: The most essential dietary change for conception success

In this episode, Michelle shares her number one tip that everyone should modify about their diet if they are trying to conceive. Whether you are experiencing fertility issues or are  considering starting a family, this episode will provide valuable insights and practical tips to hopefully ease your journey towards parenthood.

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Disclaimer
The information provided in this podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your diet or nutrition plan, especially if you are trying to conceive or are already pregnant. The hosts and guests of this podcast are not responsible for any adverse effects or consequences resulting from the use of the information discussed.

Transcript

0:03

You're listening to Nourish Bump and Beyond the podcast dedicated to all things fertility and prenatal nutrition. We are hosts Annika Rowe and Michelle Brown. We believe that successful pregnancy outcomes start with good nutrition. Each week we'll explore various aspects of nutrition focusing on how specific nutrients, foods and dietary choices can enhance preconception wellness, optimize fertility and support a healthy pregnancy. Whether you're planning to conceive, struggling with fertility challenges, or navigating the joys and complexities of pregnancy, this podcast is your trusted source for a nourished start to parenthood. Let's dive in. Welcome back to this week's episode where I'm sharing my number one tip as a fertility dietician, that I would encourage anyone who is trying to conceive to change about their diet. Now, this tip applies to individuals who may have previously experienced difficulties trying to conceive. And it also implies two individuals or couples trying to conceive that have had no trouble at all. So if you're just thinking of starting a family, This is definitely a tip that you could implement into your lifestyle. Before we get into the nitty gritty. I just thought I'd share that this is a solo episode today, due to the fact that I'm traveling. I don't have a great, I guess, bandwidth at the moment. So we've been having a few technical difficulties. So Anika won't be joining us today though. We will be definitely. Recording episodes together in the coming weeks. So you're probably thinking, well, what is your number one tip that you would encourage people to change about their diets and I won't leave you hanging for too long. So my number one tip is to reduce the inflammation in your body. Now I am specifically referring to inflammation that occurs as a result of consuming particular foods. So dietary inflammation. So there's so many different ways that our bodies can undergo inflammation. So if you go outside in the sun, for example, and you get sunburn, that is a form of inflammation in our bodies. If you're chopping up, say some vegetables for dinner and you clicked the finger. That is also another type of inflammation though, are particularly referring to dietary inflammation. And I guess it's important to note that we can kind of categorize inflammation down into two main categories. So the first one being acute and the second one being chronic and acute inflammation is actually a completely natural process. So. We need this. if we think about the example before about cutting your finger, what the body's going to do is it's going to firstly, try and stop the blood flow to that area by constricting the blood vessels. And then it's also going to activate some kind of coagulation factors to help the blood clot. So you don't basically continue to bleed. So it's a completely natural process, that occurs. Though. Particularly in Western diets, the form of inflammation that is referred to as chronic, is becoming. So there's a few different ways that this is cropping up more and more, and I'm going to run us through them today and potentially how you can reduce them in your diet. So the first one that I'm going to talk about is the nature of our current diets. in Australia at the moment. So a few things that we know is that we're consuming more processed foods than ever. we're consuming more Saturated fats, which we know aren't as protective as the Manu. One saturated fat. And even factors like our fibers lower, um, terms of sugar, we've actually reduced our sugar consumption a little bit, which is also news, though. It is still estimated that around 50% of adults are consuming more than the recommended amount of sugar at the moment. So that is a pretty astounding factor. And I guess And when we consider the impact that this actually has on our body, that's where the whole inflammation or the chronic inflammation comes into play. So we know that sugar when consumed can actually promote the growth of our negative bacterias, which are already naturally in our thoughts. So they actually feed on that sugar. And what it does is kind of create a, I guess, environment in our guts, which means that we have too much of the negative or the kind of bad bacteria and less of those really helpful, protective, good bacteria. So that can actually lead to inflammation within itself. Now, unhealthy fats can also disrupt the balance of the gut bacteria or or what is referred to as the gut microbiota and some types of fats can also increase what is called pro inflammatory cytokines, which can trigger basically an immune response our body and also result in inflammation in the gut as well. So, if you are trying to conceive or considering starting a family, I would really encourage you to try and limit or reduce your current intake of processed foods because they are naturally higher in sugars. And also, the types of fats that aren't the best for us that is going to result in that inflammation in our gut. The next factor that I really wanted to talk to you about in terms of inflammation is if you feel like you may have some underlying, whether it be intolerance to a particular food, or perhaps even you've caught the hunch that you might have say, irritable bowel disease or something like that, I would really encourage you to get that investigated. Before you try and start for a family. And there's a few different reasons why, which I'm going to chat about, but firstly, what are the main indicators that you may notice that there's something going on in your God is basically your stool or your poop. So if you notice, when you go to the toilet that your stalls, perhaps aren't as formed as well as they should be. And. by that, what I mean is we should be kind of looking for, I guess, a sausage or snake, like stool when we go to the toilet. we don't want it to have cracks on its surface and we don't want it to be loose. And. And did ease more. So those loose watery stores that I'm referring to when someone has, particularly undiagnosed irritable bowel disease, or even a form of intolerance over the longterm. So not short term, if you have a one-off bout of a loose watery stool, don't be alarmed. But if it's something that goes on over a duration of time, that's what I'd really encourage you to have that investigated, to see if there's some underlying issue going on there and the impact on your gut can be quite apparent. So one of the main things. In terms of fertility is that it's actually going to stop your body from absorbing the maximum amount of nutrients that it possibly could. So when we have inflammation in the body, particularly for something like celiac disease, and it hasn't been correctly diagnosed and therefore managed, what can, what it can actually do is stop. What's called the Villa in your gut, um, which are basically tiny finger like hair structures from absorbing all the nutrients that your body potentially could. And as a result, individuals may present with nutrient deficiencies. So Partyka. Particularly in terms of SAC disease, a really common one is being on deficient and that's just because your body can't therefore absorb the iron that it actually requires. A nutrient that pops to mind is zinc and individuals with Crohn's disease or celiac disease. That's not correctly managed zinc levels. and zinc absorption can actually be affected. And so thank you super important for both males and females in terms of fertility. So that's why I really want to be getting on top of any underlying gut issues that may be there. Celiac disease and irritable bowel disease are referred to as auto-immune diseases. And what we know is that individuals have higher levels of these inflammatory markers. if they do have recurrent implantation failure, we also know that particularly in regards to celiac disease that if women have underlying celiac disease that hasn't been diagnosed yet. This can result in an 8.9 fold increase in their risk of a spontaneous abortion. So not being able to carry that baby to full term, which is a super concerning statistic. why I encourage you. If you have the hunch that something's going on, your gut get that checked out. When you do go to the doctors, that's probably going to be your first point of call. They're probably going to say, how do you notice any particular foods that result in these gut changes? And so I would encourage you. First step is to complete, what's called a food diary or food record, try and record the foods that you consume over a couple of days. And see if you can notice a particular trigger. When you have that, um, GI upset.. Now the next dot you're related to factor I'd like to mention is alcohol. And when I'm referring to the consumption of alcohol, I'm not just talking about the odd drink here and there. I am referring to binge drinking. So what we know is that the production of pro inflammatory cytokines is increased even in healthy individuals. Who choose to be binge drink. So during acute inflammation, these pro inflammatory cytokines would actually have a protective effect. So what they would do is that aim to heal any tissue that's damaged. And get rid of any invading pathogens though, when they're released chronically or over the longterm, they actually end up having a detrimental impact on our body. And so they can go on to damage healthy tissue and they can even go on to result in the development of autoimmune disorders and other diseases as well. Now I've talked about how diet related inflammation can develop in our bodies. So it's time to discuss the impact that this can have on fertility. And one of the main ways that it can impair fertility is through inhibiting the absorption of key nutrients that are required for conception to occur. So. Nutrients at particularly come to mind a folay B12 iron zinc. They're also crucial to actually allow the mum to conceive in the first place. So if there is some kind of low level or chronic inflammation incurring in the gut, the individual may may not be able to absorb. adequate levels of these nutrients that their body requires to sustain that. From a male perspective, inflammation or chronic inflammation, I should say, can affect the sperm production. as well as the shape of the sperm and even the motility of the sperm. So the ability of that sperm to be able to move and meet that egg. To allow that to become fertilized. So it's really important, both for mum and dad to be that levels of inflammation are reduced prior to at hints, even. We also know that chronic inflammation can impair the egg quality as well. And there's a few different mechanisms as to how this can occur though. foremostly, it can damage the actual DNA itself, so this can reduce the quality of the egg and also the ability of that egg to implant into the uterus and for fertilization to take place. It can also damage the mitochondria of that oocyte or the egg cell. So that's the part of the egg cell that provides the egg with energy, which is required for it to grow and mature. And, we also know that in women that experienced ovarian dysfunction, they have higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokines in the follicular fluid that surrounds the egg. So this fluids responsible for providing the egg with nutrition, removing any toxic waste from that egg, and also, it with hormones as well, that are necessary for it to grow and develop. So So we really want to minimize any kind of inflammation in our bodies to give the egg the best chance of survival for fertilization to occur and ultimately for conception to occur. And also for the sperm to not only be, I guess, formed correctly to have the correct shape, but also for it to be able to function and allow it to meet the awaiting egg and for fertilization to take place. So I guess the take home message from today is if you do have any underlying, GI issues that you think may need to be addressed. It's a really good time to address them prior to trying to conceive. And it's also a good time to address your diet. If you feel like it's high in processed foods. Uh, or, uh, refined sugars or high in saturated, fatty acids. It's a really good time to address that particularly youth, maybe drinking or binge drinking regularly before trying to conceive so that you can reduce any inflammation in your body and hopefully have an easier journey to pregnancy and parenthood.

anika_1_05-09-2024_160237: 11:46

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Nourish, Bump, and Beyond.

11:51

We hope this episode has inspired you to prioritize your nutrition and nourish your journey towards parenthood.

anika_1_05-09-2024_160237: 11:58

Don't forget to connect with us on Instagram at appetitebyannika and foodforfertility for more tips, updates, and resources.