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00:00:00 So welcome and thank you so much for your time this evening. I am going to share with you my fertility program, which is conceived with confidence. And I'm gonna share with you a few hints and tips and tricks to help you do just that. So I hope you're ready to take charge of your fertility journey. Let's get started.
00:00:27 So as I said today, we're going to be talking through So as I said today, we're going to be talking through my three pillars to conceive with confidence. And I know how tough the fertility journey can be. And we'll talk a little bit more about that in a second. But I really, really wanted to try and simplify what is quite a complicated field where there's so much to think about
00:00:50 and it can often feel quite overwhelming. So this is why I created three pillars to just really hone in on the key things that you need to be thinking about. that you need to be thinking about. You're also going to get an insight into how fertility nutrition can support you. A lot of people think it is just about what you're eating
00:01:09 and maybe taking a few supplements. But I've tried to incorporate other areas, really thinking about this 360 approach. And I'm gonna share that with you this evening. I'm also going to share some really easy to implement swaps for you. So hopefully by the end of the webinar, you can walk away with some really easy
00:01:27 you can walk away with some really easy to implement practices and changes that are going to make all of the difference on your fertility journey. And then we're going to finish up by busting three common fertility myths. I see all the time in my practice. And then like Sebastian said,
00:01:46 we've got some time at the end for Q and A. So this is a little bit about me. My name is Jen Walpole. I'm a registered nutritional therapist. They're a couple of professional bodies at the end of my introduction there. at the end of my introduction there. And I mostly work online actually.
00:02:04 So it doesn't really matter where you are coming from tonight. I work with many clients across the EU and even in North America. And I also am based out of a gorgeous wellness clinic, which is in the heart of Notting Hill called Cloud 12. My specialism is with obviously fertility nutrition, but I also support women with conditions such as PCOS. but I also support women with conditions such as PCOS.
00:02:32 I'm also well-versed with the IVF process. And so I support couples or individuals going through that process. And then that prenatal nutrition really right through to pregnancy as well. And I'm a certified fertility practitioner with the fertility nutrition center. And I've been featured in various publications
00:02:52 and magazines, online magazines, supplement companies, et cetera. So is this you? So is this you? I Google everything, but still feel confused. And I don't know where to turn next. So I'd like you to meet Ellie and her partner. Now they've been trying to conceive for over 12 months. And Ellie had been diagnosed with PCOS a few years ago
00:03:23 and she had really irregular cycles and she had a few gut issues going on as well. Now she was taking some supplements that she heard were good, Now she was taking some supplements that she heard were good, but she really wasn't sure if they were the right things for her. And her partner had had a semen analysis and everything was told, you know, came back looking normal and he was told
00:03:43 that things were all fine on his side. But he did have a few health issues going on. So he had some digestive issues as well and some poor sleep quality. Now within three months of working on their nutrition, Now within three months of working on their nutrition, their lifestyle, their mindset, so all of the things that we're going to be touching on this evening,
00:04:06 we found that we, well, we managed to get regular cycles for Ellie. We confirmed ovulation as well. So really, really important. They, you know, to just make sure that you're actually ovulating every month. We know when we're ovulating. And alongside that, there's less, she was experiencing a lot less bloating, much more energy, she was experiencing a lot less bloating, much more energy,
00:04:32 her sleep had improved. And that was true of both of them, you know, all of those things, those health issues, those health niggles that they had going on, we managed to resolve. And they also felt really supported and really confident in their next steps as well, because, you know, we cleared up quite a lot of the confusion. We stopped all of that googling and they felt confident
00:04:54 in terms of what their next steps were. And Ellie, once she finished my programme of three months, And Ellie, once she finished my programme of three months, I had an email a couple of months later and she was pregnant and she wanted to catch up to support early pregnancy. They went on to have a very healthy baby boy. And this is what Ellie had to say. So she said she came to Jen after being unable to get pregnant
00:05:19 for over a year. I wanted to know how I could approve my chances of conceiving with these changes to my diet. I was stopping with bad bloating, very irregular periods. And she managed to pretty much eliminate her bloating And she managed to pretty much eliminate her bloating and have a regular cycle. And she found out that she was pregnant.
00:05:37 And I worked with her husband and she definitely feels that this benefited them. And they cannot thank Jen and was enough and would 100% recommend her. So today, without further ado, I am here to help you regain control of your fertility journey and conceive with confidence. Just a little note to say before we get started,
00:05:57 Just a little note to say before we get started, that ever think that I share this evening is really general advice. It's not tailored to you in terms of like a one-to-one setting and it won't factor in any health concerns. Any medications that you'll run. So of course, with any changes that you do make, do speak to your GP or any of your healthcare professionals
00:06:22 or people that are overseeing any medical treatment or IVF treatment that you're undergoing. So here are my three pillars to conceive with confidence. So here are my three pillars to conceive with confidence. So first of all, we've got nutrition, we've got lifestyle and of course we can't forget mindset. And we can see that all three of these overlap. So for example, lifestyle, I'm thinking about things
00:06:48 like exercise here, but of course, that can also really help our mindset, can reduce anxiety and so on. So there is a bit of overlap here and we'll go through this in a little bit more detail and we'll go through this in a little bit more detail as we get started. So first of all, before we dive into those three pillars,
00:07:07 let's just have a little chat about why this matters. So when we're thinking about fertility, we are thinking about the egg and the sperm and we're also thinking about the genetic material, which is absolutely key. And remember that 50% of the genetic material comes from the egg or the oocytes and 50% comes from the sperm.
00:07:28 and 50% comes from the sperm. So it's equally important that as a couple, you're working on all of these factors together. Now, when we're thinking about the egg and the sperm, we're thinking about various factors here. We're thinking about that cell membrane, which is really, really crucial because that membrane's letting nutrients in and out.
00:07:51 It's allowing the proper functioning of each of those cells, whether it's the egg or the sperm. And for the sperm, for example, And for the sperm, for example, the membrane is predominantly made with DHA, which is an omega, it's omega three, it's one of the forms of omega three. And it's really prone to oxidation as well.
00:08:13 And we'll talk about that as we go through. Now, we also need to think about, when we're thinking about these cells is the energy production that's going on within the mitochondria of the oocyte or the egg and the sperm. And we've got huge, huge energy requirements And we've got huge, huge energy requirements
00:08:30 to make a baby in itself. And an interesting fact for you is, when we are, if we're in a place of sort of losing weight, that can negatively impact fertility. We know that actually a lot of conception happens on an upward turn of increasing BMI. And when thinking about here, this energy requirement. So if we're sort of not getting enough energy
00:08:58 and we're expanding more energy and therefore losing weight, and therefore losing weight, then it's just taking away from that huge demand that's needed to make a baby. So really thinking about that energy. Obviously the DNA is held within the egg and the sperm. And this is going to determine the future health
00:09:16 of your baby. And so when we're thinking about fertility nutrition, we're not just thinking about getting pregnant. We're wanting to make sure that you have a healthy pregnancy and of course a healthy, healthy baby at the end of it. and of course a healthy, healthy baby at the end of it. And that is really, really fundamental here. So don't lose sight of that.
00:09:37 'Cause I know you can feel like, I wanted to get pregnant yesterday. It needs to happen right now, but I can't stress enough that the preconception period is really, really important. And when we're thinking about that preconception period, we really want to be working on all of these factors for at least three months before we start to try to conceive.
00:09:59 Now, one thing to just mention is with women, Now, one thing to just mention is with women, we're obviously born with all of the eggs that we have and these decrease as we age. And even by the time we get to puberty, we've lost a vast number of those eggs. So really, we want to just focus on improving the quality of the eggs that we have.
00:10:22 We can't obviously increase the number, but we can focus on the quality. However, with sperm, this has been constantly regenerated this has been constantly regenerated through a process known as spermatogenesis. And whilst we can also improve the quality, we can actually increase the numbers.
00:10:40 So thinking about things like lower sperm count and concentration, we can absolutely change that in a very short space of time. Again, we're thinking about this two and a half to three month period. So yeah, that's like the main points that I really wanted to address here. And just to finish with the genetic material being key,
00:10:58 And just to finish with the genetic material being key, that genetic code has all of the instructions that's going to be needed to make the baby and also to determine the future help. So don't forget that, 'cause it's really, really important. So let's deep dive into pillar one, nutrition.
00:11:23 So the evidence is really clear. There's absolutely loads and loads of studies There's absolutely loads and loads of studies that support nutrition and more specifically the Mediterranean diet, which I'll get onto in a second with regards to fertility. Now we can see here that diet was related to better fertility outcomes
00:11:44 and better semen quality in men. And it was talking about the omega three rich foods and antioxidants, very much, you know, increasing plant-based, new plant-paced antioxidants and legumes and just having a whole food, and legumes and just having a whole food, non-ultra-processed diet essentially. And then when we deep dive into further studies,
00:12:10 we can see that a lot of the research is around the Mediterranean dietary pattern. And a lot of the studies are regarding IVF. And really it's about just being able to get groups of people together to be able to see outcomes by observing if we've got 100 people by observing if we've got 100 people and 50 of them have done the Mediterranean diet
00:12:35 and they're following that pattern, have they had a better outcome? And we can see here that there was a higher yield of embryos in women undergoing IVF treatment. And that was following the Mediterranean diet. So let's have a look at the Mediterranean diet and what I want to really pick out here are the key reasons why it's so great
00:12:57 for supporting fertility. for supporting fertility. Now the foundation of this, we can see it's all about eating foods together, cooking from scratch, enjoy that social element. You know, if you're on your fertility journey, it's tough enough without kind of sucking the joy out of what you're eating and being on like a restrictive diet
00:13:20 and not enjoying what you're eating. And it's really important that we don't lose sight of that and we still are enjoying that process of sort of making those improvements of sort of making those improvements and enjoying food together and still having that social element. And then when we start looking at the food,
00:13:36 we can see at the foundation, and it says here with every main meal, we want to be making sure that we have at least absolute minimum two servings of vegetable or more vegetables or more. And it talks about a variety of color here as well. It's got a couple, one to two servings of fruit with every main meal as well. I mean, I tend to say that two to three servings
00:13:58 I mean, I tend to say that two to three servings of fruit a day would be adequate. You know, you could pop those alongside your main meals if you have more savory meals, including breakfast, or if you're having some berries at breakfast, you know, a couple of different servings of berries or one serving of berries, and you might be having like a clementine or an apple later in the day.
00:14:24 So yeah, not necessarily with every main meal and it just depends how that looks for you. and it just depends how that looks for you. We can also see olive oil is with every main meal. And I'd really encourage you to not be afraid of using fats. So we know olive oil is really anti-inflammatory. It's a really great, healthy fat. So drizzling it on top of vegetables, on top of salads.
00:14:49 You can cook with it up to about 180 degrees. If it's extra virgin olive oil, which I would encourage you to see cow, then it's got lots of polyphenols that do protect it from its oxidation that do protect it from its oxidation and its smoking point on cooking. But again, you just want to be mindful with the temperatures,
00:15:08 but roasting with it would be absolutely fine up to about 180. We've got whole grains here as well. And that should be with every main meal. And then every day we've got olives, nuts and seeds. So again, just really thinking about that variety. So, you know, if you're more just eating walnuts every day, just, you know, get hazelnuts, get almonds, just cashews,
00:15:28 just, you know, get hazelnuts, get almonds, just cashews, peanuts pistachios, try and get variety in. We've got herbs and spices, garlic, onions. So again, you know, these should be across the day, like various different meals. And again, just try and get that diversity. And it's really about that diversity for the microbiome. And they've got all different benefits.
00:15:51 If we have focus on that diversity, focus on that eating the rainbow, we're going to be making sure that we get a variety of different nutrients and antioxidants in throughout the day. of different nutrients and antioxidants in throughout the day. And you can see nothing is excluded on this diet. So we've got dairy here. It says here, preferably low fat.
00:16:11 We actually know better than that now. A lot of low fat dairy products have added sugar or additives and flavor enhancers and things like that. There are a few exceptions to the rule, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with having full fat, Greek yogurt, for example. I'd say that's a really great choice. I'd say that's a really great choice.
00:16:30 I would just say with dairy, do try and go organic. And you know, we've got cheese on here. We can see some cheese, 30 grams as a serving. So it's not very much. So just be mindful of quantities and portions here. And then with regards to animal protein, we can see that fish features a whole lot more than meat. And that's red meat and white meat.
00:16:54 So we've got two or more servings of fish a week. So I would say, you know, up to about four servings So I would say, you know, up to about four servings of fish a week and it might be two of those are oily fish. So things like salmon and chavis, mackerel sardines. It might be you've got a portion of prawns and then some white fish like some cot or hate. We've got white meat.
00:17:17 So that's poultry and I was class pork in there as well. That's just two servings a week. So really focusing more on that fish. And we've still got red meat and we've got processed meat here as well. So with the red meat, it says two servings or less a week. So with the red meat, it says two servings or less a week. So I would say one to two servings, absolutely adequate.
00:17:37 And with the processed meat, I would class things like, you know, sausages and burgers, which can actually still be really good quality. And with all of this, I think quality is a really important word. So focusing more on quality versus quantity is really key. So just buying the best quality you can afford. You know, organic dairy we've spoken about with the meat, You know, organic dairy we've spoken about with the meat,
00:18:02 I would say grass fords, organic, try and get wild fish. You know, fish is very heavily farmed. So if you can, if you have access to wild options, then that's potentially a better choice. And like I said, nothing's excluded. So we've got wine at the top in moderation and we're going to talk about alcohol in a little bit. And we've got a slice of cake.
00:18:25 But the main thing I would say, I'm sure a lot of you would say, actually, I'm sure a lot of you would say, actually, you eat all of these foods, but it's just thinking about how we build that on a plate and the proportions and quantities of things. So let's have a look at that. So if we're thinking about this balanced plate
00:18:45 and thinking about that Mediterranean diet, where we saw the vegetables really being the foundation, you know, it's predominantly a plant-based diet, but we don't exclude the meat or fish. It's still there. But what we're looking at here is about half the plate But what we're looking at here is about half the plate should be vegetables.
00:19:01 So remember, eat the rainbow. That can include some fruits. We've got the herbs, the spices, we've got the garlic, the onions, and just really getting that diversity in. And then we've got a quarter of the plate as protein or we like to say a palm-sized portion. So that could be, you know, a fillet of salmon. It could be like a whole sea bass.
00:19:25 It could be a palm-sized portion of chicken. It could be half a cup of plant-based protein as well. It could be half a cup of plant-based protein as well. So it could be legumes. It could be chickpeas, beans, lentils. It could be tofu. And then with the whole grains, we've got a quarter of the plate
00:19:44 or it could be, say, half a cup. Or starchy vegetables. So things like the root veggies. So that's beetroot, potato, sweet potato carrots. They have a high-aglicemic lows. So when it comes to those, we kind of class them So when it comes to those, we kind of class them more with those whole grains
00:20:03 because they're going to be providing more of that kind of glucose and that energy for us, which is essential. You don't necessarily need, you know, the brown rice and the sweet potato, for example. You know, unless, again, if a recipe calls for it, then fine, but just be mindful of that. So thinking about how you're going to build that plate. And then not forgetting the healthy fats.
00:20:26 And what we like to say here is either a thumb-sized portion. And what we like to say here is either a thumb-sized portion. So that could be a thumb-sized portion of cheese, a sprinkling of healthy fats, a sprinkling of seeds or nuts. It could be a quarter of, I'm sorry, a thumb-sized portion of the avocado or a quarter. Or it could be a drizzle, a lovely drizzle, you know, even a tablespoon of that olive oil,
00:20:51 like extra virgin olive oil. So don't forget those all important healthy fats. So thinking about the vegetables, if you can try to eat the rainbow, if you can try to eat the rainbow, this is going to be fantastic for your fertility because it means that you're going to be getting all of these lovely antioxidants in.
00:21:10 And you would have heard a little bit about antioxidants and you're probably wondering, well, you know, what are they and do I need to be supplementing them? Well, I'd encourage you to really focus on getting these through your diet. And antioxidants in simple terms are just the vitamins and minerals, basically. And we've got things like polyphenols and et cetera.
00:21:27 And we've got things like polyphenols and et cetera. So let's look at some of these colors. So greens, for example. So any of those lovely dark, really leafy veggies, the broccoli, the kale, spinach, rocket, watercress, all of these are rich in folate, which is really essential during pregnancy, but also for fertility.
00:21:51 And that's also known as vitamin B9, or you might have heard about folic acid. Now these support our hormone balance. The greens also, things like the broccoli, The greens also, things like the broccoli, the cruciferous vegetables, the broccoli, the kale's and the cabbages, they also support detoxification. And on top of that, they have a few other nutrients.
00:22:13 Things like vitamin C, I've got vitamin K in the dark, really leafy veggies and even iron as well. The purples, so again, really rich in antioxidants. We've got polyphenols like the anthocyanins, these support egg and sperm, DNA. these support egg and sperm, DNA. So just really supporting that genetic material. They're very anti-inflammatory.
00:22:37 So thinking about things like berries here, even red onion, we've got aubergine and then beetroot. And actually beetroots are great food for fertility because it contains nitric oxide, which supports for lot of flow as well. And again, vitamin C features a lot in all of these different colors. It's abundant in a lot of fruits and vegetables.
00:22:58 It's abundant in a lot of fruits and vegetables. So we can find that in the purples. Then reds, so things like tomatoes, peppers, pubbygranate, watermelon. Now, I just want to spotlight that lycopene is a fantastic nutrient for male fertility. And we can find that in tomatoes and watermelon. Now with tomatoes, when we cook them, it releases more lycopene.
00:23:26 So it's the perfect time of year as we're entering the winter months and the colder months the winter months and the colder months to be using lots of tomatoes in soups and stews and glow cooker meals and things that you're making, they're a great staple for any fertility diet. Pomegranates again can really help support that blood flow. They do represent fertility, actually,
00:23:51 in some Mediterranean cultures as well. So a really, really good fertility food to add into your fertility diet. And then again, some of these reds have got the vitamin C, And then again, some of these reds have got the vitamin C, which is really, really important for fertility and a great antioxidant to reduce any DNA damage. Then the yellows and the oranges.
00:24:10 So again, just spotlighting the orange foods. Now these contain beta carotene, which is a form of vitamin A. Now we do need to convert beta carotene to the pre-formed form of vitamin A, like the retinoeic acid, for example, like the retinoeic acid, for example, but these orange foods and the beta carotene,
00:24:32 they're also rich in these antioxidants again. So they're supporting the egg health, sperm production. And again, we've got the vitamin C and some folate. Now let's just deep dive into one of the micronutrients. Obviously we don't have enough time to cover them all this evening, but I wanted to just share the importance of omega-3. And this study was looking at the female reproductive lifespan
00:24:57 in improving egg quality. And they found that supplementing and consuming lots of omega-3 in the diet actually reduced ovarian aging. So it's even a great one to think about from a preventative idea of preventing ovarian aging. And again, just really supporting and focusing on that egg quality.
00:25:25 And we spoke about the sperm membrane as well, being really rich in the DHA. being really rich in the DHA. And that comes from omega-3. And we'll have a little look at where we can get that from. So the richest source of omega-3 is oily fish. And the acronym is SMASH-T. So that stands for salmon, mackerel, anchovies,
00:25:45 sardines, herring and trout. So like I mentioned, when we were looking at the Mediterranean diet, try and incorporate two of these a week. And you can get tend options as well. You know, if it's not something that you can get fresh You know, if it's not something that you can get fresh or you can get wild readily available,
00:26:05 then even getting the tend mackerel, tins sardines, tind anchovies, these are a really good option. If your plant-based, then algae oil is a really great source of omega-3. And this also contains both the EPA and the DHA, like the oily fish. So that's a really good option.
00:26:25 Then we've got things like nuts and seeds. So these actually have ALA, So these actually have ALA, which is a different form of the omega-3. And we do need to convert it to the EPA and the DHA. So you don't want to rely slowly on these for your omega-3. You want to either get the oily fish or the algae oil in also.
00:26:45 But all nuts, for example, they're a really good example of a high omega-3 option. They've got a really nice balance of omega-3 into omega-6, which is a great option. It's something we need to be thinking about It's something we need to be thinking about when we're on our fertility journey. We've got a lot of omega-6 in the diet
00:27:05 from vegetable oils and processed foods now. So we really want to be making sure we're increasing the omega-3 by having things like the walnuts that are higher in omega-3 and the oily fish and algae oil. Then we've got seeds like the flax, hemp and chia seeds. Again, we do need to convert those, but don't be afraid of adding fats into your diet.
00:27:28 There's a study actually, it's called the 30 nuts as infertility, nuts study, it's called the 30 nuts as infertility, nuts study, where men were consuming 60 grams of nuts a day. That was walnuts, hazelnuts and almonds. And they saw huge improvements in their semen parameters. So they're really, really a fantastic snack. If you're not consuming, just raw nuts every day,
00:27:53 then please do. And the seeds, again, two to three tablespoons of these a day. Don't be shy with them. Don't be shy with them. Go for things like the flax. They're great to detox hormones and support estrogen clearance, also rich in the omega-3.
00:28:10 We've got hemp seeds and chia seeds as well. So go with the ones that you really enjoy eating, but I would encourage you to try and get a variety of them in. And I just wanted to touch on ultra process foods. So, you know, this is, it's been in a lot of sort of press in the last year, and it's been a big focus kind of in the nutrition world, and it's been a big focus kind of in the nutrition world,
00:28:33 but just kind of empower you to make better choices. I would really check the labels of foods. You know, I know it's not easy. You're not gonna be able to make everything from scratch. So there are gonna be some processed foods or things that you're buying from the supermarkets. And that's absolutely fine. But do just check the labels of things.
00:28:53 If you don't recognize the names, there's things like artificial sweeteners or syrups and oils, particularly the rapeseed and the sunflower oils, particularly the rapeseed and the sunflower oils, which are highly ultra processed and often very, very sprayed as well, with lots of pesticides, those kind of crops. You do just want to be mindful of those
00:29:14 and try and limit your intake. Also avoid MSG. Now, this has had a lot of press a long time ago, but it's kind of coming back into the forefront now because what supermarkets have done is they've actually sort of renamed it under different guises. is they've actually sort of renamed it under different guises. So for example, anything that sort of says natural flavoring
00:29:36 or yeast extract or E numbers, like E624, stock, corn syrup starch, rice syrup, and multidextrin, that's just another way of labeling MSG. So it's really challenging now to avoid these ultra processed foods. But if you look at a label and see natural flavoring, But if you look at a label and see natural flavoring, you'll think that that's okay,
00:30:02 but potentially there's MSG in there. Do check for additives and preservatives. So again, look for colors and flavors, stabilizers and preservatives like sodium nitrate. And do check the shelf life. No, if something, if some bread that you're buying, it's got a one month or two month shelf life, then it's gonna be highly processed.
00:30:25 So you're going to want to maybe consider making a better choice there. making a better choice there. Do evaluate the nutritional value. In the UK, we have like a traffic light system. And whilst I wouldn't look at that alone, checking the label, looking at the ingredients of things and looking at a traffic light system
00:30:45 can be helpful kind of factoring all of those things in together. Now, ultra processed foods are often hiring fat, sugar and sodium. So if you don't have the traffic light system, just look and get the nutritional value of things on the labels. on the labels.
00:31:00 And also just assess the processing. How far removed is that from the original food or ingredients? So if it's like a guacamole, for example, but it looks nothing like avocado, and you can see there's quite a lot of ingredients in there, then you're better off making something like that yourself or going for a cleaner option.
00:31:23 So let's think about that nutrition and how we can make some simple swaps. So thinking about eating the rainbow, So thinking about eating the rainbow, I would consider getting more color on your plate. So swapping say a white potato for a sweet or a purple potato with the fruit, berries are really rich in antioxidants
00:31:45 and a little bit on the less sweeter side than something like pineapple. We talked about the whole grain. So what we're talking about here is going for more brown or wild rice rather than white rice. Go for more whole foods. Go for more whole foods. Instead of like an ultra processed slice,
00:32:03 slice low, for example, go for a seeded sourdough, try and go for a savory snack rather than sweet snacks. Dark chocolate's going to be a much better option. And again, there was probably going to be less as is tips in there, less ingredients, lower in sugar than a milk chocolate. Like we spoke about fish features a lot more heavily than meat.
00:32:26 Instead of maybe having the tinned tuna a couple of times a week, swap for something like tinned salmon or sardines. swap for something like tinned salmon or sardines. Go for like a nut milk rather than an oat milk, for example, just thinking about that nut intake, but also we didn't touch on it too much tonight, but blood sugar balance.
00:32:46 Going for organic dairy, and that's kind of over like a skinny or a skimmed milk. Going for full fat, weak yogurt rather than like a fruit, low fat yogurt, for example, low fat yogurt, for example, and rather than a processed cheese, like organic fetters. So just thinking about the Mediterranean diet,
00:33:05 you know, the haloonies, the fetters. And then rather than going for non-organic, try and go for some organic. And we're going to look at this in a little bit more detail as we go through. So remember 50% of the DNA of the baby comes from the sperm and 50% comes from the eggs. So what we've spoken about this evening
00:33:27 is really important for both the female and the male is really important for both the female and the male as a couple to both be doing. So the antioxidants, lots of omega-3, making those simple swaps and just trying to limit those ultra-process foods, cooking a bit more from scratch and really getting that color in.
00:33:45 Pillar two lifestyle. So here's some of the key factors that can impact fertility. So first of all, endocrine disruptors and toxins. So with alcohol, you know, do you need to stop completely? do you need to stop completely? How much caffeine's okay?
00:34:03 These are really common questions that come up an awful lot in my practice and they can cause a lot of stress and anxiety for people. And the other one, big one is plastics and other environmental toxins like pesticides. Then we've got things like exercise and understanding, you know, what's okay?
00:34:22 And this really does require expertly trained guidance. And it shouldn't be case by case And it shouldn't be case by case 'cause everyone's different. Then we've got sleep. Now it's really important that this is optimized for both partners. We know that sort of five to six hours of sleep a night
00:34:43 can really impact hormone levels. It can impact the production of our hormones. Men that were getting between five and six hours of sleep a night, which is just not adequate enough. They're testosterone levels with that of a man 10 years older so it can have a significant impact so it can have a significant impact on both male and female fertility.
00:35:04 And with stress, there isn't enough research around stress impacting fertility outcomes, but we do know that elevated cortisol, which is our stress hormone, does have a knock on effect on our hormone levels. And so indirectly can impact our fertility. Now we don't have time to look at all of these areas tonight, but I wanted to deep dive into the end-crime disruptors.
00:35:27 but I wanted to deep dive into the end-crime disruptors. So let's have a look at alcohol and caffeine to begin with. So here, like we spoke about with the foods, I want you to focus more on quality over quantity. Now it is important that we're not kind of exceeding recommendations based on the research here, but rather than kind of going out and just kind of drinking what the things that you might have typically always drank,
00:35:58 just think about getting that quality. just think about getting that quality. And it's really, really important here. So when we think about wine, for example, it's highly sprayed. And apparently 700 grapes are used to make one bottle of wine. So that's an awful lot of pesticide that's potentially getting into your alcohol,
00:36:17 not to mention the other impacts it can have on fertility, which we'll talk about in a second, but really focusing on things like organic wine, biodynamic, when it comes to coffee, biodynamic, when it comes to coffee, it's quite a moldy food, actually, the way that it gets processed. So you want to again be focusing on organic,
00:36:38 focusing on higher quality, make sure it's mold-free. There's a great brand in the UK called Exhale Coffee. I highly recommend them, but as a minimum, just try and get organic. I'd say that's a really good starting point. Things that are made in small batches as well, if you know the local source of things, then even better. if you know the local source of things, then even better.
00:37:00 Now, how much is OK? So with alcohol, the study suggests that about five units a week or less is OK. Now, this really isn't very much, like a large glass of wine is about two and a half units of alcohol, so it could be only about two drinks a week. So really, that could potentially be quite a big change. But we know that any more than that really did start
00:37:29 to impact the quality of the sperm. to impact the quality of the sperm. And with caffeine, what we know for women, that they want to be making sure they're limiting that to 200 milligrams a day or less. In pregnancy, you shouldn't be consuming over 200 milligrams a day, but with caffeine, it really depends on how you're processing it, but you do really need to be mindful
00:37:52 of that. And we know there's some research that's coming out, with regards to mouth fertility, and just to express those, for example, a day, and just to express those, for example, a day, can really start to have a detrimental impact. So, you know, if you're having like five cups of coffee a day, really, you want to be pulling that right back.
00:38:11 You want to be thinking about going for decaf, but what I would mention with this is decafination of drinks, like teas and coffees, involves a lot of chemicals. So, you want to be getting something that's using the Swiss water decaf method of decafination that's chemical free, water decaf method of decafination that's chemical free, basically. So, don't kind of fall into that trap of like,
00:38:35 oh, I'm just going to switch to decaf. It might not be better for you, because it might have a lot more chemicals. So, really do be mindful of that intake. But like I said, you know, it's not, you don't have to stop drinking, you don't have to stop drinking coffee or alcohol. It's just about really moderation. And like I said, focus on that quality.
00:38:56 If it's buying one really lovely organic bottle of red wine If it's buying one really lovely organic bottle of red wine and you have that with your partner over two days, over a weekend and it's one and a half glasses, you know, two glasses each or you're sharing it with a family, then that's, you know, that's fine. It's just, it's not about cutting it out completely, but it's just about that moderation.
00:39:18 Now, plastics, this is a big one actually. We really need to be avoiding our plastic exposure. Unfortunately, BPA free is no better. It was kind of a solution that was offered to us It was kind of a solution that was offered to us so that we wouldn't avoid all plastics, but we're kind of finding out that actually, it's potentially just as bad.
00:39:38 We want to be avoiding heating food up in plastics, wrapping our food in plastics, plastic can leach into our foods as well. Especially thinking about foods like tomatoes, they're very acidic and tin tomatoes, for example, they're lined with often lined with BPA, they're lined with often lined with BPA, so lined with plastic so that the metal doesn't leach
00:40:04 into the tomatoes, but of course, the plastic will be leaching into the tomatoes. So what I would do to avoid that is go for tomatoes and glass jars or if a recipe calls for a tin of tomatoes, just use fresh ones. It really doesn't add too much cooking time on, they can reduce down quite quickly and then just add a little bit of passartan
00:40:28 if you need the kind of more liquid sides of things, if you need the kind of more liquid sides of things, but just be mindful of those sort of hidden plastics. Also, watch out things like, you know, you might be getting a paper coffee cup, but there's going to be a plastic lid on there. So like a little hack for you would be to take the plastic lid off, but do be mindful, some of these even paper cups
00:40:50 are lined in plastic as well. So better yet, use your own reusable coffee cup, you can get glass ones, metal ones with your water bottle, you can get glass ones, metal ones with your water bottle, I have a metal one here. So yeah, just try and avoid plastics as much as possible. We've got micro-pastics even in our water now. So, you know, if you can get bottled water or filthy or water,
00:41:15 maybe make a swap from non-natural cosmetics and body care and make up to more natural options. And I've got chewing on pens here because, you know, you'd be surprised this does come up sometimes you'd be surprised this does come up sometimes with my clients where they've just, you know, they've just got this sort of habit where they're chewing on their pen
00:41:36 and, you know, after a couple of weeks, it's all chewed at the end and it's like, where's that plastic gone? So, you know, they're all around us and just day to day we're coming in soaked into so much, into contact with them. So doing what we can to reduce that exposure. Now, when it comes to pesticides,
00:41:55 there's been an awful lot in the press and the media in the last year around this. in the last year around this. And actually we've got research going back a few years even around higher consumption of pesticides is associated with the reduced pregnancy and live birth following IVF basically. So really worrying data that's coming out.
00:42:16 Now, I want to share with you, this is the UK's Dirty Dursum. So every year this list comes out and these are the most highly sprayed fruits and vegetables. Now this list changes every year Now this list changes every year but there's quite common culprits that we see every year. So we've got strawberries on it this year
00:42:38 but berries I would say in general come up every year. So in, you know, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and various different guises. So I would say try and get all berries organic. We can see we've got spinach and lettuce on here. Again, leaves in all of their different forms come up every year. So again, spinach, lettuce, things like kale.
00:42:59 So again, spinach, lettuce, things like kale. I would even class broccoli and that as well. And, you know, we can see here actually these all tend to be things that grow above ground and they're the things that, you know, the bugs and the slugs and things love to eat and that's why they're highly sprayed. The EU does differ a little bit
00:43:20 and actually you have more strict regulations around what pesticides are used. Unfortunately in the UK now where we've left the EU Unfortunately in the UK now where we've left the EU we have over 40 pesticides that have been banned by the EU that are still in use. So unfortunately we do need to be quite mindful of this to reduce that exposure.
00:43:44 Now let's have a look at some of these simple swaps with regard to lifestyles. So like I said, instead of going for non-organic wine, go for organic, instead of decaf coffee we spoke about the Swiss water decaf being a better option if you're gonna reduce your caffeine intake. reduce your caffeine intake.
00:44:01 Instead of using plastic water bottles or plastic containers and things to store your food in just slowly start, you know, replacing things with metal, glass, storage or glass water bottles. Instead of using disposable coffee cups that you kind of use once and throw away, you know, better for the environment to use something that will be useful and obviously better for your fertility health as well
00:44:27 that it's gonna be glass or metal. You can get things like these wax wraps You can get things like these wax wraps that replace cling film. You can actually get plant-based cling film as well. So that is still an option if you need to use cling film. It's much better than plastic and going for those fresh tomatoes or passata
00:44:45 instead of the tinned tomatoes and then thinking about your makeup as well. And again, you don't have to change all of this overnight. You know, you don't want to be adding to people's stress here but as things run out, just slowly start making the switch to more natural options. to more natural options. So that comes with your makeup, body care, skin care, et cetera.
00:45:06 And, you know, instead of buying non-organic foods and you don't have to buy all organic but just look for the dirty dozen that's like local to you. There's different lists in America as well. So, you know, it's depending on where you are in your region, you can seek that out. And then instead of drinking water from the tap, go for filtered water.
00:45:29 go for filtered water. We didn't talk about exercise tonight. We just don't have enough time to cover everything. But one thing to be mindful of is the kind of stress that we can add to our stress load by doing things like HIIT workouts and lower intensity workouts are gonna be a better option while you're trying to conceive.
00:45:51 And we didn't talk about our sleep but one thing that can really impact sleep is that blue light. is that blue light. So things, you know, our telephones, our mobile phones, our laptops, our TVs, they're all emitting this blue light. So, you know, about an hour before bed, you want to be limiting your exposure to that blue light.
00:46:14 Just put some rules in place where, you know, at a certain time your phone goes off or you charge it in a different room for your bedroom, for example, and just really avoid that scrolling. So, pillar three, mindset. So just to remind you or share this data actually So just to remind you or share this data actually that you're not alone, one in seven couples in the UK
00:46:36 struggle to conceive and globally it's as many as one in six. So you're not alone in this journey. And just remind yourself of that because it can feel quite lonely and isolating when you're going through your fertility journey. So let's have a little chat about some tools to support your mindset. So we can talk about mindset without thinking about
00:46:59 some of our neuro transmitters. some of our neuro transmitters. And these are our happy hormones. So we've got things like serotonin, dopamine, our endorphins and our oxytocin. And, you know, these might come sort of, they're probably on the bottom of your list when you're focusing on fertility,
00:47:14 but actually they're really, really important. We've got our serotonin, it's our happy hormone. We've got oxytocin, our love hormone, our endorphins, which are induced from things like exercise. We'll talk a little bit more about these in a second, but really important not to overlook these. but really important not to overlook these. Then we've got things like mindfulness,
00:47:32 gratitude and self-care. And often these are very much on the bottom of the list. You know, it might be you're optimizing your nutrition, you're making sure you're getting all the right supplements in, you're asking all the right questions in an IVF context, but don't forget the importance of, you know, things like breath work, journaling, even being out in nature can really, you know,
00:47:56 reduce your stress and anxiety. It can reduce depression even. It can reduce depression even. It's really grounding and nourishing. So just try and make some time and space for you and find joy along the way in what can be quite a, like a tough and grueling process. With self-care, you know, what does it mean to you?
00:48:16 It's gonna be different for everyone. It might be a bubble bath with one person or it might be, you know, treating yourself to a massage for someone else. So however that looks for you, it's really individual, but don't lose sight of that while you're on your fertility but don't lose sight of that while you're on your fertility journey.
00:48:33 And also there's things like natural therapies. And I really count these within that remit of self-care as well. So, you know, taking some time out to have acupuncture. I'm a huge fan of acupuncture to support fertility. There's quite a lot of research to back it up as well, particularly around IZF and sort of supporting cycles, things like PCOS.
00:48:55 But, you know, it might be that you don't want to have acupuncture, you don't like needles. So letting other options like reflexology, for example. So letting other options like reflexology, for example. And don't forget to celebrate your small wins. So hopefully there's some things that you've learned tonight. And, you know, don't forget to celebrate those small wins of any changes that you start to make this week,
00:49:16 whether that's adding more color on your plate, increasing your oily fish intake. And also, you know, I haven't talked much about my continued confidence programme, but it is something that's going to be confidence programme, but it is something that's going to be available to you as well on the platform. And finally, finding your support system, you know, what does this look like for you?
00:49:38 Is it that you need some counselling or therapy? Is it your partner? Is it your friends, your family? Is it that you need more support in the workplace? And what does that look like? So let's just have a quick look at these happy hormones. We've got our serotonin. Now, this is our mood regulator.
00:49:57 Now, we know that serotonin can have a significant influence Now, we know that serotonin can have a significant influence on the menstrual cycle. It can support ovulation and implantation. Low levels have been associated with anxiety, depression, mood swings, and this can all negatively impact reproductive health. So we really want to be supporting those serotonin levels.
00:50:22 And we can do this by supporting our gut health. We produce the majority of our serotonin in our gut. We produce the majority of our serotonin in our gut. So, you know, thinking about this antioxidants, thinking about all that fibre, those whole food sources, all fantastic support serotonin and support our gut health. Then we've got dopamine. Now, we have, this is our reward system.
00:50:46 So we feel the effects of that dopamine when we engage in activities that we enjoy. So again, you know, just don't lose sight of this on your fertility journey. You know, what is it that you enjoy doing? You know, what is it that you enjoy doing? Is it sports? Is it achieving a particular goal?
00:51:04 Or is it eating good food? Really, really important on our fertility journey. And it also influences sexual desire as well. And endorphins. Now, I talk about these a lot with my fertility clients, especially in relation to IVF. Now, they are really, really important on that fertility journey.
00:51:29 We release them during exercise when we engage in We release them during exercise when we engage in creative activities, laughter, music, sex even, and they promote relaxation and they really help to reduce stress. So if you are going through the IVF, for example, you really want to be making sure that you're supporting those endorphins, you know, you're having, if it's like a rom-com or having, you know, a good laugh and doing things that you enjoy,
00:51:55 whether it's that exercise, then that's all going to help just balance some of that stress from the fertility journey. just balance some of that stress from the fertility journey. And then finally, we've got our oxytocin, which is our love hormone. Now, this has a potential role in fertility via the female fertility and also supports motility of sperm as well. Now, we most commonly know it for its role in labor and
00:52:23 breastfeeding, but also just from touch and bonding as well. So, you know, whether that's a hug, whether it's a massage. So, you know, whether that's a hug, whether it's a massage. And sometimes when we're on our fertility journey, some of this oxytocin can be depleted. We might feel quite lonely or isolated, disconnected from others. So, you know, don't overlook the importance of touch, even just
00:52:48 the good hug, holding hands with your partner, etc. can really help boost that. Now, just as we finish, I want to just share this one minute rescue breath as well, which can help support you while you're rescue breath as well, which can help support you while you're in your fertility journey. Now, you want to be sitting in a comfortable position. It could be seated.
00:53:07 It could be lying down or could be standing. And what you want to do is breathe in through your nose and then sharply out through your mouth, sticking your tongue out and making a noise. And you want to do this three times. And this is going to get rid of any of that stale energy, that stale air. If you're feeling quite stressed, this is a great one to
00:53:32 practice, just to bring you back to your breath. And then once you've done that three times, you want to close your eyes, breathe in through the nose for one, two, three, four, five, and out through your nose for one, two, three, four, five. You want to be inhaling the air deeply to fill your chest and bring that breath down into your abdomen. bring that breath down into your abdomen.
00:54:01 And it's really about connecting with your abdomen, your reproductive organs. And when you do this, you want to be visualising this smile happening in your lower abdomen and recall that warm feeling you get when you smile and just really bring this down into your belly. So feel free to take a screenshot of this. I think it's a great one to practise in those moments where
00:54:24 you've experienced something triggering or you feel quite stressed out. Just take a minute. And that's all it takes to just get back into your breath and And that's all it takes to just get back into your breath and bring that down right down into your belly and to support that blood flow as well and that oxygenation to the reproductive organs.
00:54:43 And then another lovely little exercise is to just connect with all of the things you love. So this again is going to look really different for everyone. These are some of the things that I love and that I really prioritise. So things like nourishing foods. I love to hug chocolate. I love to hug chocolate.
00:55:00 I do love a good rom-com and that's really going to help support those endorphins and those happy hormones. You know, is it your husband, your family, your friends, cozy clothes? I love walks in nature. I really, really find cooking very therapeutic and a real stress relief. I love Pilates yoga and also my girlfriend.
00:55:23 So it's really important that while I'm on a fertility journey and I have been, you know, to conceive my son, I had journey and I have been, you know, to conceive my son, I had to go through my own fertility journey that I reconnected with all of the things I love. And I think we can really lose sight of these when we're kind of bogged down with all of the other things that we need to focus on.
00:55:41 So don't lose sight of these because they're so important things to make sure that you incorporate in, you know, a weekly or a monthly basis to help support your mindset while you're on this journey. So let's have a look at some simple swaps. So really it's about looking at your mindset, looking at your So really it's about looking at your mindset, looking at your lifestyle, maybe saying no to things instead of saying yes to
00:56:05 everything, setting boundaries, instead of not having boundaries, you know, thinking about that support network, you know, talking to your friends or your family or your partner about things rather than keeping everything bottles up. And I think men, men, you know, do overlook this a little bit. Because I think a lot of the fertility process can feel quite female centric and men can often bottle things up that quite female centric and men can often bottle things up that
00:56:32 actually they're feeling a lot of pressure. And, you know, it's a lot to be thinking about at the time. So don't keep everything bottles up and really share your journey with each other. And, you know, don't deny that you need help. Ask for help. You know, they say it takes a village to bring a child up. But I really think it takes a village to support your
00:56:53 fertility as well. So, you know, look at that support network. Do you need to, are you going to benefit from acupuncture, Do you need to, are you going to benefit from acupuncture, therapy, you know, whatever that help looks like fertility nutrition, you know, it all, it really does help to have that support network in place. And avoid googling everything.
00:57:15 You want to be avoiding that. You want to be feeling confident. And hopefully there'll be a little bit less googling following, you know, everything I've shared this evening. And then think about swapping that late night Netflix for journaling or meditation or breath work. journaling or meditation or breath work. Instead of working out indoors with your exercise,
00:57:33 get outside into nature. We know it really helps support and reduce stress and anxiety. And don't make self-care an after-caught for it. Should really be a priority for you. And instead of doing it all on your own, make sure that you get the right support. Now, we're going to swiftly finish with busting myths. So first of all, this is a huge myth that AMH is a marker for
00:57:55 So first of all, this is a huge myth that AMH is a marker for fertility. Now, AMH stands for anti-malarian hormone. It is something that fertility clinics will often test. But let me just clear this up for you, that it's just, it's absolutely not a marker for fertility. So often this is tested when you first go to a fertility clinic.
00:58:24 It's most commonly tested. And it's really just looking at your suitability for IVF. You might have been told your AMH is low for age. You might have been told your AMH is low for age. But it's no bearing on the quality of the embryos or the eggs, sorry, that you have. So don't feel like you're being rushed into IVF, for example, if you're told your AMH is low for age and you need to start
00:58:47 tomorrow. We can see from everything that I've shared with you, the savings, that there's an awful lot to cover. And we've barely scratched the surface of the savings. There was a lot we didn't touch on or didn't look at more in more detail. in more detail. But we really want to be making sure we've got that three
00:59:03 months, just thinking about that DNA quality of the egg and the sperm. The only supplement I need is folic acid, again, a huge myth. So again, a lot of fertility clinics will talk about folic acid. Make sure you're supplementing with folic acid. Now that's actually the synthetic form of folate. And it's methyl folate is much more bioavailable and easily
00:59:25 And it's methyl folate is much more bioavailable and easily to utilize by the body basically because it's the food form. It's similar to the food form of folate, which is vitamin B9. Now, a lot of the fertility clinics will just talk about folic acid because unfortunately, that's where the majority of the kind of old studies were looking at in relation to the neural tube defects in pregnancy.
00:59:58 However, a lot of supplements now, good quality However, a lot of supplements now, good quality supplements all contain methyl folate or folic acid, rather than folic acid. So do check your supplements and you want to be making sure that it's folate or methyl folate or folic acid that you've got rather than the folic acid. Up to about 60% of the population can't actually convert the
01:00:22 synthetic form of folic acid into folate. So it's quite important that you're supplementing with the methyl folate and of course, making sure that you're getting methyl folate and of course, making sure that you're getting all of those greens in like we looked at at the beginning of the webinar this evening to get that folate, that vitamin B9. And then myth number three, IVF is the only option if we haven't conceived naturally within 12 months.
01:00:49 So this is where often if you haven't conceived within 12 months and you know, between 80 and 90% of people do conceive within the first 12 months, you do need to give it a nice amount of time. the first 12 months, you do need to give it a nice amount of time. I would say that if you're over the age of 35, if you haven't conceived within six months, you do want to start getting the ball rolling with some investigations, go and speak to your GP, you know, a medical professional, get some blood
01:01:18 tests, run, see an analysis, just get the ball rolling with some initial tests, maybe a scan and things like that. But no, it's not the only option. If you haven't conceived with naturally within 12 months, If you haven't conceived with naturally within 12 months, then I would definitely, you know, obviously look at all of the support that's going to be in the Consevio app. There's so much that we can do that we haven't covered tonight
01:01:40 with the webinar to support your fertility naturally. So if you haven't done some of the things that we've spoken about tonight, then we need to give it a further three months to make those changes and start to see some improvements coming through. But there's an awful lot. There's this gray area between what the GP offers. There's this gray area between what the GP offers. And what we look at as fertility nutritionists, where we have a
01:02:05 lot of functional fertility tests that we can use that can shed more light on what's going on for you. And I would also just finish by saying that don't forget, your fertility is a marker of your overall health and vice versa. So if you've got any niggling health issues that are going on, then I would want to explore those in more detail first to optimize your overall health and therefore your first to optimize your overall health and therefore your
01:02:30 fertility. So just as we finish, meet Zara and her partner, they were trying for a baby for three years. She's unfortunately had two miscarriages all quite early between seven and nine weeks. She's had some investigation, but nothing was conclusive. They were told to just continue to try naturally. She's going way after the miscarriage as well, the last one. And again, her partner, Stephen Analysis, was normal, but he
01:02:56 And again, her partner, Stephen Analysis, was normal, but he was about to turn 40. She was 35. Both had a lot of stress going on. Now, we really worked on optimizing their nutrition. We made every male count. He was skipping a few meals. He wasn't having breakfast, for example.
01:03:16 We stopped all that. We made sure every meal was balanced. This was fake about tonight. There were a few gut issues going on. There was vaginal microbiome issues going on. So we did some testing. We supported there. We supported there.
01:03:30 We saw a little bit of healthy weight loss. We reduced information and supported nutritional deficiencies. And Zara went on to have a healthy little boy in 2022, and they felt really supported and more confident in their next steps. And this is what Zara said. I've actually got this. This is part of a full review. It's on my Google page.
01:03:54 So she shared more about her journey on there. But she just couldn't believe that before the three months were up, they had a positive pregnancy test, and they were over the moon. they had a positive pregnancy test, and they were over the moon. And they really believed that the guidance and attention to detail was one of the leading factors that contributed to their miracle news. And then this is another partner, actually,
01:04:15 just to give you a little bit of an insight on the male review from a male client of mine. He said, Jen has a wealth of knowledge about nutrition, even keen understanding of fertility. She's been instrumental in getting me and my wife to a point She's been instrumental in getting me and my wife to a point where we've been successful in our journey, and we couldn't have done it without her.
01:04:37 So we're finishing up there. I know there's been quite a few questions. Please do give me a follow on Instagram, and there's my website as well. So it's generalpolenutrition or generalpole.com.
