How Antioxidants Can Increase Your Chances of Pregnancy
Pilar Manzanaro
Webinar
64 min
00:00:00 And good morning or good evening wherever you are right now. So first of all, welcome to tonight's webinar. We are waiting one or two minutes before we really start webinars. We can get the last people joining the call. And if you want to share, I know we have a pretty international audience today. So please share your location and we can see if we can maybe get the whole world map. world map.
00:00:30 I mean that would be impressive. Okay, let's start. And for you that are just joining the webinar, we are waiting one or two minutes before we really dig into the information. So in the meantime, if you want to share, you can share your location and we can see our audience and where we are located.
00:00:57 audience and where we are located. And I know we especially today, we have a very large audience. So the people that signed up was basically located all around the world. So I'm looking much forward to see if we can represent all the continents. So please share if you don't, it's also completely fine. And for you that are just joining the webinar, we are waiting one more minute And for you that are just joining the webinar, we are waiting one more minute before we go
00:01:31 into the presentation. It gives us time for the people that are finishing the cooking or whatever they are doing to really enjoy it. It is at a time, isn't it? Yeah. Hopefully everybody will be having a very, very healthy full of antioxidants dinner.
00:01:50 Tonight. I'd need to know how to implement it after the webinar. Absolutely. That's a good idea too. Absolutely. No takeaways and no fried food. So I think now we are two minutes past and I'm sure people will still be joining, but
00:02:14 now we just start the webinar and then people can ask their questions and join later. So yeah, welcome, welcome to tonight's webinar from CanXivio. We discuss fertility and science based tools that can help you optimize We discuss fertility and science based tools that can help you optimize fertility and change upcoming pregnant. My name is Sebastian and I'm a scientist and co-founder of CanXivio.
00:02:39 I have worked many years in science and I obtained my PhD at the hospital. But personally, I have been on this fertility journey for more than seven years . And I have made it in my mission to help others try to achieve. And that's founded in my experience by going online, trying to find the right information and then actually implement some of this information. and then actually implement some of this information.
00:03:01 So my personal journey have made this my primary interest. Today our speaker is Pilah. Pilah is a leading nutritional therapist located in the UK. She's also a certified functional medicine practitioner with the Institute of functional medicine in the US. Pilah has more than 15 years experience in supporting both men and women, trying to conceive
00:03:28 and she, I don't know, she has a special interest in advanced and functional and she, I don't know, she has a special interest in advanced and functional testing. She works virtually with her clinic but also helps on creating programs and participating in groups of all and teaching sessions. Together with Pilah, it is our desire to provide you with the exact sex science based educational
00:03:50 content with infertility that can help you separate the confusing and sometimes misguided information to what is founded in science. information to what is founded in science. To deliver that, we are kind of kickstarting with this webinar series but our app is launching in October. In the app, we give you access to free educational content including a
00:04:13 personalized generated program that is based on your needs. Furthermore, we have an anonymous community and our science trade, trade coach with your call, concidia that you can chat with instantly for free and these forums and call, concidia that you can chat with instantly for free and these forums and the coach has been traded on science data and are there for your guidance, your questions and
00:04:35 your support. For today with Pilah, she is going to teach us how we can improve the amount of antioxidants in our meal and how that can help with optimizing and preserving fertility. Important for fertility is how it preserves sperm and a quality. In the end, Pilah and I are hosting a QA session so if you have any questions during the webinar, feel free to note them down in the chat or remember them and ask them in the
00:04:57 feel free to note them down in the chat or remember them and ask them in the end of the webinar. So with that, welcome, Pilah. Thank you so much for having me and thank you everybody else on the call for joining as well. So Sebastian has mentioned he is on a fertility journey.
00:05:19 I have my own fertility journey but many years ago and it is a very different landscape at the moment because when I started my fertility journey, there was zero information out there. information out there. There was nothing. Whereas now there might be an overwhelming amount of information and in the same way that Sebastian
00:05:38 has got his mission is to help people basically get pregnant. For me, making sure that people understand the information out there, make the most of it, use what's good for them and don't get near what's not good for them. So that's kind of my mission in my professional life at the moment. And I've been working on the industry for many years and antioxidants is one of And I've been working on the industry for many years and antioxidants is one of those
00:06:03 areas that is really, is very rewarding because he has a huge, a hugely positive effect on your wellbeing and as a result, your fertility. So let's just start it. Yeah? So we just start talking about antioxidants and what's good for you. I've put together a little bit of a presentation here as a bit of a guide but also because
00:06:29 then it's a blessing can share it with you later and that way you've got the then it's a blessing can share it with you later and that way you've got the pointers in there and a list of the foods and a list of the tests and all that. So it can be a bit of a reference document later if you need it. So proper carer that's me or my company and this is me. So yes, I'm an international therapist and I'm qualified in the UK and the US and I work
00:06:51 worldwide because I'm virtual these days. So let's talk about antioxidants and the role they play in fertility. So let's talk about antioxidants and the role they play in fertility. So I want to take a couple of steps back because antioxidants is like where everybody knows about and talks about but the question is why is it, why are they important? I mean, you know, how does it matter whether you've got enough antioxidants in your body
00:07:15 or not? And let's just sort of like go back to basics a little bit and I just realized that my camera froze. So I think I'm going to turn off my camera just in case you can hear me well. I'll turn it back on in a little bit just in case it helps. I'll turn it back on in a little bit just in case it helps. So just going back to basics.
00:07:34 Antioxidants have those compounds in foods. So those chemicals, the good stuff in foods that can scab in, grab in, vacuum and neutralize free radicals. So now the question is like what is free radical? What else is that? And the free radical is basically an haptic little molecule. It's something that kind of like appears in your body either because of
00:07:55 something that your body is producing so it can be endogenous or something that you expose your body is producing so it can be endogenous or something that you expose your body to either by eating it or kind of like putting yourself in that environment and they can cause damage to your DNA, to your cells, to your tissues and we'll talk about that a
00:08:14 little bit later. The best known or the most spoken about free radicals is something called ross or reactive oxygen species which are low on module levels are actually necessary. So there's a lot of things in our body that in large amounts are bad for us but So there's a lot of things in our body that in large amounts are bad for us but a little bit of it is necessary.
00:08:36 Same with inflammation, right? If you hurt yourself, if you've got an infection, if you've got a cut, you need a bit of inflammation from you immune system and for you immune system to help you heal in small amounts. So if rife inflammation, so to the fair, widespread inflammation, even if it's at low level, it's not good.
00:08:58 Neither is oxidation. Neither is oxidation. So when we got a lot of oxidative stress and we'll see the equation that put together like a slight is to explain exactly what it is. When oxidation is high, the body starts inflaming, it starts damaging its DNA and causing damage to the cells.
00:09:18 So now they're designed to resonate with fertility, right? So we've got DNA, we've got cells, they do play a really important role in fertility. Our eggs and sperm are full of DNA and they're cells, right? Our eggs and sperm are full of DNA and they're cells, right? So if we damage them, the chance of conception or again a successful fertil ization, and the higher the oxidation, the higher the inflammation, the higher the risk of
00:09:42 chronic diseases, that's not what we're talking about, the number, it's an important thing to remember that when you're sort of working on your oxidative stress, do not just work on your fertility, you are the time being, but you're basically working on your long-term health and decreasing the risk of things like cancer, diabetes and another chronic conditions.
00:09:59 the risk of things like cancer, diabetes and another chronic conditions. So before we mentioned that limited amounts of this reactive oxygen species are important for sperm production, but also for fertilization. And we'll see the fine tune between having no oxidation at all, having a small amount when the egg and the sperm meet and we get them magic, where the embryo is produced and
00:10:28 it gets implanted. it gets implanted. So what antioxidants? Well some of them can be produced by their body. The alcoholic cancer, and if you've been on this fertility journey for more than three days you will know exactly what I'm talking about, and so on, the antioxidants support
00:10:44 your egg and sperm quality, it can also regulate your hormones a little bit and glutathione. So those two can be produced by their body, we can find them in seeds, we can find them in supplements, and we'll talk about the foods and we'll talk about supplements later. They can also be found in fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, extra virgin They can also be found in fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds, extra virgin
00:11:03 olive oil, avocados for the vegetable, more fruit actually. So can you see where we're going to get them from? Basically all the good, healthy, fresh, nourishing stuff. If you look at things like processed food, McDonald's, Kentucky Fried Chicken, a pizza delivery, they're going to be anything, nothing in there, right? You need to go back to the fresh stuff that you get from the green grocers,
00:11:27 from the organic shop, and if not from the supermarket, but you know the good stuff. shop, and if not from the supermarket, but you know the good stuff. Now what are the free radical sources? Where are these reactive oxygen species? Where are the nasties coming from? So let's talk for a minute and think. They come from the environment, but they also come from us, from our body.
00:11:47 I'm going to turn the camera on, see if it works now, if it doesn't turn it back on again. And Sebastian, do let me know if the camera is causing any issues with that with sound. So as I said, free radicals can come from our body, from cell metabolism. So as I said, free radicals can come from our body, from cell metabolism. So just to sort of explain what cell metabolism is, is basically the energy production.
00:12:09 So if you heard about or you know anything about the mitochondria, mitochondria is what it describes as the engine of the cell, but also the sperm, we'll see that later. So is that little sort of like engine that kind of takes in resources, typically glucose, and makes energy for you to kind of get through your day. That produces free radicals, it produces reactive species.
00:12:28 That produces free radicals, it produces reactive species. And it kind of equates a little bit to sort of like an open fire. An open fire produces energy, it warms you up, right? So cell metabolism will also warm you up, it produces you know you can increase your temperature, but it also produces this sort of like byproduct of free radicals. So what are the, I mean this is completely normal and the body is unexpected and the body
00:12:55 does this on a you know not in a daily basis every millisecond of your life, right? right? Because you produce an energy otherwise if you had no energy or wouldn't be talking to you, right? And the body's got this sort of sources of antioxidants, this said, this procedures that
00:13:10 come and zap this, this free radicals to make sure that they're not producing or they're not causing any harm. If for example, we eat too much food, we carry excess weight, the cell metabolism is going to be upregulated, you can be producing a much higher level of free radicals. to be upregulated, you can be producing a much higher level of free radicals. If you exercising a lot, that's later on in there in this bullet points, but if
00:13:37 you exercise in a lot, you're going to be producing and burning a lot of energy, you're going to increase that heat, you're going to increase that oxidative stress or that oxygen load. But it's not to say that exercise is not good for you, that's not what I'm saying at all, right?
00:13:55 Exercise is amazing for you, for your physical health, mental health, general wellbeing, you know, keeping your weight in check and profitability as well. If exercise, you know, sort of do it like ultra marathons or a marathon, you're having run more than a mile in your life or, you know, sort of for all of a sudden taking up, you know, some sort of like triathlon challenge when you're trying to conceive,
00:14:19 might not be the best of ideas because your oxidation is going to increase and that's up if the sort of side effect, your, your eggs, your sperm might be affected, your hormonal balance hormonal balance might be affected. To be sensible, if you exercise in quite a bit, you know, maybe you're going to
00:14:35 take it back a bit or continue to do it if you're happy with that. If you're not exercising at all, take it up, like, you know, sort of do a little bit of moderate exercise, like walking, you know, maybe progress to gentle jogging, go to the gym, but it'd be sensible, don't do anything to extreme. And that's kind of coming from us, from inside our body as we kind of, you know
00:14:57 , live our lives. And also external sources, this pollution, which sadly, there's not that much And also external sources, this pollution, which sadly, there's not that much we can do about. I mean, you know, we can do sort of like, you know, little beds to sort of make pollution
00:15:10 as a general sort of element, sort of get better, but you know, sort of like an individual basis, like your own pollution, sort of exposure is quite difficult to control, smoking, that is 100% controllable, right? Smoking, nicotine gum, vaping, good for bed, all of those things are incredibly harmful because they increase your oxidation, they increase your inflammation, they
00:15:28 because they increase your oxidation, they increase your inflammation, they would directly affect your chances of conceiving. So there's one thing that you can do is to start sort of like taking a look at, you know, the toxins, they bring your body to smoking, if you do any drugs that you might be doing, any, you know, with a amount of alcohol that is more than, you know, a teeny
00:15:49 little bit on the weekends. That's something that you can definitely action on as soon as we, you know, witness this presentation. Radiation, and you know, there's different kinds of radiation. Radiation, and you know, there's different kinds of radiation. I mean, it's sort of like the thing that you need if you, you know, go for bed, diagnose
00:16:04 with cancer, but this also thinks that, you know, carrying your mobile phone, kind of like stuck to your body all the time. And even worse, putting in your pocket because if you put it in your trousers pocket, guess what it is? It's very close to your testers and your ovaries. Don't put it there.
00:16:19 Don't put it there. Just put it somewhere else in your handbag because, and if you can, you know, the minute you sort of like sitting on somewhere, just put somewhere, you know, you know, all the tables somewhere else. So it's not next to you. You know, so being very close to sort of like those electricity masks, it's not
00:16:29 You know, so being very close to sort of like those electricity masks, it's not really there, right? So trying not to do that. Medication, it can be a free radical source, but you need it. If you need the medication, then what you need to do is act the oxy, the antioxidants not kind of reduce the medication.
00:16:46 Exercise we've spoken about, heavy metals. That's a really interesting one because there's a lot of sort of like detox, you know, talk and presentations and, you know, sort of handouts and things out on the internet. The liver is amazing. The liver is amazing. The liver would do that job for you.
00:17:03 You know, the liver is there to detox to eliminate all the rubbish that sort of concentrates in your body and needs to get out, right? Heavy metals, however, can have a very, a very sort of a very high impact on our well-being if we're supposed to too much of them. So what am I talking about? I'm talking about things that I can lead.
00:17:26 There is less and less in fuels, but there's still quite a bit in the air. There is less and less in fuels, but there's still quite a bit in the air. And because it's in the air, it's going to end up in the water. And if you drink tap water, it might be there. Mercury, you know, every day knows about Mercury, right? In the sea, it's in the fish we eat, it's in the seafood we eat. So I'm not saying I'm going to need an official tool. I'm saying is that if you like fish, then you're eating it, trying to eat the
00:17:52 cleaner, the better, and also the smaller, the better. Fatty fish, things like sore fish and tuna, they're huge, which basically means Fatty fish, things like sore fish and tuna, they're huge, which basically means they spend a lot of time in the water, in the ocean, absorbing, absorbing all these metals . I mean, metals are also micro, you know, microplastics and other stuff, right?
00:18:12 So the smaller the fish, the better. So if you've got a choice between anchovies or sardines and tuna, definitely go for the sardines, even if they're bismally, they're so good for you. And although all they have in metals, things like aluminium, for example, you know, things you know, sort of, if you cook in aluminium pans, you might be getting a little you know, sort of, if you cook in aluminium pans, you might be getting a little
00:18:33 bit of that. You might lead into that, into the water, the sauce. And that might be a relatively small amount, but if you could take away, you know, those sort of containers, if you stick those in the oven, if you reheat them, if you leave the food in there, you might actually be sort of increasing your amount, amount of
00:18:50 aluminium that you ingesting. If you eat a rice, believe it or not, because the bacteria in their rice patt ies sort of ies sort of metabolize them, they're aluminium in a way that aluminium and also the arsenic , it was a little bit too arsenic there, but metabolize the arsenic so it becomes absorb
00:19:10 able by the our bodies. So we've talked about arsenic, we've talked about aluminium, we've talked about mercury, so anything that you can sort of reduce would be absolutely amazing. If you call any concerns about your exposure to any of these metals, that'd be a good thing to do a test.
00:19:25 It tends to be a urine test, so basically the test is how much of these metals It tends to be a urine test, so basically the test is how much of these metals you're screting through the urine. You can do a blood test as well, but it's not quite as conclusive because these metals tend to be hidden or kept in the fat cells, that's how the body stores them if it's
00:19:42 not eliminated. So you can test, especially if you have any sort of symptoms, so the young constant chronic joint pain, there's no explained by anything else, brain fog, excessive weight loss or weight gain, there's no really explained by anything either. weight gain, there's no really explained by anything either. You might be something worth exploring if you call any concerns.
00:20:04 Now the food we eat, it is so important that we eat things that are foods that are freshly prepared from fresh ingredients, from raw ingredients, from basic ingredients. So when you buy a ready to eat meal, you're sort of at a sign here from the supermarket. It's going to have additives, it's going to have preservatives, it's going to have collarings, it's going to have flavourings, it's going to have a ton of full
00:20:28 stuff that you don't want to put in your body because the chemicals and your body is going you don't want to put in your body because the chemicals and your body is going to react in a way that is going to increase your oxidation. So try to reduce those ready to eat foods, especially either deep right. So there's things that I can, you know, Kentucky fried chicken or fried chicken in general,
00:20:47 because those foods are additives, they're not fresh, but also because they fried in reused oil. Those foods have a huge, a very high, per oxidative component. Those foods have a huge, a very high, per oxidative component. So those are the foods that are really shy away from because, well you can just go for raw chicken and cook it home because they can really increase your oxidation.
00:21:12 So all these takeaways are very sort of protein and carb oriented, there's no veg in them because we know that veg are the foods that provide antioxidants, you're going to end up with a lot of free radicals and not enough antioxidants to control them. And that is kind of for the problem in terms of controlling those reactions. And that is kind of for the problem in terms of controlling those reactions. So cooking methods are paramount.
00:21:37 So if you take, if there's anything that you take away from here today is how you cook your food, high temperatures, we're using oil, burnt food, all those things, of course, create free radicals that you got ingest. So if you bake in something in the oven, especially if you've got a fan oven, you can lower the temperature by 10, 20, 40 degrees.
00:21:59 temperature by 10, 20, 40 degrees. It will still cook, if I know, get all nice and crispy and it might not have those burnt bits that I know, I know it tastes really good, not great for you. So lower temperature because all those burnt bits, all those really sort of brown bits, these substances, the chemicals that are, they increase the oxidation, they can even
00:22:22 be cancer agentic, it can actually increase your risk of developing cancer later in life. So the lower temperature, the better, that brings me to those air fryer things. So the lower temperature, the better, that brings me to those air fryer things. I know they don't have any fat, but you know, fat is not the problem, right? If you use good fats in moderation, they can actually help you, you know, with your cell health, your, your, your, your egg and sperm quality, because the membranes
00:22:49 around those, those, those commands, the egg and sperm, I, I've made a refact, good fats. However, if you put something in the air fryer and you crank up the temperature However, if you put something in the air fryer and you crank up the temperature , the chances are that food is going to create some free radicals. So lower temperature, adding some liquids in there, right? So making a soup is better than sort of like really frying veggies at a very
00:23:12 high temperature. If you're making a stir fry, you know, you want a high temperature, but what I tend to recommend is use a good quantity oil, don't reuse it, and then add little spl ashes of water to, you know, to bring the temperature down so you don't squish the food. Don't reuse the oil ever, ever, ever. Don't reuse the oil ever, ever, ever.
00:23:31 You use it once and you throw it away. If you think that you're wasting a lot of oil, but basically means that you deep fry in a lot and you probably shouldn't eat it, right? So using a little bit of oil when you sort of shallow fry in your fish, your meat, your chicken, your veggies, you're sauteing some onions for a pasta sauce, absolutely fine.
00:23:50 Buy some good quality oil, extra virgin olive oil, and keep the temperature down so it doesn't burn, right? So just about Brentfield already, and then the last thing is stress. So just about Brentfield already, and then the last thing is stress. Yes, everybody doesn't know me, it's a lot of fertility. So although, you know, a lot of medical questions that seem to just believe or kind of advise
00:24:14 those stressors in making a difference, it does in small amounts. I mean, it's not the main component, but it kind of affects every single factor that we're looking at in terms of fertility. And also, you know, it doesn't make you feel great. So, you know, sort of anything that we can do, you know, that you reduce stress because stress will increase oxidation, would help you in terms of preserving that egg
00:24:29 stress will increase oxidation, would help you in terms of preserving that egg and spam quality and balancing your own it. So now this is my, you know, the next point is my equation. So if your free radicals are higher, but you're anti-oxidant load, or you know, the anti-oxidants that you can produce, you can ingest, or you've got in your body, you're going to end up
00:24:51 with oxidative stress. Oxidated stress will we don't want to be because they increase inflammation, damages your tissues, it can affect your DNA, and it can affect your cell health. your tissues, it can affect your DNA, and it can affect your cell health. So inflammation and fertility do not go well together. There's a couple of points in that fertility journey, you know, when your embryo is implanted
00:25:12 and you want a little bit more inflammation, but that comes from within, you know, how to do anything about it. You don't want your tissues inflamed, especially if you've got any sort of hom ile imbalances, like for example, endometriosis. You don't want any tissue inflammation around your endometrin because that's where your
00:25:28 embryo is going to implant. embryo is going to implant. You don't want any DNA or any cell damage because that would affect your egg and your spam quality. So the less oxidative stress, the better. And don't worry, you know, in a couple of slides we'll talk about how to increase your
00:25:42 anti-oxyylode naturally and reduce your oxidative stress because this is all very good in terms of theory, but we need to, you know, we need to get to the action points, how do we make this better? So what I've done is I've divided this into male and female fertility, excuse me, a little me, a little
00:26:00 bit of water here. So in terms of male fertility, there's a ton of research out there. Oh, excuse me. Sorry. There was a way. There's one way. Excuse me. Anyway, so there's a huge amount of research out there in terms of how
00:26:24 oxidative stress will be increased, free radicals can affect the spam parameters. will be increased, free radicals can affect the spam parameters. At the end of the presentation, there's quite a few research reports that have been referenced over there. Feel free, you know, enjoy the reading. This is just some eye of them.
00:26:41 And there's a lot more information as well. Just kind of make sure that whenever you go and read something online, it's backed by research. Like Sebastian was saying, like I was saying, I mean, these days you cannot go out on the internet and say anything you want. Like, you know, all you need for fertility is milk and turmeric.
00:26:56 No, no one's going to stop me from saying that, but it's absolutely not. No, no one's going to stop me from saying that, but it's absolutely not. So in terms of how the sperm parameters are affected, so excess oxidation affects the mitochondria. So the mitochondria is basically what lives in that little triangle under the head of the sperm.
00:27:17 So that's where the engine of the sperm is. And it's not just what's going to make it sort of swim, but it's also what's going to keep it fed and alive, you know, through the time that it's waiting to be ejac keep it fed and alive, you know, through the time that it's waiting to be ejac ulated. And it can also face excess oxidation, can also affect mortality. So if the engine is not working very well and the flat gel is so the little
00:27:39 sort of like tail thingy that you see at the end of the sperm, it's not moving as it should be because sperm is not anywhere, right? Or if it gets there, it gets there where it's too old or the egg is already gone. And then the sperm plasma membrane, so that's kind of the little membrane that goes around
00:27:55 it, contains a ton of fatty acids, as well as saying earlier. And those fatty acids are amazing. And those fatty acids are amazing. They keep it nice, pliable, you know, let's nutrients in, it's a little nasty scent, but it's very, the fats are very sensitive, they're vulnerable to oxidative damage. And if that happens, then that sperm is going to be damaged, you know, as a
00:28:18 whole. It can also affect the maturation of the sperm. So as sperm does not mature, it's not going to fertilize an egg appropriately. And as we've already sort of mentioned, it can affect or damage the flat gel, And as we've already sort of mentioned, it can affect or damage the flat gel, the tail, and affect the mortality. And then one of the things that this is really important because the sperm
00:28:38 itself does not have any antioxidants inside. It's basically left to its own devices to survive. And the one thing that's really important is to understand that the antioxidants are in the fluid, in the rest of the semen. So the semen contains sperm, but it's also proteins in there. So those proteins need to be protected with antioxidants, but the antioxidants
00:28:57 So those proteins need to be protected with antioxidants, but the antioxidants also protect our sperm. Well no, my particular x-ray woman, but you know, it's probably internal. And that DNA, sperm DNA, can also be affected by oxidative stress. So with all those things together, you know that oxidative stress is definitely damaging to your to male fertility, but that's not the whole story.
00:29:24 It's still a little bit more. The link between sperm production and hormones is really, really strong. The link between sperm production and hormones is really, really strong. So the testers or the cells in the testicles that produce sperm go just to it at their own when. They do it because they get an order from the brain. And that comes through lots of feedback loops from your testosterone, your pit
00:29:51 uitary, and not the hormone called ALH. So increased oxidation would affect your levels of testosterone. If your testosterone is low, your sperm production is going to be lower. If your testosterone is low, your sperm production is going to be lower. Now if your oxidation is high, that can lead to high stress. So you see stress oxidation, but oxidation can also affect your stress. And that would increase your cortisol.
00:30:17 When your cortisol is high, a hormone called ALH, or luteinizing hormone, which women also produce through the menstrual cycle to get that egg released when it's material produce through the menstrual cycle to get that egg released when it's material . The ALH would decrease in the situation and that would decrease in testosterone and therefore sperm production.
00:30:37 So it's not just that oxidation can affect the quality of the sperm, it can also affect how the sperm is produced. And now a really interesting and useful bit of information with you if you haven't really explored this area is, okay, the mobile oxidation, how do I check it? What do I do about this? I can sort of increase my antioxidants, but do I need to?
00:30:58 I can sort of increase my antioxidants, but do I need to? Do I want to go and test? Well, if you want to go and test, there's quite a few things that you can explore. So first and foremost, you should always start with a semen analysis to get your concentration, volume, acclutination, your liquefaction, your normal forms. Just to see what the basics are.
00:31:27 See, there's any sort of presence of our indication of our potential infection See, there's any sort of presence of our indication of our potential infection that's completely separate from oxidation, but it's good to sort of discuss the things . Your DNA fragmentation, something called a comet test, that's what we call it in the UK, but this is the test on all of the world.
00:31:47 That will tell you the damage or the level of damage of your DNA or your sperm DNA. And that can be addressed through antioxidants and also through supplements and And that can be addressed through antioxidants and also through supplements and changes to your diet that will increase your or support your DNA replication, because that 's kind of what we do when we're producing sperm or when we are building up an embryo
00:32:16 as women. There's other things that are a little bit more functional. And this testing, both, I mean, not the semen analysis, I'm not being a profant asia, but from here onwards applies to females as well. So the rest of the testing is more functional and is more linked to the So the rest of the testing is more functional and is more linked to the basically urine tests.
00:32:32 So what are you interested in, some of them are not, I'll tell you which ones are which. So the age of age DG is basically a metabolite that we find in the urine, and when it's elevated, it's a marker for increased oxidation. So you can test that as part of, for example, a touch test. If you're familiar with that, you can also test it separately. Glutifying, again, it can be done as an organic acid, it can be measured in
00:32:58 Glutifying, again, it can be done as an organic acid, it can be measured in urine, and because glutathione is still important and tioxin, if your levels are very low, you know that you might need to increase the sources of glutathione in your body. Or you know, sort of talk to a professional in order to get some supplements. Then you see, with an E, and your amigas, this will be a blood test. So these three are really important in order to sort of see if your levels of
00:33:27 these nutrients are their right levels. And I've said omega 396, because three and nine are less oxidative than And I've said omega 396, because three and nine are less oxidative than inflammatory where six can be poor inflammatory. So this will give you a good picture of what's happening with oxidation and potential inflammation
00:33:44 in your body. And then lipid peroxidases, because of your intestine as well, and it's a really, it's a do what we're talking about, the membrane around the sperm that could affect the quality of the sperm. of the sperm. If your fat being oxidized, you can end up in a whole, in a sort of oxidative
00:34:06 stress situation. So it's something that where you can test and you can address if necessary. I bring here DNA testing, by that I mean just in your genes, you know, doing one of those sort of like 23 amigas, the one that Nordic laboratories, which I think is called DNA life runs, and there's all the places that run them as well.
00:34:26 They will tell you if you could have propensity to oxidize, if you could have They will tell you if you could have propensity to oxidize, if you could have propensity to have higher oxidation inflammation, or you could have a need for higher antioxidants in your diet. I approach that with caution, because those are your genes, that's what you've been dealt
00:34:46 with. That's not necessarily what your body's doing at this point in time, because one thing is genes, and another thing is like what you're doing based on your epigenetics. So your genes are so often on and off based on what you do with your life. So your genes are so often on and off based on what you do with your life. So if you've got a huge propensity to inflame, but your diet is incredibly inflammatory,
00:35:07 you're not going to inflame the tool. So you can do that as a baseline test to see what basically how you made, and then make sure that you take action to ensure that your lifestyle, your epigenetics support your genetic background. And then you can also check your mitochondria. And this is kind of a really big test.
00:35:29 It's all based on metabolites. It's all based on metabolites. It's a very expensive test, and it can be done, but I would say that taking your mitochondria as part of a really sort of like in-depth functional test is something that I would only recommend after we've done everything else. And we still don't have an answer, and we still don't have a pregnancy and
00:35:49 still give them a feel well. And that's what I've got in terms of male fertility. If you're not the similar, but it's got some areas that are slightly different. If you're not the similar, but it's got some areas that are slightly different. And if you bear with me, you will say, "I'm going to go and turn the lights on because I realized I was getting quite dark just with you one second."
00:36:08 That's better. You can see me again. I can see myself getting dark over time. Okay. So in terms of female fertility, the one thing that's really important is the follicular fluid. follicular fluid. So the eggs are kind of what I call in the deep freezer.
00:36:35 So this kind of in storage and then it gets released, it gets matured, and it gets to the follicles, and then it gets developed. It's a follicular fluid. It's not full of nutrients. It's not full of antioxidants. It's going to lower that equality. It can affect the DNA.
00:36:50 And then that's going to have an impact, a negative impact on the fertilization rates. Really interesting because there's a couple of different homoiling balances. Really interesting because there's a couple of different homoiling balances. I mean, there's many, right? There's a couple that have a direct impact on oxidation. Incident resistance, which in some cases can derive a sort of like, have a bit of an effect
00:37:15 on your testosterone and your A-lage levels. There's something called PCOS, if you may have been with that, but not in all cases. And also, they're like normally quite linked, but not always 100% of the times, insulin resistance, you know, ends up being PCOS and PCOS. you know, ends up being PCOS and PCOS. It's not always sort of like linked to your insulin resistance.
00:37:35 They can create oxidation. The more insulin resistance, the more glucose is going around your body, the more free sugars that we have around our bloodstream, the more oxidation. So testing your blood sugar, making sure that you're meals are balanced, making sure that if there's any concerns about your glucose or your insulin, if there's any family, history,
00:37:58 if you're overweight, if there's any concerns about diabetes, this is a really if you're overweight, if there's any concerns about diabetes, this is a really good starting point. Now, endometriosis or endometrial cysts or excess estrogen have been linked to oxidation, but it's more the other way around. So endometriosis can increase your oxidation.
00:38:18 So when you find that you've got a new diagnosis with either of these two conditions, focusing on reducing oxidation, focusing on having enough until sensing your diet is on reducing oxidation, focusing on having enough until sensing your diet is fundamental. So moderate levels of reactive oxygen species support implantation. So that's what I was talking about earlier. Oxidation, reactive oxygen species, in excess, bad.
00:38:52 No one's going to contest that. However, this time seeing our lives, when we need a little bit of a dioxidation . So we needed when we just about to implant that embryo. So we needed when we just about to implant that embryo. So when the embryo is kind of crafting its way into them, into their endomet rium. And also with the placenta, it's, well, it's not available in the artist, but
00:39:11 the artist are going into the placenta are being developed. We need a little bit of anti-oxidation as well. But our body is really good at managing that, producing the oxidation. And that small level of inflammation, what is necessary. What am I putting this in here? Well, I'm putting this in here because we're going to talk about it later. Well, I'm putting this in here because we're going to talk about it later.
00:39:30 But in terms of supplements, you know, bind every anti-oxidation in the sun and have it like triple dose of air, might actually not be the right thing to do. Because we do need that little bit of oxidation. And research shows that right amount of anti-oxidation is brilliant. But I'm in too much of air. And I actually don't have any effect whatsoever, and it can actually affect those two, three,
00:39:53 four different instances when we need oxidation and actually can't cause some harm. So be gentle on the supplements. So be gentle on the supplements. So again, testing for female fertility. I would do, you know, we do sort of a full, you know, as perentase and a DNA fragmentation for men, we test hormones, they are two, we test testosterone because we know
00:40:16 effects from protection. But for females, a full hormonal panel on day two. Because if we see that there's any imbalances in there, or we can really explain why they explain why they are happening, or if we see a success estrogen, then we can sort of start kind of wondering
00:40:35 about oxidation. A Dutch, because it has that, well, because it's great to know where your hormones are, obviously. But also because it's because they are amazing organic acids, but at the end, that's going to help us understand how you're oxidating, and also is going to give us a really good
00:40:49 reading for your glutathione. So you're, again, your HOHTG, your glutathione, your cellular micronutrients, like the Tenseve, the Tine E, your Amigas, your fats, and your mitochondria, all absolutely the Tine E, your Amigas, your fats, and your mitochondria, all absolutely fantastic, like for males. DNA testing, we've talked about it.
00:41:10 And then your sugar, your glucose, your HP1AC, your glucose levels, your insulin, is to make sure that your blood sugar is regulated, that it's not too high because that would be causing oxidation. And that applies to males as well. And that applies to males as well. And then if you call endometriosis, endometriosis, PCOS, all there's this
00:41:34 suspicion, always investigated because it would help you in terms of reducing the oxidation. So how do we reduce free radicals? So now we get into the like, hey, what do we do about all of this? So free radical reduction would be increased, right? Free radicals will be reduced by quality sleep, moderate exercise, but again, don't go crazy on the exercise, managing your weight, it doesn't have a way to lose, do it, do
00:41:58 on the exercise, managing your weight, it doesn't have a way to lose, do it, do it sensibly, don't go on a crazy diet, that's the last thing we need. Reduced toxins, for example, gives up a filter for your water, right? So drinking bottled water might not be amazing because plastic is never good for you and it's expensive and it's bad for the planet, it can't filter, it's really good quality filter.
00:42:21 Try to relax, to reduce their stress, they could cause oxidation, cook gently, we talked about it before, and then cook instead of buying that ready to eat food. about it before, and then cook instead of buying that ready to eat food. If you're in a situation where you cannot auto-control what you're eating, compensation, compensation is the key here, more broccoli, more broccoli, more kale, more spinach, more
00:42:40 berries, excuse me. But there's no free pass either, right? So you can just eat McDonald's and they have a couple bits of broccoli, it needs to be balanced. Use your sunscreen, don't burn, I mean having a little bit of a tan is fine, but if you burn it causes a huge manifestation of alcohol, stop smoking and reduce sugar and
00:42:57 it causes a huge manifestation of alcohol, stop smoking and reduce sugar and any refined carbohydrates. And now how do we boost our antioxidants and this is how we do it through daily life, how we do it through real food which is obviously my preferred way of far away from my clients. So glutathione and alpha lipoid cathode are things that our body produces and
00:43:25 they produce them with protein and be bit intense. them with protein and be bit intense. So any see, any still cystine is also a protein, of course, you know, it's an amino acid, but let's make sure that you go enough protein in your diet. So it does not to say that we need to go on something crazy like an Atkins and just have
00:43:44 like those approaching all the time, you know, just make sure that you go enough in your daily diet. So for about 70 grams, hand-grams might be kind of on the top side, but make sure they get a bit of protein with every meal. So if you wake up in the morning and you have a piece of toast and you get out So if you wake up in the morning and you have a piece of toast and you get out
00:44:00 of the door, that's very curvy. So get a little bit of peanut butter in there, get a little bit, you know, get some eggs, yeah, amazing profitability, those eggs. Get a little bit of egg and avocado even better, get something green because you score tons of antioxidants, you know, things like, you know, your forehead, your
00:44:18 spinach, perhaps a little bit of broccoli from the night before and then you'll be bitinous because you're going to use those beef, it's another cheap process to make that out and metabolize that but you'll find it in the nacy. but you'll find it in the nacy. And that will come from whole grains.
00:44:32 So ditch the white rice, white pasta, white bread, and go whole grain, go brown and also from meat. I'll follow the boy cast said again, the boy does say it, but you know, it's also found in meats, carrots, beetroot, spinach, broccoli, a ton of different veggies. And you will see that, you know, different veggies have different nutrients. Therefore, what do you need to eat?
00:44:54 We need to eat in brinbo. You need to eat more different colors, the better and regularly, right? You need to eat more different colors, the better and regularly, right? Now, a couple of really important things in here. SOD and GPX, I did put the whole name in there because it was this so long, but SOD stands for, for what are the diode nases and GPX is the glutathione peroxidase. So these two are the master anti-oxygen enzymes in the body.
00:45:24 And what do they need to function? They need copper, they need zinc and the nicillium. And what do we find those? And what do we find those? Typically, it nuts, seeds, seafood and salmon. So make sure that if you like nuts, in all logic to them, if you have them with your porcelain in the morning, with your misele, you have a misele snack, it's pretty good on
00:45:45 your salads, you put them in soups, you don't just do a little thickening them or perhaps just to get a little bit of crunch. Make sure that you have a Brazil nut. If you think you might have a little bit of a selenium deficiency and selenium also happens to be incredibly helpful to boost sperm quality, not just through a cyanideoxy
00:45:59 to be incredibly helpful to boost sperm quality, not just through a cyanideoxy and bécine general, same with zinc. And salmon, we talked about salmon, there's a bit of a question mark about it. Why do you have it like once, maybe twice a week tops and make sure that you buy the best possible quality? Ideally, wild, if not organic.
00:46:22 Vitamin C, or fruit and veg have them, the key here is to buy them fresh. So anything that is nacan, we'll have to lose the vitamin C. Anything that's So anything that is nacan, we'll have to lose the vitamin C. Anything that's cooked, we'll lose the vitamin C. Anything that's been juiced and it's been sitting on the shelf, it doesn't have any vitamin C or very, very little. So buy fresh and eat fresh, buy and eat quickly rather than sort of letting it
00:46:42 sit in the fridge for days on it. Vitamin E, that's a fatty vitamin. So it comes from things like extra virgin olive oil, drizzling on everything, like your soups, your bread, I put it on everything I can think of. Avocado, the amazing avocados, right? So if you're okay with gluten, so maybe some sourdough, with a bit of olive oil
00:46:57 So if you're okay with gluten, so maybe some sourdough, with a bit of olive oil , some avocado and some pumpkin seeds. So the amazing is that in terms of antioxidants, if you can do gluten free, you can have maybe sweet potato with exactly some toppings when you can buy a good quality or make up a good quality gluten free, right?
00:47:19 Now we get to the polyphenols. They serve like the antioxidants that everyone talks about and they're brilliant. And they come from so many different foods. They come from tea and coffee, in moderation, caffeine, right? They come from tea and coffee, in moderation, caffeine, right? So in moderation, but good quality coffee. Let's not go to the next price of them, which is nice and easy, right?
00:47:39 But we're looking at organic, you know, it's still in the beans, you grind it, you make coffee, that one's going to be awesome. It's the rest, who knows? I instant coffee, definitely. Cacao or cocoa or dark chocolate with very little sugar, unbelievable as well. Berries. So imagine if you make yourself a little sort of like snack pot with some dark
00:47:56 So imagine if you make yourself a little sort of like snack pot with some dark chocolate and some berries. Amazing. So I'm going to go to the gomagranet, broccoli. Can you see that the theme here? Dark colors have darker, they have more antioxidants. So the more berries, the more sort of purple foods, the more sort of like
00:48:14 really bright greens, the more antioxidants you'll be acquiring. So Carotenoids, they're basically either really dark orangey foods, so carrots, sweet potato, pumpkins, or very dark greens, so it's spinach, kale and so on. potato, pumpkins, or very dark greens, so it's spinach, kale and so on. And then anthocyanins, blueberries, that should be one word, not tea, but you know anything
00:48:35 that is kind of purple and blue, like purple carrots for example, hence the name of the company, they are very good for you, very full antioxidants, they're also amazing. So try not to cook them, just try to, I mean, the blueberries try not to cook them, try to eat them raw. However, carrots, if you cook them a little bit, if there's a little bit of fat
00:48:57 in them, then you cook them the amount of beta caroten, this antioxidant that you absorb then you cook them the amount of beta caroten, this antioxidant that you absorb will be higher. And then omega-3s, which are not antioxidants as such, but they can actually enhance the activity of those antioxidants. I'll go one more slide to go through and then we'll open for questions.
00:49:17 And this is the supplements, and this is the conundrum, right? So supplements can be very helpful, but because we need some oxidation for metabolic function and for cell signaling, kind of having supplements by the bucket load, having and for cell signaling, kind of having supplements by the bucket load, having too many of them, having them without a professional, having looked at them and sort of assess what sort
00:49:37 of antioxidants you might need, might actually not help you at all, it might actually be in the being harmful. So be careful with that. Look at your diet style, look at your lifestyle, look at your diet. Take a sentence of oxidation, things like, you know, tiredness, brain fog, your heads are like turning wide, you know, before your time.
00:49:56 are like turning wide, you know, before your time. Look for symptoms, check, test if possible, and then decide what your same unit . And always remember the supplements are not a substitute for a healthy balance diet. Never, they never will be, right? So they can help you bridge from where you are now to, you know, your healthy diet stage,
00:50:16 but you need a professional to help you with that. And they know definitely a substitute, they know, get out of, you know, sort of a free path for eating anything that you want because you're taking you out of the ox. path for eating anything that you want because you're taking you out of the ox. They might help, but they don't make your diet bullet freeze. And that's what I've got from today. So if there are any questions, I'd be very happy to address them.
00:50:43 And if there's anything later that, you know, comes to mind, these are my content details, please do get in touch. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening. And I hope you found this useful. I'm going to take the presentation off the screen and let's see if there's any questions
00:50:58 there. Thank you, Pila. Thank you, Pila. I think it was a very interesting presentation. Also, a lot of things to do in terms of improvement and the oxygen waste or include the case in your diet. Is there any way to measure if it works or tell if your implementation of more
00:51:23 food stuff that includes antioxidants is actually doing something? There is, I mean, there is the testing. There is, I mean, there is the testing. So if you started sort of testing, you know, you tested at the beginning and then you retest, you would see the improvement. But sometimes in clinics, if like in particular experience is the symptoms.
00:51:43 So you might be, you know, you might have a high oxidative load, but you don't know, right? Because that's your normal. So you feel tired, you feel lethargic, you feel like by 9pm, you're like completely, you shut it down, right? Or you might feel like, you know, your brain is kind of like slower than it
00:51:58 Or you might feel like, you know, your brain is kind of like slower than it used to be. You might feel that your joints are really sort of like achy or that your muscle mass is not used to be and you still exercising. And then you find that, you know, when you sort of like reduce the free radicals, increase your antioxidants, all of the symptoms are getting better.
00:52:21 So there's two ways you can do the testing, but you can also do, just kind of look at the symptoms, keep a diary. Just see how you're feeling. Just see how you're feeling. And then if you try, you know, if fertility is, is that, you know, what you're working on, your cycle should be more regulated, your testosterone might be higher.
00:52:44 So your libido might be more, you know, more active. And then your, your sperm quality might be better. And if you sort of like taking your sperm quality regularly, if you are doing a day or two tests, you're sort of checking your hormones, you might see an improvement there, improvement there, because as you've seen, there's a link between oxidation and hormones and also
00:53:05 spro quality. Can test equality until you get pregnant. That's the only thing. But other than that, you can test. So test is also a crucial word as well. If you can't feel the difference, I mean, you can test if there's any. Yeah. So I can also see there's another question that came publicly in the chat.
00:53:24 I also have some privately. So if you prefer to write a question for me private, it's also completely fine So if you prefer to write a question for me private, it's also completely fine up to you. So the question is, pillar, that there is a last person on reducing stress, particularly a working woman, and that gives anxiety. What do you recommend to reduce stress?
00:53:45 I think that's a great question. That's a very good. Yeah, that's a great question. And you know what, that's a really good question because everybody talks about stress and reducing stress. And all of you who have the fertility journey, I mean, whenever somebody told And all of you who have the fertility journey, I mean, whenever somebody told
00:54:02 me to try and relax, I actually wanted to kill them. It was just so visceral at that point. It was like, you try to relax. Right? That's the real thing. But it does play a role. So techniques to relax, you know what, each and every one of us relax in a
00:54:17 different way. So I'll go clients, I mean, the majority of my clients are type of personalities. I'll be like me. So meditation is hard. So if meditation works for you, it's amazing, absolutely amazing. So if meditation works for you, it's amazing, absolutely amazing. Give it a go.
00:54:33 And don't sort of like go from like, I've never made it in my life to you today . I'm going to do like, you know, I want to try to levitate, you know. So try to do this with an app, like, you know, in the UK, there's something like Headspace. I'm showing that every country's got different one, right? That one kind of does meditation for non-meditating people. So it's very soothing, it's very relaxing.
00:54:53 And remember that meditation works on an ongoing basis in the same way that yoga would maybe be like the CFSU thing, you know, walking, you know, sort of hanging out maybe be like the CFSU thing, you know, walking, you know, sort of hanging out with friends. Don't do it the minute you're already at the top of your anxiety. You need to build that into your life because that's what kind of makes you stress go down
00:55:16 little by little. Your stress is there for a reason. And I will listen to your podcast. Actually one that you recommend, you recommend Sebastian. And they were talking about how our body does not believe when stress or lower
