Episode 12: The sweet connection - does eating sugar impact my fertility?

In this episode, Michelle and Anika dive deep into the intriguing relationship between sugar consumption and fertility. They explore the latest research and evidence surrounding how sugar can affect reproductive health. Join them as they share expert insights, personal anecdotes and practical tips on navigating sweet cravings while prioritizing fertility. Whether you're trying to conceive or simply curious about the effects of sugar, this episode is packed with valuable information to help you make informed choices. Tune in for a sweet yet eye-opening conversation!

Research mentioned in this episode
https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12937-023-00865-6
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37823091/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34736458/

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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.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 0:44

Welcome back to this week's episode where we're chatting all things sugar and fertility. Before we get started today, I thought, we'd change it up a little bit this week. I was thinking last night about how my number one hack for being a mom is probably putting on my washing machine time of the night before and getting my washing done in the early morning, before I even get up. And I know we've got lots of mom listeners that tune in. So I thought I would hand it over to you, Annika, and ask, what is a mom hack? That, saves you lots of time. Now that you're a mom, that just helps make the week a little bit more easier for you.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 1:18

Hi Michelle, I love your mum hack. This is something that I learned not too long ago and it blew my mind. I was like, what? you can put a timer on the washing machine. That is so cool. yeah, definitely helps a lot. I think my number one hack, or I guess it's not, It's not super cool, but it definitely helps is being organized, especially if you've got something the next day. I think just getting the outfit, I find it really helpful to keep the socks together and, like the outfits, for the next day. especially if you've got any, got an event or somewhere to go an early start, it really helps. To, have those things in place like the clothes, as well as the food, the snacks, all of those things ready to go. So it's a bit basic, but I feel like it's one that's always helpful.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 2:05

Yeah, that's it. And you can do that every night pretty much and make the mornings just that little bit easier.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 2:10

Yes. So for this week's episode, we're talking about sugar and fertility. So let's break it down. What exactly is sugar?

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 2:21

Yeah, I think a lot of people, when they think of sugar, their minds jumped to sweets and lollies and candy and that kind of thing. But sugar is actually a building block of carbohydrates. So we do need it in our bodies. and during the process of digestion, the carbohydrates are broken down into more simple carbohydrates, which is what we call sugar. There are a few different types of sugar. So glucose, fructose, small toast, you've probably heard of a few. But our brain actually runs on glucose and it's really clever. Our body, we can convert other forms of glucose and even other types of macronutrients to other things that provide us with energy, like fats and protein to sugar or to glucose. I should say, which kind of explains because our brain runs on glucose, why we get a little bit tired if we have an eight, for example, because we do actually need glucose in our body. So I know sugar gets a bad rap a lot of the time, but it is something that we do need in our bodies. although our body is clever enough to generate that glucose from other forms,

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 3:20

Yeah, what you've said there is so right. Sugar does get a bad rep, especially, because people think that it's something we don't need in our diet at all. And, they don't realize that our brain actually runs on sugar.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 3:35

Yeah, and I think that's why, a lot of us do have those sweet cravings. Like our brain runs on sugar. And for so long in history, we didn't have access to a lot of food. So food was quite scarce. So naturally, we became, accustomed to craving sugar to get that hit that our brain actually needs to work and to function. I know a lot of people feel guilty that they have those sweet cravings, but it's actually something that's probably completely natural that, our bodies have adapted to and developed over hundreds and hundreds of years

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 4:04

Yeah, because if you think about it, our bodies, want to make sure that we've got food around us and we're not starving. it's like a protective mechanism. it's normal to have those cravings. My clients are always surprised, when I tell them, if I ever tell them that, yes, I get cravings too. And I think it's normal. It's, it's something that people feel really bad about, like you said. And It's not something anyone should feel bad about because it's completely normal. it's a physiological response, would you say?

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 4:33

Yeah, 100%. And even chatting to my nan, she's 95. so in the grand scheme of things, when she was a kid, it's not that many years ago. So within the last 100 years, just talking to her, she would say, if they wanted a piece of fruit, for example, they would have to go around to the fruit trees in her country town and grab them off the tree. If she was going to have some vegetables, they will homegrown in the garden. and yeah, you get the picture, like food wasn't as readily available. If you wanted a cookie or a cake, you had to go to the shop and buy the sugar and bake it. So we are so fortunate in our society. And I don't think people realize how lucky we are to have such a good food supply. it's probably something that we do take for granted, but I guess the flip side to this is that, then we can go down the other end of the spectrum where we're not in scarity, but we're consuming in excess. and that's what can also have implications on our health as well.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 5:24

Yeah, I really like that perspective that you shared that your Nan went through where there wasn't much at the supermarkets and it's really interesting to know when we speak to people that are from a different generation that, you makes you realize that the supermarkets looked so different back then.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 5:42

Oh, a hundred percent. And yeah, even access to finances, like in our day and age, even if you don't have a lot of money, most people, and I'm saying the word most, most people do have access to some form of food. whereas Yeah, talking to my Nan, that wasn't the case, and particularly during the war and whatnot, everyone knows about rations, and yeah, I think it's, yeah, it's something that we do take for granted

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 6:03

yeah, for sure. from what we've been talking about, it sounds like, sugar is something that we need to have, despite what people may think about it. Could you explain to our listeners how the quantity or the amount that you have might impact their fertility?

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 6:23

Of course, and it is one of those things that it is relevant to quantity. So for example, if you have a day where you've perhaps had an event on or something, and you, you might've had too much sugar in that one particular day, the impact on your fertility is going to be completely different compared to if you have, consumed excessive amounts of sugar over the longterm. So I'll hear people chatting, about particularly if they're going through the process of IVF and, um, um. They might've had something sweet, like a can of Coke or something, and be worried that they've stuffed up their IVF cycle. And that really isn't the case. It is more of a long term impact, that has the negative or the detrimental impacts on the fertility. So what we do know is that being overweight can negatively impact fertility. And one of the reasons, one of the ways people do get overweight is through a diet high in sugar. in the context of females, it appears that an individual's body weight can influenced the follicular fluid, which surrounds the egg or the oocytes, and when researchers have actually looked into the DNA of these individuals, they've found that the, egg also has chromosomal damages. So these findings really support being in the healthy body weight range and consuming a balanced diet in general as well. Um, another way that it can impact our fertility is by displacing the consumption of other really important nutrients. So I don't know about you, Anika, but if you've ever maybe consumed a little bit of something that, um, a little bit too much of a particular. You know, food that we maybe put into that sometimes or discretionary food group, and then you don't feel as keen to perhaps have your dinner or something like that later on the evening. So that kind of is also relevant in the context of fertility. So if you're often having a diet high in sugary foods or drinks, And you're kind of filling up on those foods and then not actually getting the other nutrients you need. So particularly things like omega 3 fatty acids that are found in your fatty fish, your flax seeds, and your chia, um, or zinc, for example, so things like lean meats, legumes, and nuts. they're both crucial for fertility. They help regulate hormones. For example, omega 3s help, um, terms of our blood flow to our reproductive organs, zinc, even in the context of males is really important for spawning. So, that sperm to actually move and meet the egg. yeah, if you're filling up on foods that are high in sugar, processed foods, it's likely that you may not be getting enough of other essential nutrients that you need.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 8:46

Yeah, and that's a really good point for kids as well. I think that's something that can be applied to toddlers and children in the part about displacing other nutrients, why we really want them to not have as much discretionary foods or sugary foods because their appetite when it comes to main foods, will be minimal.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 9:07

Yeah, that's exactly right. And I think we're both in the thick of that at the moment with toddlers that, are kind of smaller eaters. if they're filling up on, on foods that are highly processed, it's likely that they're not getting, essential nutrients that they need.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 9:20

So, when it comes to sugar, what does the evidence say? I like what you've talked about so far in, with the specific nutrients. Do we know anything else about how it affects fertility?

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 9:34

Yeah, there's one particular study, which I love. It's to do with the mitochondria and epigenetics, and that's particularly why I love it. I know we've chatted about epigenetics before, but for our listeners that aren't familiar, basically we inherit our genes from our parents, but whether those genes are kind of switched on or off or what is referred to as express is, um, called epigenetics. say, for example, you're feeling really, really happy any car, but how you express that is going to be completely different, whether you go to say a funeral or whether you go to a birthday party, if you maybe won the lotto and you walk into a funeral, you're not going to express that happiness and that excitement in that place because, um, yeah, it's obviously not appropriate. And likewise, if you go to a birthday party and maybe you've just won the lotto as well, you're going to be very happy. And you'll probably express that with a smile on your face. But you wouldn't have that same smile in that funeral home. So that would be turned off. And the same thing can kind of happen with our genes. So whether they turned off or on depends on the environment. And one of the things that impacts that environment is our nutrition. So that's why I really liked this study because they do kind of look into the epigenetics and, what they found was that. This was a study that was conducted on mice, by the way. So what they found was that, the impact of a high fat, high sugar diet on the egg quality in those mice, had a negative impact on the mitochondria of the cell. So they found that both the shape and the size of the mitochondria was influenced, which had negative implications in terms of fertility. just in, in terms of the mitochondria, the mitochondria is so important to actually produce energy for ourselves. So we have talked about in previous episodes about the importance of when those cells are maturing. So particularly in the context of females, the last few months before ovulation, the cells are undergoing rapid growth and maturation. So it is really important that mitochondria is functioning optimally so that it can provide the energy to those cells when it really needs it. what I found quite interesting was that those changes on the mitochondria didn't just impact the mice's offspring, But the mice's grandchildren, basically. So they're offspring's offspring. so it just shows that what you eat potentially is impacting generations down the track, which I think is, yeah, a really interesting study and, and finding.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 11:50

Yeah, that's very cool. It's also very similar to what we know about humans, especially if we're looking at females, if you're having a female baby, All the eggs that female is going to go on to have is already in the mother's womb. you're also looking at three generations,

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 12:08

Yeah, a hundred percent. And that's why it's so important to get your nutrition right at the start before you conceive, to hopefully positively influence the next generations to come. So that, that transgenerational health that we, that we love to promote.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 12:21

Yes.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 12:22

And in terms of other evidence, it's also to do with being overweight as well. So we've just talked about how sugar can lead you to being overweight. and so what these studies have looked at, individuals who consumed a high fat, high sugar diet, and they became overweight. That had negative implications on the follicular fluid. So the follicular fluid is the fluid that surrounds the egg or the oocyte. It helps to provide nutrients. It provides hormones and also removes any toxic waste that needs to be removed. So you can imagine if that fluid, isn't optimal or in its ideal state, it's going to have negative complications on that egg, health. And this particular study was conducted on cows, so, I don't know if you're across any cow, but cows egg cells are actually very similar to humans egg cells, and that's why they were studied in this particular study,

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 13:09

I didn't know

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 13:09

yeah, yeah, really cool, hey,

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 13:11

yeah.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 13:12

most of the studies

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 13:13

I'd done on mice or, yeah,

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 13:16

but yeah, cows, egg cells are very similar to humans. They actually repeated the study on mice, and instead of just providing them with a high fat, high sugar diet, they then tried to provide them with a diet that was, optimal in, nutrition and calories, and they actually found that the metabolic disorders that were previously formed, disappeared quite quickly, which is really encouraging. And, I guess if we adopt that in the context of humans, if you've maybe consumed a high fat, high sugar diet in the past, know, that's not all done and dusted, you can actually potentially reverse that. The implications of that by following a nutritionally balanced diet, and trying to get your body in that healthy weight range. So yeah, it just shows how important the preconception period really is on the oocyte or the egg quality and also the follicular fluid. Those mice that did go on to then have optimal calories and a more balanced diet, they found the quality of the egg improved and also the animals became pregnant again, more easily. So they became pregnant, quicker than previously. So that was, yeah, really important finding. Whereas previously when they had the high fat, high sugar, it was longer to conceive.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 14:22

Yeah, and the important thing to note here is that, people should be aiming to have lower amounts of sugar rather than no sugar, because I know a lot of people will go on these cleanses or, I've heard people say before they fall pregnant, before they try to conceive, they have like a sort of cleansed diet and it really doesn't need to be. like that. it just needs to be more balanced.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 14:46

Yeah, for sure. And I think the thing is that They're probably not realizing that they actually are consuming some form of sugar in the, in the form of carbohydrates. So whether that's natural sugars in things like fruits, for example, it's, it is very difficult to have a completely sugar free diet. Not that you'd want to do that at all. yeah, the only thing that jumps to mind is maybe people that are trying to go on a keto diet, we won't talk about in this particular episode. if you're trying to do keto. You're cutting out probably likely food groups and that's not going to have great implications anyway, in the context of fertility. So yeah, if individuals are trying to do, like you said, a detox or a sugar free diet, it is likely they are consuming sugars in some form.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 15:24

That's a really good point you mentioned about sugar, being in fruits and we know that, we should not be fearing fruit because that's giving you a lot of different nutrients, it's giving you fiber. we really should not be scared of fruit, and with, with fructose which is the sugar that's in fruit, we know that it is digested very differently to sugar. Now that we have talked about some of the research around animal studies, let's move to inflammation. because I feel like that's something that people are worried about and, a lot of people might be thinking if sugar can cause, inflammation in any way, is that, are there any links?

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 16:14

that's the cool thing. There is actually a study that is, conducted on humans. It's a cross sectional study, which means it's a snapshot at a given point in time, but it's nice to have like a study on humans um, and basically the findings are really interesting. But it's just really important to note. this particular study didn't assess, um, the quantity of sugar in a particular diet. More so it was assessing the quality of a person's diet in terms of whether it was pro inflammatory or anti inflammatory. So they basically went through, analyzed a whole heap of food frequency questionnaires and rated people's diets accordingly. But what I found quite interesting was the results. So after accounting for confounding factors, it was estimated that the probability of an individual's, experiencing infertility was increased by around 76%, which is like huge if they were following a pro inflammatory diet. So really interesting findings, but like I said, it wasn't. Just assessing sugar in a person's diet. it was looking at all of the different factors that can contribute to inflammation, but we know sugar can be inflammatory. And that's because when you consume large amounts of it, it can produce these molecules called cytokines. which can occur through a few different mechanisms in our body. One of them is through the process of insulin resistance, which can come about in a few different ways, but basically when we consume too much sugar, it overwhelms our body's ability to utilize and process that sugar effectively, which means that our cells become less responsive to that insulin that is produced. So that is one way that we can get, the promotion of inflammations and cytokines. Another way is through the formation of what is called advanced glycolation end products, or AGEs. so, these come about when sugar is also consumed in excess, and they react with both proteins and fats, which, are naturally present in foods as well through the process called glycation. And yeah, we know that these ages can also result in an inflammatory response in the body and also the production of cytokines.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 18:12

Yeah, that's really good to know. I was actually going to ask you about insulin resistance because that's something that clients often think about. if they've got insulin resistance, people think that they need to cut down sugar completely. They're very scared of having sugar. so it's good to know about the link, with the cytokines.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 18:31

Yeah, for sure. and another point When we do have those ages produced in our body, they can lead to oxidative stress through the production of free radicals. and like what we actually know is that these free radicals or this oxidative stress, can affect the composition of the follicular fluid, which is, as we talked about before, really important for that egg to develop. so I like to think of, free radicals is basically like the way I envision it because I'm a visual learner is if you've got two cars driving along on the freeway, say they're doing both 110 kilometers an hour, and let's assume one of those cars only has three wheels, it's going to do so much damage to the road. It's not going to be able to control where it goes. It's kind of going to be moving around. Radically, and yeah, it's going to cause lots of damage and the same kind of thing happens in our body, but with the help of maybe the other car that's driving along, if they've got a spare wheel that they can donate to this to this car that only has three wheels, it's going to help balance that car out so that it can drive, I guess, more safely and not cause that damage on the road or in our bodies. We can kind of mitigate the free radicals, that. occur naturally in our bodies and, you know, in the context of consuming a diet that's high in sugar or whatnot, through consuming antioxidants. But I think we will leave the antioxidant chat for a whole nother episode. I did just want to touch on it and explain that.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 19:51

Yeah. that. is so cool. I love that analogy that you have used with cars to explain free radicals. So with everything that we've talked about today, would you say that all of it is relevant to females or are there some parts that could be relevant for males as well? Do we know about the impact of sugar and sperm health?

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 20:13

Yeah, full disclaimer, Anika, I think I'm really biased. I always look into females more often than not. I think just because I'm a female, I find the research and the literature so interesting. So I do need to like more look into men's health in terms of fertility. But, one particular study in the context of sugar, which I'm across, they looked at the Intake of sugar on the male spurn. And they found that higher intakes of sugar sweetened beverages. So sugary drinks was associated with lower sperm motility. So, as I touched on before, it is really important for that sperm to have optimal, motility, which is like its ability to move. So we want it to be able to get to the egg in time quick enough so that fertilization can occur. While really interestingly, a high intake. was associated with higher sperm motility. So those, um, individuals that had a high diet of fruit actually had sperm that could, better access that egg through movement. Which, as we talked about before, people shy away from fruit thinking that, they shouldn't consume it because it does have sugar in it, but yeah, this particular study supports the consumption of fruit. And I guess that's why it's really important to consume it. balance diet if you are trying to conceive.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 21:23

yeah, that is really good to know. Thank you for covering the papers, Michelle. I think you've done such a great job at going through the literature and just finding so many great papers. All the studies that we have mentioned in this episode will be linked in the show notes if you wanted to check them out.

michelle-_1_06-15-2024_142526 21:43

Yeah, and before we head off, I did want to say if you head over to our Instagram handles, so appetitebyannika or foodforfertility, Yeah, we're going to share our Tips. for how to limit our refined sugars. So I know a lot of our clients struggle with consuming, higher amounts of refined sugar. And we're going to share our top tips that will hopefully actually work for you.

anika_1_06-15-2024_142526 22:03

Bye for now.

22:04

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Nourish, Bump and Beyond. We hope this episode has inspired you to prioritise your nutrition and nourish your journey towards parenthood. Don't forget to connect with us on Instagram at appetitebyannika and foodforfertility for more tips, updates and resources.