Fertility
Starting a family?
Whether you’re in the early stages of planning (prenatal), already pregnant, having issues conceiving, or considering in vitro fertilisation (IVF), giving your body the fuel it needs and avoiding foods and environmental toxicity are essential to conception and producing a healthy baby.
Symptoms
Fertility issues are common in both men and women and can be frustrating as many people show no obvious symptoms of infertility until they try to conceive.
The primary sign of infertility is not getting pregnant after trying for more than a year, but there are several other signs that may indicate an underlying health issue.
In women:
- Irregular or heavy periods
- Dyspareunia (pain during intercourse)
- Hormonal changes (FSH, oestrogen/progesterone ratio)
In men:
- Erectile dysfunction
- Problems with ejaculation
- Hormonal changes (testosterone levels)
Causes
Causes that can affect both men and women include — age, thyroid issues (hormonal imbalance), cancer, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and lifestyle factors such as medicine/drug use, alcohol consumption, smoking, stress, poor nutrition, weight issues and environmental toxicity. Unexplained infertility accounts for 1 in 4 cases.
In women, causes may include:
- Damage to fallopian tubes or ovaries
- Endometriosis
- Fibroids
- Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)
In men:
- Ejaculation disorders
- Hypogonadism (low testosterone levels)
- Sperm count and quality of semen
- Testicular issues (cancer, infection)
Fertility declines progressively with age for both men and women, with infertility affecting up to 1 in 7 couples.
More than 50%
of babies born in the UK are to women over 30
30%
of infertility issues come from men
1,000
the amount of eggs lost by a woman each cycle
Treatments
We use functional testing to discover what may be getting in the way of your family planning, and design personalised nutrition & lifestyle fertility action plans aimed at boosting your chances of fertility and preparing your body for a healthy pregnancy.
Nutritional Therapy
Food is your friend.
Eliminating toxicity from your diet and ensuring you are eating the right foods is key to increasing your chances of conceiving, and supporting you and your baby throughout pregnancy.
- Cleanse/Detox program – a great first step to reduce toxic load and cleanse your body before pregnancy.
- Nutrition – a balanced diet of lean protein, fish, healthy fats, green leafy vegetables, sources of calcium and iron is vital. Processed foods, saturated fats, sugars and foods exposed to pesticide are all linked to infertility.
- Supplements – not all essential nutrients (e.g folic acid, vitamin D) required for healthy pregnancy can be acquired through diet alone. Knowing which ones and how much to take varies according to each couple (or individual) and their needs.
Functional Testing
Harness the power of science.
We investigate biochemical factors such as thyroid function, hormones, oxidative stress, vaginal microbiome and reproductive organ health to assess potential imbalances:
- DUTCH test – extensive profile of sex and adrenal hormones and melatonin for both men and women.
- Thyroid Function Panel – analyses thyroid hormone metabolism affecting both male and female fertility.
- Vaginal Ecologix – assesses vaginal microbiome – a key ecosystem for female health and reproductive optimisation. Disruption, known as dysbiosis, is linked to premature pregnancy, infertility, miscarriages and increased risk of STIs. Analysis of the vaginal microbiota is extremely important and informs our treatment plan and lifestyle approach.
Lifestyle Coaching
Empowers you to be at your best.
We design nutrition & lifestyle action plans aimed at naturally increasing your chances of starting a family and supporting healthy pregnancy by addressing lifestyle factors linked to infertility:
- Toxicity – smoking, alcohol, drugs, metals and chemicals in air, water, food and cosmetic products damage fertility through endocrine disruption. We look at ways of decreasing you and your partner’s toxic load.
- Metabolism/weight – being over or underweight (obesity or anorexia), metabolic syndrome and diabetes all influence your endocrine system and blood sugar levels, affecting fertility and pregnancy.
- Stress/sleep – chronic stress can trigger the overproduction of cortisol in men and women causing hormonal imbalances and thus a decreased likelihood of healthy conception.
STRUGGLING TO CONCEIVE OR CONSIDERING IVF?
Everyone is unique and their fertility issues stem from different causes. We work together to assess you and your partner’s health history, nutrition and lifestyle factors to understand what the causes may be.
Satisfied Patients
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Harriet L
Fertility, IVF, Cleanse DetoxI learnt lots from the consultation, and I can see where I was going wrong with my diet. I am doing ok now -- eating very well and exercising regularly. Thank you for all your wonderful help and for the Clean/detox programme you put me on. I found it a bit tough to start with but worth it as at at the end of the 14 days, I lost 2 kilos....an added bonus. I am going to start IVF treatment again at the end of the summer so I feel now healthier and fitter both physically and mentally to go for it.