6 Steps to Boost Your Fertility Naturally
Pilar Manzanaro
Webinar
68 min
4.7 rating on App Stores
00:00:00 Thank you. Thank you Sebastian and thank you for having me. Right. So a little bit of an introduction about who I am. So my name is Pilar, B'Lermans Narrow, anyone who's got any links to Spain will realize that my name is very Spanish. So am I. And in terms of my background, I'm an international therapist and I'm also a certified functional medicine practitioner in the States. Before this journey, sort of that started nearly 15 years ago, sort of training Before this journey, sort of that started nearly 15 years ago, sort of training
00:00:31 nutrition and becoming an expert in functional medicine. I used to work in finance. I was saying I had to find in London and now you can start sort of thinking about, you know, all the stress or lifestyle, all the issues that I might have had back in the day that led me to fertility issues and eventually led me to training as nutritionist and specializing in fertility. So with you guys, I've been on the journey. I know I know what you're going So with you guys, I've been on the journey. I know I know what you're going
00:01:00 through and I'm pleased to try to help you a little bit. So the point, you know, the sort of the angle of this presentation is not to get into the specifics of any particular condition. What we're trying to do today is to go into the basics. So this kind of firm for both people who only just started trying to conceive people who think came off conceiving in the near future. So people who serve like thinking maybe of fertility preservation, but also for So people who serve like thinking maybe of fertility preservation, but also for
00:01:31 people who've been done the, you know, on this road on the journey for a little bit already. And sometimes I find with my clients, which, you know, I see clients on our one to one basis. I do groups. I do presentations, but I do see that sometimes my clients would have sort of been on the journey for quite some time. They lose a little bit of perspective. So, you know, they might be going to very sort of like sophisticated testing. They might go into sort of investigating very complicated conditions that they might might not have, but
00:01:59 they lose sight of the basics. they lose sight of the basics. And sometimes it's just good to probably be back. So, right, are you still doing the very basic stuff that's going to get you 50% of the journey there. Right. So, as we can do today. And we're going to do it for both male and female. Regardless of what gender would gender use to identify us today because at the end of the day, we're looking at eggs and sperm, and we're looking at hormones.
00:02:25 And surprisingly, the hormones are all the same, you know, for both, you know, male and female fertility. How they interact with each other. That's like a male and female fertility. How they interact with each other. That's like a different, you know, the basic of the hormones. They all the same. Right. See, and also at the same time, we're going through the presentation. What we 're trying to do is make this as useful and as an action or as possible for you.
00:02:49 So talking about all the theory and all the research and, you know, everything that I'm going to present today is back by research. The studies that I've used are at the back of the presentation. If you want to The studies that I've used are at the back of the presentation. If you want to have a copy of those, I'm pretty sure Sebastian will be able to to give you a couple of copies of the links to them so you can download them yourself. But what we're trying to do is translate that into something that is really easy to carry out at home. Nothing complicated. It's like it's a sort of like
00:03:16 chopping and dice it. So it's actually something that you can start doing tomorrow. And also how to help make you make those changes. Like it's all very good to go and say like, well, have a balanced diet. But what is a balanced diet? Right. That is very basic, but still it's kind of like go through those motions and see, you know, how we can help on that front. And the point of making those changes, supporting your fertility, even your those tips is to support your hormone balance and to boost egg and its prime
00:03:46 quality. Why I put in these two things together, because in order for your eggs to mature properly, you know, the two, you know, for the egg that's released in every cycle or for an IVS cycle, are they a cycle to be successful. every cycle or for an IVS cycle, are they a cycle to be successful. Your hormones need to be balanced. You need to have a number of cycles where those eggs have been matured, or like, what I normally say is basically brought out from the deep freezer in order for them to be released when they need to.
00:04:18 So hormones do matter, right? For your, you know, obviously for your cycles to be regulated and for you to regulate, but also for your eggs to be the best possible quality, optimal quality. And the same with sperm. I mean, sperm production, I mean, quality to LSX, I suppose, but you know, sperm production is doing my hormones testosterone, FSH and LH. So the more balanced your hormones, the stronger they are, the stronger your sperm parameters will be.
00:04:49 So, you know, they sort of like put it into sort of like, you know, structure in a way that makes sense for this hour, you know, to sort of like, you know, flow and get you to your point where you can only walk away with a few really flow and get you to your point where you can only walk away with a few really useful bits of advice. I'm sort of like, you know, middle list of the things that I would really make sure that each and every one of my clients is completely, completely comfortable with.
00:05:12 So some of them are diet related, some of them are not, right? But they all interact with each other. So fertility is now one factor issue. I mean, occasionally it is, right? But typically it's a multi-factorial issue. We need to work together in order to fix or support different areas of your We need to work together in order to fix or support different areas of your lifestyle in order to get you to your best possible or your optimal fertility. So sleep, absolutely fundamental diet, detour, and you know, I'm a nutritionist , we're going to talk about that for quite a bit.
00:05:49 And also diet and sleep are very interrelated and we'll see how that works later. But if you're not sleeping well, you're going to be tired. You're going to need that sugar, right? You're going to get you going. You're going to need to need that sugar, right? You're going to get you going. You're going to need a little more coffee. Then if you kind of get that sort of like burst of energy towards the end of the evening, you might reach for a little bit of glass of wine, which is then going to affect your sleep.
00:06:13 So everything is sort of like related in those two categories. So we'll look at them separately, but then together. The just chin, super important, right? Because whatever you put through your mouth, I mean, you can be spending a ton of money in organic, grass-fed, absolutely amazing food. But you know not the destiny properly, and you're not solving those nutrients, But you know not the destiny properly, and you're not solving those nutrients, it's completely waste.
00:06:34 And at the same time, you can be supporting your liver, you can be doing everything in order to eliminate toxins, in order to excrete hormones that you 've already used up. But if your digestion is not great, if you've got your intestine, it's not, how can you excrete them at the very end? They might be coming back. They might be recycled. So it's really important to work on your digestion as well. We'll talk about that later.
00:07:00 Stress, you know, stress and fertility, they kind of go honey-hand. First of all, because stress does affect your fertility, we'll see how certain hormones, like for example cortisol, affects your chances of getting pregnant by disreg ulating your menstrual cycle. But also being on a definitive journey is a stressful experience, right? So it kind of goes both ways. Exercise, I get this question, and awful lot. Like, should exercise in a large shoe, like quit exercise completely?
00:07:29 shoe, like quit exercise completely? Each and every one of us is different, and our attitude to exercise is different. If I had to run for like 45 minutes, I mean, for me, that is like pretty hardcore, but somebody who is used to 24-minute finish running for 45 minutes in the park is probably like, like a walk for me. So we need to sort of put what you normally do into context before we decide what sort of exercise is good for you.
00:07:56 And then emotional wellbeing, right? This is a very, very important area. And then emotional wellbeing, right? This is a very, very important area. But support is not as your fertility, but your whole being. And it is here because sometimes being on a protective journey can be a little bit isolating. You might feel like, you know, you're the only one doing this. There's so many people on this journey. And thank goodness now we call social media. We call support groups. We call apps, like Zippapol, right? When I went through my pretty journey with me and my doctor, he had no clue of how to support me,
00:08:25 right? So finding the support is fundamental, but also wanting to put it here because So finding the support is fundamental, but also wanting to put it here because each and every one of the steps before emotional wellbeing will affect your emotional wellbeing. If you're not sleeping well, that's going to affect you. If you're not eating well, that you're going to feel less balanced. If you tell me hurts, if you're constipated, you're constant, you've got
00:08:48 constant diarrhea. If you're bloated, that's not going to make you feel great either. So you're not going to stress exactly the same. If you exercise in too much, if you know exercise in a tool, that can affect you as well. So after introducing what I'm going to talk about, now I'm going to show you So after introducing what I'm going to talk about, now I'm going to show you that I'm going to talk about it. So sleep.
00:09:07 Fundamental. And to me, when I talk about hormones, I tend to describe them as a wedding cake. I know that's not something weird, right? But the platter of the table without wedding cake is sitting is your sleep. It supports that balance of hormones. And how does it do it? It does it through your circadian rhythms. If you travel through time zones, you know, by the time you get to New York, If you travel through time zones, you know, by the time you get to New York,
00:09:33 you know, it's a 10 p.m. There are breaths like the middle of the night for you, and you're really struggling to stay awake. That is your circadian rhythm, telling you, hang on a minute, you should be in bed. You should be asleep. Or you're not. So when your circadian rhythms are dysregulated, because you're not sleeping well, or because your work shifts, or because you're very stressed at work, and you are waking up at 3 a.m. all the time, that affects the quality of your sleep, as well as your quantity.
00:10:02 When your sleep is not great, you produce more cortisol. And don't get me wrong , I love cortisol. I think cortisol is the queen of hormones. It's there to support you, to keep your life. But when you use too much of it, because you're not sleeping well, or you might be stressed as well, but because you're not sleeping well, that can affect your sex hormone balance. And that's a really important point, because the minute your body sees you against the ropes, like, you're not sleeping well, you're too tired, you're
00:10:27 against the ropes, like, you're not sleeping well, you're too tired, you're really not kind of like coping with your life very well, your body's going to shut down, things that are not necessary. And your body at that point is not going to see having a baby as a priority. So the more you can do in order to support your sleep, the closer you're going to be to balancing your hormones, better egg quality, better sperm quality, and actually getting pregnant. Now, there's a few bits with our sleep, because there is a how much, and there
00:10:58 's the how good, right? So the quantity, how many hours do we need to sleep? 's the how good, right? So the quantity, how many hours do we need to sleep? Well, I don't know, Margaret Thatcher used to be a friend of the sleep, five hours of the bed, fresher solids that they have to help. I don't know, I need, ideally eight, I can mind with seven. So anywhere between seven and eight is with most human beings, most human beings need in order to wake up refreshed, strong. They're kind of good cleanse in the brain, they're sort of like healthy toxin,
00:11:28 they're rested in the morning. they're rested in the morning. So if you do in less than seven and eight, ask yourself, why? Are you going to bed till late? Are you using too much of a wonderful Netflix? I mean Netflix is fabulous, right? But when you serve like a new box set and you can't put it down, that's an issue, right? So set a bedtime, be reasonable. If you're going to bed at one a.m., don't go
00:11:54 like, OK, tonight I'm going to bed at nine. It's not going to work, because your body is still going to be in the middle of It's not going to work, because your body is still going to be in the middle of your evening by the time you get bed. But you know, shave off a few minutes every day, get yourself to a more reasonable time, eleven, ten, thirty, ideally, that might be too early for you if you come from work at nine. I don't know what your circumstances would be, but you know, getting an earlier
00:12:19 ish bedtime is always better than going to bed too late. And also try to do the consistent routine, because the consistent routine going to bed would affect your circadian rhythms. to bed would affect your circadian rhythms. So your body prepares you, but you put it so if it believes that what you've been doing for the last six months or six weeks or six days is going to be repeated. It kind of like carries the pattern. So if you start going to bed at ten,
00:12:45 thirty or eleven o'clock and you do that for a few days, your body will be like , "Ah, right, we can't even see it, that's rather nice." And it's going to start producing this cortisol. So a one-off nine o'clock or ten o'clock or ten thirty bedtime, it's going to make a very little difference. However, if you keep it up, that could get you there. Now, quality, to be honest, each minute that you sleep well would count towards sort of a detoxifying, restful, fertility boosting night sleep. So focusing your bedtime routine, make sure, that your hour before bedtime,
00:13:28 even two hours before bedtime, you could have a good relaxing stress-free even two hours before bedtime, you could have a good relaxing stress-free routine. So try not to watch the news at that time, because everything is really stressful when you watch the news, trying not to be on social media, especially if it's the sort of thing that kind of makes you a little bit more anxious. Don't look at your emails from work, they find don't look at your emails from work. If there's any calls from work, I'll just like, "Mage origin, don't take
00:13:56 them." If there's a relative or a friend that tends to kind of like, work you up, don If there's a relative or a friend that tends to kind of like, work you up, don 't talk to them. Just kind of keep that time nice and clean and working for you in order to support your sleep. Now, reading is brilliant. So books, Kindle's, phone, which one is the best option.
00:14:16 So if you look at research, books like paper is the best possible option, but it's not always practical, right? Because you might be travelling, you're going to carry a Kindle. I've got a Kindle, I don't know my Kindle. So their emissions, the blue light coming from your Kindle, they're not as bad So their emissions, the blue light coming from your Kindle, they're not as bad as anything that comes from a screen, like an iPad, a tablet, a phone. So Kindle is better than their phone, but books are probably better than Kindle
00:14:43 . If you enjoy reading, it's an amazing thing just before falling asleep. If you're the sort of person that gets into a book and has got to finish it, or leaves with like 125 pages, maybe it's not for you. Maybe do a little bit of meditation, do a little bit of breathing work. Maybe do a little bit of meditation, do a little bit of breathing work. Just do whatever you can in order to sort of like get yourself into the zone before bedtime. Screens with already tested stuff from them, but you know, screens emit blue
00:15:11 light. And even if you call blue light blocking the glasses, by the way, the darker the better, right? So the sort of like the see through ones like what I've got at the moment, they kind of block very, very little, but right now I need to be awake. So that's kind of what I need anyway. But when you go into bed, the darker the better, so the more so like on the red But when you go into bed, the darker the better, so the more so like on the red
00:15:31 spectrum, the better. But that's not the light, it's not only the light, right? If you go into Instagram and you see like everybody like, you know, sort of doing like all those amazing things that we all know, it's not necessarily fake, but you know, it's obviously, you know, you know, that stuff, you know, that's amazing. And that makes you feel, I don't know, anxious, less happy, whatever it is, don 't do it. But also social media is designed to hook you and to keep you there for an hour
00:15:56 , right? And the 10 minutes that you intended to do. So go easy on that. Be mindful of And the 10 minutes that you intended to do. So go easy on that. Be mindful of it. And then we go to stimulants as well. You know, things like, you know, coffee, alcohol, sugar, any drugs. I mean, I don't even need to say this, right? Try to avoid them as much as possible in general, but definitely, definitely before bedtime, because they
00:16:17 won't help your sleep at all. Other things that we need to consider. And we're talking a lot about sleep because it's one of those fundamental things that somehow our society has sort of decided that, you know what? Sleep is optional. Well, it's not. Sleep is absolutely fundamental, not just for fertility, but for, you know, healthy living, healthy aging, absolutely everything. Have a good look at your bedroom. It's dark enough. Can you get some blackout
00:16:46 blinds? It's in no mercy. If you kind of near a man, a man, right? It gives me a plug. How's the temperature in the room? Is it cold? Is it hot? And we tend to air on the side of the tea hot sometimes. It's better to be a little bit on the cooler side. Have your duvet on that you It's better to be a little bit on the cooler side. Have your duvet on that you actually be sweating. So have a look at the bedroom and see what you can do in order to sort of like
00:17:07 get it more comfortable and more sleep inducing. Hydration. It's necessary, right? We need to be hydrated. We know we need one of those eggs that will put those eggs to be really nice and plump with enough hydration. We want this poem to have enough hydration. So the seminal fluid is helping them swim as well as you want them to. But if you drink too much water, what happens? First of all, you dilute your But if you drink too much water, what happens? First of all, you dilute your
00:17:33 nutrients, which is a no-no, but also you might wake up in the middle of the night and that breaks your sleep. So that's not great. Find a balance. Don't be dehydrated, but don't drink too much before bedtime. You've got a whole entire day ahead of you to drink. So do it the other day and try to go easy from like, you know, sort of like 9 o'clock onwards if you wake up in the night. If you don't, you know, for enough, you don't need to.
00:17:57 Now, dinner. What's happening with dinner? Are you eating too late? Are you Now, dinner. What's happening with dinner? Are you eating too late? Are you going to bed on a full stomach? Are you eating too much carbs? Are you eating carbs at all? So this is actually a really important point because as a society as well, we so do learn to demonize carbs. And you know, the carbs are less carbs, right? We'll talk about them later. But sometimes what happens is you run out of energy through the night.
00:18:22 And when you run out of energy, that queen of horners that I was talking about earlier, cortisol, nistic come out and get reserves out so you can actually earlier, cortisol, nistic come out and get reserves out so you can actually make energy to stay alive, continue to breathe. So if you haven't had enough dinner or your dinner was too early, but you continuously can slip, miss dinner or you have balanced meals for dinner, you might wake up honestly because you're hungry, but because your body is looking for reserves in order to keep you going.
00:18:49 At the same time, trying to do have a really, really carbonyl because it might have a very similar effect. And by the time you run out of glucose that the carbs gave you, then you wake And by the time you run out of glucose that the carbs gave you, then you wake up again. So balance, balance, balance and we'll talk about what balance meal is in a minute. Now supplements and I wanted to put this here because we're not going to be
00:19:10 talking about individual supplements. But I've noticed that every time I go into a chemist lately, there's more and more supplements to support your sleep. I'm not saying they're bad, not at all. You know, you go magnesium, you might have some herbs, you might have some natural remedies, there might be some home opathy. All that is brilliant, but don't do it alone. Get somebody who knows what they All that is brilliant, but don't do it alone. Get somebody who knows what they
00:19:34 're talking about to help you choose what's right for you. And if you sleep in great, don't take anything because you might not need it. So be mindful of what your supplements are for, who's recommending them and how long to be on them for. And then what are the things, community, so meditation apps, yoga, listening to audiobooks. And you know what, the one thing I forgot to put in the presentation is And you know what, the one thing I forgot to put in the presentation is
00:20:02 something that I recommend to all my clients all the time is breathing, breathing work. It doesn't need to be very, very sort of advanced, just sort of like breathing it deeply, holding it for four more or less, holding it for four and exhaling for four and then five and six. That is incredibly calming. And if you find yourself a little bit agitated or not ready for bed, that might actually be the drink. not ready for bed, that might actually be the drink.
00:20:31 So keep breathing and not just necessarily not only a bedtime, but through the day, you find yourself getting all worked up, breathe, because especially women , we tend to breathe with just the top part of our lungs. And there's some really sort of support, a calm environment, do try to breathe with the entire capacity of your lungs and keep it there for a bit and then exh ale very slowly. Try tonight and see how you feel. Now diet, well, that's kind of what I do. So let's look about it for a bit.
00:21:06 And it's a bit of a controversial sort of the presentation on the diet front, because I question sometimes, is there fertility diet? Well, I don't think so. I think there's a diet that supports you and your health and boosts or optimizes your fertility, but that diet will be very different from the one that your neighbor followed or your cousin or the diet different from the one that your neighbor followed or your cousin or the diet that some influence is promoting. So think about what you eat, think about what you are in your journey, think
00:21:37 about what conditions you might have and find the diet that supports you. So one size, that's definitely not fit all. So here I've listed a few conditions that would really benefit from a targeted diet or a very special, I mean, a more specialized diet. So things like PCOS, polycystic care, ovaries, ovaries or symptoms, right? So I So things like PCOS, polycystic care, ovaries, ovaries or symptoms, right? So I mean, you don't necessarily have the symptom. You can just have the ovaries without any other symptoms.
00:22:09 So that diet would be very geared towards kind of balancing your blood sugar and your matriosis. There was a question already on the chat about it. So if you've got excess estrogen, if you really struggle to a discreet would fit would support yourself or the brassicas or the onions or the garlic, or those foods that really support your liver, but also your garden in order to those foods that really support your liver, but also your garden in order to sort of get rid of them, excess estrogen. And also we'll talk later about a couple of the sort of like big food groups
00:22:41 like the dairy in there and the gluten that might be affecting as well. Egg reserve, low sperm count, there's loads of diets that would help you support those conditions, but it's not just one diet. And if you sort of lay face in any of these conditions, you will have already And if you sort of lay face in any of these conditions, you will have already tested. But if you're not, if you're the very beginning of your predicted journey, my advice would be do some testing. And figure out what's happening, because it might just be a very simple thing.
00:23:14 There's effect in one of you, one of the partners in there in the couple. And it might be actually really easy to fix. So those are like suffering signs from months, there's testing available that can really help you sort of modulate your diet, support your lifestyle and can really help you sort of modulate your diet, support your lifestyle and potentially just get you through the finishing line much faster. And we'll talk about a little bit a little bit more about testing if we go, it got time later.
00:23:44 So, as I said, not the sort of the same diet fits absolutely everyone. So things like, you know, these people who dairy free, gluten free, and you read me, and you fish. If any of those foods don't agree with you, or if any of those foods don't If any of those foods don't agree with you, or if any of those foods don't agree with your, with your beliefs, absolutely fine. Keep them out of the dirt of your diet, but don't do them because you read something about them on Instagram.
00:24:12 Don't do it because you might actually forego in an awful lot of nutrients that benefit you. So if you're given a food group, I'll do it for a reason. Just don't, don't just do it because you've read about it. Now, if I had to give you some core guidelines, or would a diet would be a good Now, if I had to give you some core guidelines, or would a diet would be a good diet for fertility will be. This is the list of them.
00:24:35 Always cook from fresh, cook from scratch, from scratch. Do not open packets, chop vegetables. You know, again, thanks that you have to chop and peel and parboil and stir fry . Anything in the plastic trends, stick in the microwaves. That's the very, very last thing I want you to do. For a couple of reasons, it's very highly processed. And a lot of those nutrients are time sensitive and heat sensitive and light
00:24:57 And a lot of those nutrients are time sensitive and heat sensitive and light sensitive. So by the time they get to you, they do you in contact with those meals. It's very low. However, I'll say for example, now meal will have been, say, spaghetti bolognese. If you made the same meal at home with organic beef, tons of veggies, you serve it with some cojetti and some whole meal pasta. Or if you don't do wheat with some gluten-free pasta and you have a little
00:25:25 salad on the side, that's an amazing meal. Right? If you don't do red meat, maybe you can make it with lentils. Right? If you don't do red meat, maybe you can make it with lentils. Very good source of protein. It helps balance your hormones. So, you know, anything that you can have get yourself in the kitchen cooking, it's always going to be superior to anything that you can peel, open, stick in the oven, or even wash the microwave. So the second point here will be always balance your plate.
00:25:50 So eating a huge amount of pasta with a bit of olive oil, my fill you up, but that's all it does. It's empty calories. I mean, the olive oil is really good, but the pasta is just really sort of refined carbohydrates. just really sort of refined carbohydrates. So at the end of the day, it's just glucose. However, if that plate of pasta is whole grain, right? So it's got some fiber there for your gut.
00:26:11 It's also going to balance your blood sugar. Then you put the bolognese or that lentil bolognese that we were talking about. So it's going to have some protein. It's going to have tons of veggies. It's going to have some good fats from the olive oil. And it's going to kind of give you a very nicely balanced meal. And it's going to kind of give you a very nicely balanced meal. So you can see what elements we need on our plate, and that goes for every single meal, right?
00:26:37 You're having your breakfast. Just because we normally eat breakfast in a rush. That's what we mean, that you can just do a yogurt and your dough. The yogurt is great. If you're good with dairy, if not, go for coconut, but you know, it's all going to line it. Go and give me some blueberries for antioxidants, right? Maybe put some flaxids in there so you can balance your hormones, right? So balance, balance, balance, and make sure that your plate is complete, right? So balance, balance, balance, and make sure that your plate is complete, right?
00:27:04 It's not just a calorie stick. You go in, it also nourishes you and your hormones and your eggs and your spell. Okay, so back to this line. So how did we balance your plate or our plate? So the first element will be whole grains, you know, the carbs. So carbs have been demonized, and unless they really, really disagree with you, you're in the setting conditions that if you suffer them, you know what I'm talking about.
00:27:30 So if you go SIBO, if you need to be in a fat-maps diet, then, okay, perhaps you need to go easy in those carbs, right? But you would have advice from your doctor, your nutritionist, your dietician, you know, they'll be in a particular war carbs you can actually enjoy without getting the symptoms. So assuming that you don't get any symptoms when you eat carbs, what I would like you to think is,
00:27:55 all right, anything that's white, it's just empty calories. So if you have a plate full of white rice with nothing else, your body cannot So if you have a plate full of white rice with nothing else, your body cannot tell the difference between that and sugar. That's how bad it is, right? There's very little nutrition in that, in that, in that, in the voice. It's like it's been bleached and all the good stuff is gone. So avoid the white bread, avoid the white pasta, avoid the white rice, you know
00:28:20 , so it's like chips and anything that it kind of, you know, looks. Processed and go for the real whole grains. So brown rice, wild rice, home meal pasta, you know, bread with fiber, with So brown rice, wild rice, home meal pasta, you know, bread with fiber, with seeds, with oats, sweet potatoes, right? They're not, they're not a grain, but they had an amazing carb because it's called, also, fiber, especially with your skin. It's called, also, pita carotene, the body can convert into vitamin A and is
00:28:51 safe in pregnancy. It's delicious, absolutely delicious. I mean, you know, just roast them, keep them in the oven and when, you know, sorry, I just roast them, keep them in the fridge. sorry, I just roast them, keep them in the fridge. I'm going to need to make a quick lunch, destroying some, maybe a bit of feta cheese, if you eat dairy, if you don't eat dairy, a little bit of leftover chicken, maybe some pumpkin seeds, a good drizzle of
00:29:13 olive oil, some herbs, some leaves. I like quite like the contrast between the sweet potato and the bitter, sort of , like, rootler rocket. It's just a nice combination. And if not, it's actually a really good souffle side dish. Kimwa, barley, oats, so basically anything with fiber in it, anything brown, Kimwa, barley, oats, so basically anything with fiber in it, anything brown, anything that's not been processed.
00:29:34 And here, just a very, very small note on breakfast cereal. There's a reason why oats are there on cornflakes. So cornflakes are incredibly processed, full of sugar. So basically, they're going to give you the massive, sort of, like, sugar high and then they're going to drop you like a block. So if you own the, if you just tend to have a packet cereal, like, you know, processed cereal for breakfast, bitter, just put it in the bed. And then try to do a good quality muslin with
00:29:59 bitter, just put it in the bed. And then try to do a good quality muslin with no, very, no, very high content. Sugar content, which are for raisins, raisins are sugar. I'm just stick to your teeth. Not good. Make porridge, make your own granola, right? So go a little bit more wholesome because your body will be grateful for it. And how much, how much of how, you know, will proportion of how a plate should be whole grains?
00:30:29 I've set a quarter there. And you know what? Now I'm looking at it, I'm I've set a quarter there. And you know what? Now I'm looking at it, I'm thinking, well, a quarter will be average. You know, what I would normally eat, but, you know, whole grains agree with me. If you go any issues with them, it might be lower, right? If you need to increase them because otherwise you tend to be more constipated, it might be a little bit higher. And it might depend on the meal, right? If you eat in porridge, you're like a m
00:30:52 oo. So a quarter is kind of the average, but it could vary a little bit. Now, 14. Now, 14. So we've had a lot about protein recently, right? So carbs have been demonized, fat in the 80s, the 90s was like, you know, poly canomy number one, and protein was good. Protein is good, but it's not the only thing that's good for you.
00:31:18 Again, let's go back to the balance, right? So you need your whole grains, you need your protein. We'll talk about the other bits that you need as well. So what I would say with protein is go for really good quality. And if you're a vegetarian, make sure, or vegan, make sure you're getting enough. So if you eat in meat and chicken and fish, so if you eat in chicken and meat, especially chicken, make sure it's organic.
00:31:43 Because you're not going to chicken, especially the lower welfare one, the one that you can get like a chicken for like less than five pounds, which I still can get my hand around. That's going to have antibiotics, it might have some hormones, it's got water in it. It's the sort of thing that, you know, your body should be usually pretty It's the sort of thing that, you know, your body should be usually pretty inside in your body.
00:32:02 So potentially less chicken or better. So a tip there is chicken breast cancer expensive, one's organic. Get the whole chicken, get the whole chicken roasted, eat it for a couple of days, poach it, you know, you've got a really good stock in there to make soup as well. So you know, you can justify the price of organic chicken, because it's nearly an investment, right? But it's been an expense.
00:32:26 And the same with red meat, you know, high welfare, grass-fed, ideally organic, And the same with red meat, you know, high welfare, grass-fed, ideally organic, because you're going to get less chemicals, less pesticides, because you know, they're not herb, they're not grass, and vegetables are eaten by cows, right? They're cheap. So if there's an herbicide in them, because they're not organic, you're going to end up in your system as well. Fish, it's amazing, but the sea is getting very, very polluted.
00:32:55 So for my clients, they're going to get to conceive a little bit of conservative on this product. So unless you are a pescatarian, and the only source of protein, whatever the source of protein is fish, you don't do any dairy, so we need really need to eat the fish. Keep it down to one, so twice a week, especially the bad ones, because they will be absorbing more of a mercury, which is definitely something you want to do, you have in your body, more of the microplastics that can affect,
00:33:23 especially in sperm quality, but also they're in the client disruptors, so they affect your amount of balance. Beanstom pulses, I love them, because they're clean, they're veggie, they're Beanstom pulses, I love them, because they're clean, they're veggie, they're cheap, they're very easy to find, they're easy to cook, you can even buy them already cooked, and they help support your gut and your hormone aboules. Now, if you have an protein powder, please, please, please, please read the label.
00:33:49 Make sure that your in the sound is coming from. If you're having a pea protein, but you've got any issues with lectins or with beans, it might not be great. If you've got any issues with dairy away, my protein might not be amazing, and If you've got any issues with dairy away, my protein might not be amazing, and also, the whey protein may actually affect your hormonal balance. Be careful with that. The one I tend to recommend is a hemp protein one, because it's clean, it's low
00:34:15 energy, and it's sort of thin there, we don't tend to use that much, right? So we don't use, we don't normally eat hemp, so the chances that we're going to react to it are wild. It's a bit of a tip there for you. Now, in fats. Now, in fats. So if I was pushed to say, what's the food or the group of foods that will support my fertility better than others, not only, but you know better than
00:34:41 others, I would say healthy fats. We need fats for our hormones. The majority of all of our sex hormones are produced from cholesterol. So those are meant that we need to have huge cholesterol levels, but that means that we need to have fat in our diet to allow our bodies to produce over sex hormones. hormones. But also, we need fat in order to keep those eggs really nice and healthy,
00:35:07 right? So what do we get fat from? Oil, fresh, but you know, we talked about it before , moderation is the key here. Always try to buy wild or organic. Organic dairy, if you can tolerate it, if you're okay with that, in moderation perhaps, nuts and seeds, the brilliant for you, right? They can support your hormonal balance, they can support your egg quality, they They can support your hormonal balance, they can support your egg quality, they
00:35:31 can regulate your blood sugar. They are rich in minerals that can support sperm quality, so you zinc and you selenium also get support your immune system. So I can't see a reason not to eat nuts and seeds, unless, of course, you'll be acting to them, in which case, stay away from them. And if you're not sure what's happening when you eat nuts and seeds, please, please seek advice. Our cat is a cantileau, how much I love them, right? On gluten free bread or a
00:35:58 Our cat is a cantileau, how much I love them, right? On gluten free bread or a whole grain bread, on a breakfast bowl, on a food apple or like an associable, they could have a thing. On a salad as well, right? Extra virgin olive oil, they're better quality, the better, they're higher quality, the better, the greener, the better, because it 's more more polished fennel, so it's going to keep those, it's going to keep you from oxidating, but it's also going to keep loads of the eggs and sperm you from oxidating, but it's also going to keep loads of the eggs and sperm
00:36:31 nice and healthy. And of course, flax seeds, I mean, I'm sure a lot of you have heard about your flax seeds, because they also support your hormonal balance. We can talk about seed rotation, if you heard about it, is a sort of thing that can help regulate your cycles, but it also gives you a bit of pattern on how to eat or how to take your seeds. It is one thing to avoid, is anything for the vegetable oil world, but also anything we find in terms of fat and anything processed.
00:36:56 anything we find in terms of fat and anything processed. So things like margarine is definitely not as good as butter, butter, in moderation, organic, ghee, if you're cooking with them, it's a much better option than margarine. We've already sort of talked about how fats can support your hormonal balance, and they can also help absorb those fat soluble nutrients. So this vitamin is like vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, the need of fat in your diet in order to be absorbed.
00:37:28 fat in your diet in order to be absorbed. So fats play a very important role there too. Now veggies, what can I say about veggies? I love them, but also they love you back because they're the sort of thing that gives you tons and tons of antioxidants. They keep your eggs and sperm nice and healthy, they support your gut, and they prevent you as a human being from oxidation. So even if you're looking at fertility, they're absolutely amazing.
00:37:58 So my advice here would be to eat the more different colors, the better. So my advice here would be to eat the more different colors, the better. So eating the rainbow every day with fabulous, but also trying to squeeze in two different three different ones per meal and rotate them eat with the seasons. So eating broccoli every single day is good, but it's not as good as eating broccoli and some peas and maybe some carrots. And then the day after, so bringing out the beetroot and some cauliflower and
00:38:27 maybe some beans, and the day after, you know, you get the gist of it, right? maybe some beans, and the day after, you know, you get the gist of it, right? So it gets rotate, bring lots of different veggies, and if you've got any hormonal imbalances, as I mentioned before, the brassicans and the allium family. So the broccoli, the kale, the cauliflower, all of those listed there would support your hormonal balance, but there was a brew, your antioxidant load. So don't forget about them, make sure they figure pretty high on your daily
00:38:57 diet. Now what to avoid, I'm sure you could do this list for me, but I'm going to go Now what to avoid, I'm sure you could do this list for me, but I'm going to go through it anyway. Anything processed, any ready to eat meals, anything that you know basically comes out of a packet, all the refined stuff, but if you find that you need a little something sweet, especially when you're period, if you find that you have to dinner, after lunch, you're going to little sort of like richness.
00:39:24 Dark chocolate is great, it's full of polyphenols, just do make sure that it's very high on the cocoa content and it doesn't have any additives. very high on the cocoa content and it doesn't have any additives. Try to eat a boy trying to eat eating the same foods all the time, even if it's really healthy, if you eat like king or broccoli chicken, if you eat it all the time, you're missing out from a huge amount of nutrients, so they're really, very rotate, rotate, rotate. In balanced meals, we've talked about it, forget about eating just protein or
00:39:55 just pasta, mix it up. Eating too late because it may affect your sleep, having too much caffeine, Eating too late because it may affect your sleep, having too much caffeine, having too much sugar or sugar drinks, drinks and alcohol. Not a good friend of yours, if you're trying to get pregnant. Now, a couple of foods that I'm going to mention in a bit more detail, I'm just sort of like going through those two slides together, because of timing. So diet, dairy and gluten.
00:40:26 The two foods that when people sort of like start the fertility journey, they The two foods that when people sort of like start the fertility journey, they tend to be taken out of the diet pretty quickly. Be mindful of it because they're nutritious. So if you need to take them out because you react into them, because you've got a hormone imbalance that is aggravated by either of them, absolutely, either eliminate them or be mindful of how much you eat and try to get back. But if you've got no problems with it, try to buy the best possible quality,
00:40:56 But if you've got no problems with it, try to buy the best possible quality, organic, whole grain, not sugar added, fermented and see how you get on. If you've got any questions, if you've got any doubts, if you think you might be reacting to either of them, please seek help. So go see your GP, talk to your nutritionist, just don't roll out eating them because it might actually not be helpful at all. And then there's all the allergens, right? Things like, you know, it could be nuts, it could be seeds, it could be beans,
00:41:27 Things like, you know, it could be nuts, it could be seeds, it could be beans, it could be pulses, it could be hanks. So if you think you're reacting to something, seek advice. Talk to somebody who knows about allergists, your doctorate to your dietician, your nutritionist, talk to somebody who can put you in the right direction to figure out what's happening with you. Okay, fluids, can't tell you how important it is to drink because it cleans you from the inside because it keeps you hydrated.
00:41:57 So the seminal fluid is going to be good, the cervical milk is going to be good So the seminal fluid is going to be good, the cervical milk is going to be good , the eggs and the sperm are going to be plump and full of, they're not going to be so dry and it's not. So it's really important to make sure that you hydrate it. But make sure that you hydrate it with clean water, so I would recommend that you give yourself a good filter, a filter that removes chemicals, microplastics , because anything that's in the water that shouldn't be there can be hormonal
00:42:23 disruptor, right? Now, give yourself a metal bottle and Sebastian was talking to me the other day , I can mention that there's a couple of brands that actually do have lead in , I can mention that there's a couple of brands that actually do have lead in the metal bottles. Please check the brand, please tell what it's made of because I was in a world of business, a real big thing, right? Because lead is a heavy metal, you don't want to be drinking anything.
00:42:43 And do avoid plastic as much as you possibly can. Herbalties are great, it makes sure there's no sugar and water is boring and it can get boring sometimes, especially in the winter. First on lemon, mint, cucumber, strawberries, whatever, whatever kind of lead works your boat, it'll make it more interesting. And drinking off, like two, two and a half liters, don't drink too little, but And drinking off, like two, two and a half liters, don't drink too little, but don't overdo it either, right? Because it might just work your sleep and it
00:43:07 might be mild, so dilute your nutrients, right? So two, two and a half liters is good. So we talked about the just generally, so make sure your tummy is working well. So if you've got any sort of bloating, any pain, any constipation, diarrhea, if it comes and goes, if they alternate, that's an issue, right? You're not gonna be adjusting your food, you're not gonna be absorbing it You're not gonna be adjusting your food, you're not gonna be absorbing it properly, you're gonna be more stressed.
00:43:34 And not necessarily feeling the anxiety, but your body is going to be under stress, right? And that's going to affect your hormones. And also, if your digestion is non-breliant, you're not going to be excreting the toxins, as I said before. So please do make sure that your digestion is as good as it can possibly be. Any questions, any symptoms, anything that you're not comfortable with, find Any questions, any symptoms, anything that you're not comfortable with, find some help.
00:44:01 And if your diet is great, what foods do we need in order to keep it working our way? Lots of fiber, lots of water, probiotic foods, you're good, you're kefier, you 're kimchi, you're sauerkraut, sleeping well, and managing your sleep. But if you need help, please don't forget about the digestion, because it's one of the biggest infertility. Stress, we talked about it before, so I'm just gonna mention a couple of things Stress, we talked about it before, so I'm just gonna mention a couple of things
00:44:31 here. Is it stress management or is it stress reduction that we need? I think it's a combination of both. You can manage your stress, right? You can get those tools, the breathing, the yoga, the meditation, the sleeping bed, the no eating them, and sugar. Whereas the stress reduction sometimes, it might be already controlled. If it's your post-cost, your cost in the stress, if it's financial difficulties , if it's fertility, it's always gonna be there, so it's not.
00:44:59 So the stress itself is how you manage it. So the stress itself is how you manage it. So just be mindful of that. There's loads of resources out there, there's apps, there's courses, there's meditation, there's sort of controlling what you eat. This looking after yourself is a little bit of exercise, so all of those things and finding help would help you. Emotional well-being, I think I've kind of mentioned it before, as we were chatting through the presentation, at the beginning of the presentation,
00:45:27 and I said, "All the steps before will help with your emotional well-being." and I said, "All the steps before will help with your emotional well-being." But it's a lonely journey, this one. Don't do it alone. Look for help if you need it, right? Don't kind of suffer in silence because it's definitely, definitely not the right thing to do. And right now, there's loads of resources out there, just shout out, you know, shout out, and make sure that, you know, if it's not the family, it's the
00:45:53 friends, and if it's not the friends, it's a support group, it's not, you know, maybe an app, or it might be talking to your GP, who might it's not, you know, maybe an app, or it might be talking to your GP, who might recommend a therapist. But don't do this alone. And this should have been a slide on exercise, and I don't know what's happened to it, so I want to talk to you through it anyway. So in terms of exercise, as I said before, it's not too much, it's not too little, it starts through like,
00:46:20 all the logs have a balance that would support you. So if you've never worked up before, if you're not a gym company, if you know really sort of into running up before, if you're not a gym company, if you know really sort of into running , go easy. Right? Not saying don't do it, I'm just saying, take baby steps in order to make sure that you're not hurting yourself. So baby steps in terms, just to make sure that you're not sort of getting higher levels of cortisol because you're stressing your body.
00:46:46 But a little bit of exercise, especially if we're talking about the yoga, pil ates, Tai Chi, anything that sort of strengthens you, but also helps you relax, will be brilliant. Guess remember, do you know, of a do it, but don't sit on the couch either. Guess remember, do you know, of a do it, but don't sit on the couch either. Find your happy balance there. And I think this is the end of the presentation, so thank you so much for listening.
