How to Get Pregnant Faster: The Role of Toxins, Inflammation, and Men’s Health┃Ann Shippy

0:00You mentioned we're in a fertility crisis. What does that mean for people listening? It's really, really alarming. It's one in five or six couples deal with some level of infertility. What is the number one thing that everyone thinks they're doing right in getting ready for a baby, but it's actually sabotaging them? Most people don't even know that they can prepare. Dr. Ann Shippy is a physician and former chemical engineer leading the preconception revolution. Using science-backed strategies to help couples boost fertility. Prevent chronic disease and transform health for generations to come.

0:36When it comes to preconception, most women here take a prenatal and men usually are told you don't have to do anything. What role do you think men's health is playing in this? It's at least 50 % or more. Is there any message you want to leave parents with who are maybe struggling to conceive now? They're staring down the do I go the IVF route, which usually like 30 % success rate. Even people who failed at IVF, when they do this process, they get super fertile even into their mid-40s.

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2:34What is the number one thing that everyone thinks they're doing right in getting ready for a baby, but it's actually sabotaging them? Well, most people don't even start to prepare. They don't know that they can prepare. This is kind of a new area that people need to be aware of. So most people are just like, okay, it's time to start a prenatal, get off the pill, and we're just going to try. And it turns out that it's really, really helpful for both the sperm health and the egg health to have at least three months to prepare longer if you can. I really prefer six months or a year for both the man and the woman to prepare.

3:09And then I think there's like an invitation process that can also happen where both partners can get on the same page with their intentions for their family. And most people skip that step. And then they, you know, get into parenthood and find out that they have some pretty big differences or there's some things that haven't been healed. And it's really so helpful if we can identify what those things are before starting to try to conceive. What would it look like ideally for a woman to prepare three months in advance? I think six, I agree, six months, a year, fantastic. But most of the time when a woman wants a baby, she wants a baby now or yesterday and not having to think about, oh, I have to delay things.

3:56So if someone has three months, what are your top recommendations specifically for women? So I like to start out with asking them to use a barrier form of birth control because when you start doing this process, you get super fertile. And I've had a number of people not be able to complete the process. because or you know get pregnant before it's done because they get so fertile that the rhythm method and the pull-out method don't work anymore so start with that and then they're in the book the preconception revolution there's a whole checklist to go through and the more you get done the quicker the more effective it's going to be in that three months i've got a patient right now who came in to see me she'd heard about me she'd had a couple kids earlier on 47 and had met the love of her life and they really wanted to have a child together.

4:44And she was so wise to do this because she really wanted to check in with me. Do you think it's possible for me to get pregnant? And if so, what should I do? I said, well, let's rent some labs and see what's going on. And we found that she had some high environmental toxins, some nutritional deficiencies, and some shifts in her microbiome. We worked really hard for about three months. And they had one night where they were We're like, okay, let's just have fun, thinking that they wouldn't get pregnant yet because we hadn't quite completed the process. Got pregnant first try. And now she's going into ending six months, going into seven months, and having just an amazing pregnancy.

5:24So the main message that I want people to understand is that by taking the time to do this in advance, it actually speeds up the process in the long run to start to prepare. So in the checklist, there's everything from setting the intentions, doing the work together, to getting your blood sugar managed, all the lifestyle things like sleep and a super concentrated nutritious diet in place. And then have a period where we help our bodies to detoxify both by reducing the unsuspecting toxins that are coming into our bodies all the time and then helping our bodies to detoxify in the most gentle way possible.

6:06and then help get our microbiomes balanced, feed our mitochondria, really know the supplements that can make a big difference for enhancing fertility and then helping the bodies to prepare to have the healthy babies. What do you think are the most important labs women should be prioritizing in preconception? If I can only pick a couple, it's really to look deeply into their nutritional status. Most people think they're eating pretty healthy, but then when we look at the labs, They're not getting the nutrients that they think, even if they're taking supplements along with it. So I like to do very in-depth testing, and it's all really outlined in the book.

6:44So amino acids, essential fatty acids, trace minerals, a little bit about how the detox pathways are working, etc. And then I really love to do the toxin levels. So knowing what your heavy metals are, your pesticides, the plastics, the BPAs and BPs and the pesticides, all of these things can really impact fertility and how healthy the baby is for both the man and the woman. What do you typically see when it comes to environmental toxins and what should people be aware of as the worst offenders for fertility? Yeah, it's so interesting, the data that's coming out now on sperm health and that the toxins that the sperm is exposed to can affect how healthy the pregnancy is and the health of the future baby, including their fertility.

7:42So things like glyphosate, when the sperm are marinating in glyphosate, it can really have some pretty detrimental effects. So glyphosate is the pesticide that's sprayed on so much of our food. So this is one of the reasons to actually prioritize eating organic as much as you can. The other really interesting one is the plastics. And I think this is starting to be part of the conversations because it's so hard to get away from the plastics. You know, we think we're doing the right thing by drinking water, bottled water, but then we're getting a big plastic load. So much the takeout foods are soaked in plastics, basically.

8:20The PFAS with the nonstick pans and the microwave containers and popcorn and things like that are all leaching into the foods. And then our bodies are absorbing them and they're getting stored in our bodies. Mm-hmm. So this can feel pretty overwhelming for people to hear all of the ways that environmental toxins are negatively impacting fertility, but also how ubiquitous they are. Where do you recommend people start? So there's a lot of information in the book with this, but if you can start in the kitchen, it's a great place because you can make some big changes really quickly. Like just get rid of all your plastic containers and switch to glass.

9:01If you have plastic to seal it, just don't have the food touching the plastic and definitely don't microwave it in the plastic. So switches like that and then buying as much of your food fresh and not in packaging can make a huge difference. So one story that I learned a lot about was I had this patient who thought she was doing everything right, had all the plastic out of her kitchen. But she went and got organic soup for lunch for takeout most days. And her BPA was sky high. So we had to do our little detective work and figure out why it was coming because she's like, I don't drink out of bottled water.

9:45I don't package my food in it. But she hadn't connected that the soup in the plastic takeout container was leaching into her food and then driving it way up in her body. So she made that simple change. She went and ate there instead of doing takeout or doing something else for lunch. And her BPA went way, way down. So it can be that simple as just kind of noticing where you might be getting the exposures. But it's so great to be able to check the levels. I think that's really encouraging for people to hear because often it sounds like this big undertaking and then you have to also do something to try to get it all out.

10:23But in a lot of these instances, like you're talking about with BPA, if you reduce the exposure, the body will eliminate those. But there are instances where we do get exposures to environmental toxins and we don't eliminate those well. Can you talk a little bit about that? Yeah. And so much of this is based on our genetics. So for me personally, my detox genes are part of why I ended up in medicine in the first place because I don't eliminate the toxins that I'm exposed to very well because I don't methylate very well. I don't make glutathione very well. And I've got some enzymes in my liver that don't start the detox process.

10:57So I have to be constantly doing the body support with the supplements and things like hyperbaric and infrared saunas to get my toxin levels down. And I see this works really beautifully with patients. So there's a lot in the information out there that detox is hard and, you know, you have to suffer through it and you need to do, you know, juice fast and all this kind of thing. That's not true. what you really need to do or take the right supplements. So taking liposomal glutathione, help with methylating, so special B vitamins, folate, some things that help our cell membranes to heal like phosphatidylcholine and detox.

11:41It can be just going on an ongoing basis and be very gentle. Do you have like a sauna protocol that you recommend for couples before trying to conceive? So one of the things for couples is that when you're starting to try to conceive in probably at least a few weeks before, the men should not do sauna anymore because it can actually damage the sperm and people doing ice packs and all that kind of thing. But we don't really know how well that works. But up until close to that time where they're trying to conceive, it's really great for both of them. And what I recommend for patients with the saunas is that they really listen to their bodies each day.

12:17Okay. So if you're listening, there might be some days where you get in for five minutes and you get the instinct to get out. Really listen to your body because you might be a little bit more dehydrated. You might have hit some more heavy duty toxins that are being released and your body's like, okay, I'm done for the day. And then there might be other days where you want to stay in for 40, 45 minutes and, you know, really work up a great sweat. So there's not a set protocol for people. I really encourage you to tune into your body and not think it has to be a certain way to get the results because even 10 minutes can make a huge difference sometimes.

12:56You talked a little bit about supplements for detox. when it comes to preconception, most women here take a prenatal and men usually are told, you don't have to do anything. You'll be fertile for life, right? Maybe they might here take a multivitamin. What do you recommend for men and women when it comes to supplementation? I really love this topic because most people don't realize that men and women can both be doing so much more to augment their fertility and help them have healthier babies. So So I talk about a lot of the research that's gotten done in the last 10 years. It's amazing how this has been studied by incredible researchers looking at so many different antioxidants making a difference for both the men and the women.

13:44So things like curcumin, astaxanthin, the liposomoglutathione is also a really great antioxidant. The B vitamins all really support for fertility and healthy babies. And then another area of research that's so fun is mitochondrial support. So the little organelles inside our cells that make energy, when we give our bodies those supplements, which are just good for health and longevity in general, it also really can make a difference. So CoQ10, special forms of CoQ10 like MitoQ, there's some really interesting research with that particular product. NAD, which a lot of people are hearing about. L-carnitine, the B vitamins also make a big difference.

14:29And magnesium. Like magnesium is something that pretty much almost everybody is deficient in, not optimal in. And it can make such a big difference in so many different pathways in the body working well. People will argue you can get all the nutrients you need from your food. What would you say to that? The research shows that that's not true. I think that's part of why we're seeing this fertility crisis. that environmental toxins meet nutritional deficiencies. And as somebody who's gotten to measure that in my patients for 20 years, there's rarely a person that is optimal in their nutrients. Even if they're eating super, super clean, trying to go to the farmer's market and fix everything fresh, we can usually find some areas that they're not getting the nutrients that they need.

15:19You mentioned we're in a fertility crisis. What does that mean for people listening? Yeah, it's really, really alarming. It's one in five or six couples deal with some level of infertility, which means not getting pregnant after a year, starting or growing their families. So that's in the U.S., but this is a global issue. Mm-hmm.

16:11autism in the U.S. and one in 22 in the state of California. We have increasing rates of mental health, diabetes, obesity, autoimmunity, and cancer in our children. And what I see in my patients is that we can shift all of this. Men and women can go on to have their healthiest children yet, even if they've had children that have had struggled with autism or autoimmunity. well into their 40s just by doing, you know, working on all these lifestyle factors and then really helping their bodies to be in balance. One thing I hear from women all the time is that they're struggling with symptoms like hot flashes, sleep disruptions, and brain fog, but aren't sure where to turn to for help.

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17:50Plus, you'll get$20 off your first order today. That's M-Y-A-L-L-O-Y.com, code Dr. Brighton. When I look back at my grandmother's time, you know, before there was birth control, and I know you're such a beacon of light for women understanding how birth control affects them. So before that time, women were commonly having babies while into their 40s because they didn't have any way to stop it. And they were eating differently. They weren't being exposed to these levels of environmental toxins. and um it it was we didn't they didn't talk about advanced maternal age because women just had their you know they were just having their babies their bodies were built to procreate and so um i think the birth control you know women telling their bodies not to get pregnant for a very long time is also such a big issue like how do you shift that conversation at a cellular level to reignite this birthright that we have to start and grow our families.

18:58Yeah. A lot of people will point to the reason why we're seeing a decline in birth rates is because women are choosing not to have babies. But what we're talking about here is a fertility decline. These are women who are trying to have babies, seeking to become mothers, and they're unable to do so. What role do you think men's health is playing in this? It's at least 50 % or more. And often men's sperm is not checked until they've gone way down the path with the infertility. My suggestion is that men start to use their sperm quality as a health and longevity marker. It should be better than a cholesterol.

19:44Yeah. No, I definitely agree. I'm like, you should be bragging about your sperm count. Exactly, because it's just saying, hey, when the sperm are healthy, the body's healthy. So better than many of these other markers that men are getting to know how they're doing. But what is so fun is when men can go from having to deal with knowing that they're having an issue, doing this process where they actually get to really take care of themselves, see a shift in the sperm quality and the epigenetics. There's a new test out that actually will check the epigenetics of the sperm, which is so important to the health of the future child, that they can see how their work affects the future health of their child.

20:32And it's so inspiring for men then to know, okay, yeah, if I'm exercising, if I'm avoiding the alcohol, if I'm eating really clean, if I'm doing my detox process, I can have a healthier sperm count and quality and a healthier baby. It's like by giving themselves the gift of health, they get to give it to future generations. I think it's really helpful and inspiring. There's other data too that's showing that the health of the sperm affects the health of the pregnancy. So like having cannabis and alcohol and having exposure to other toxins increases the risk for miscarriages and other pregnancy issues.

21:18I think that's really important because often when doctors are considering cannabis use, they're considering motility and how many we have. So how many swimmers and how well are they swimming? And they're not actually considering, but how good are the ones that make it there overall? Talk to us about this test that is testing the epigenetics of sperm? It's so fun. It's called SpermQT. And the way that they're applying it is a little bit different than I am. Mostly they're using it to help IVF be more successful. But what I see is that when this data improves, then people just get pregnant naturally, easily, and they don't have to do the IVF piece.

22:02So yeah, SpermQT, it's an up and coming, really exciting test. What is it telling people when they get this test? So it will do the traditional sperm test that looks at the sperm count, the morphology, like the shape of the sperm, the motility. So those are the traditional things. But then it also looks at some of the epigenetic markers, which are how the genes are getting dialed up and dialed down. And they can estimate whether there's a problem or not. So they'll say abnormal, normal, and excellent. So the closer you can get to that excellent range, that will equate to better fertility and healthier babies.

22:42Yeah. Talk to us more about how sperm is impacting mom's health during the pregnancy, but also fetal outcomes. Yeah. So that's on the epigenetic side. So I think about our sperm, the sperm is being like a time capsule. And the egg too, but especially the sperm. So it's like the dad's one chance to pass on the important messages to the baby about the environment that they're coming into. So we know based on data when there was famine that some of the thrifty chains that help the child to be able to keep the nutrients get dialed up because there's more of an obesity problem in those children. So that's just one example.

23:28There's also data showing some trauma markers get passed on as well. So then what we know is some of these cannabis dials in that time capsule and other toxins are impacting then when the egg and the sperm get together and start to grow the baby, that those genes that have been upregulated or downregulated by dad, a lot of times will have more priority. And so as the baby's developing, if there's some detrimental epigenetics, it can actually be associated with some of these problems that we want to get ahead of and avoid. Yeah. And I think it's interesting because if you view it through an evolutionary perspective, this is about conveying the most important data for the survival of the organism.

24:21However, within our modern environment, what we're seeing play out, mom's got more morning sickness, mom might develop preeclampsia, like the negative effects of pregnancy that we are trying to get our patients as healthy as possible to avoid, right? Some of the consequences that can come along with that, that has always been put on the shoulders of women. And now in light of new research, we're understanding that most of the time when things are going wrong. We didn't do anything wrong. And I would say like any woman listening who has ever been a mom has usually worked hard on her health. Like, you know, there's the outliers.

25:00And yet there hasn't been this emphasis on men's health. And I think that's been a big disservice to them in this conversation. I think it's been disempowering for men and it's put so much stress on women. So what I really love to do in my practice is when I get to help both the man and the woman to do this preparation. And then I, I mean, I really see the healthier pregnancies. So things like postpartum depression are less common than all the morning sickness issues are less likely to happen. So there's this theory that, that I pulled together with all the research in the book. And then there's like the reality of it is even more exciting than what the research shows because There's so many of these things that there's so much conversation and fear about.

25:47There's hope. We've talked about for men, if we want to get the sperm healthier, let's take away the alcohol. Let's take away the cannabis. Really, any recreational drugs. Not a good thing. Nicotine. You talked a bit about supplements. Is there anything else you would add that men should really be considering that their primary care doctor is probably not talking to them about? We have a whole guide on the supplements that I love, and there's tons of information in the book. Of course, I love to customize it for my patients, but the things that really can help that would benefit everybody would be the liposomal glutathione, phosphatidylcholine that helps the cell membranes and mitochondrial membranes, and all the mitochondrial support.

26:33so the CoQ10 the carnitine the NAD um and people feel better any you know just quality of life is better with the but those things as well um it's a little bit of a financial investment some of these supplements are you know definitely um are not the least expensive supplements out there CoQ10 is easily one of the most expensive supplements out there and you know I also talk about like SPMs, incredibly expensive. But when you consider how they have to be manufactured and how volatile the process is, and when you go to the raw ingredients, it's like, this is what it costs. And I think it's so important to get the best quality so that you actually are getting what you think you're getting and it's going to have the impact that you want.

27:21But when you look at the cost of having a child that has health issues or having a pregnancy that doesn't go well. It makes so much sense to invest in these things up front as true prevention. Yeah. Talk to us about how people can choose quality because often your gynecologist, you tell them, I want to get pregnant. They're like, take any prenatal, find a cheap one out there. It doesn't really matter. But you and I know how wild the industry can be and how much matters. How can people be a smart consumer? So you want to look for things that look like they're pharmaceutical grade that have been extra tested for efficacy and purity.

28:04And usually those are brands that go through practitioners. It's hard to get most of those these days just by going on the internet and looking for them. But the CGMP is one of those. And then And you should be able to ask for second-party testing for just about anything. And for people listening, the CGMP is the manufacturing practices, and you can find that on the label of the bottle. Exactly. Yeah. So I want to ask you, you know, in terms of, we've talked a little bit about mitochondrial health, but inflammation. Talk to us about the role of inflammation in infertility. Oh, I'm so glad you asked that question.

28:48It's so interesting because I was on a deadline for the book. I was supposed to turn it into the publisher when I decided I just need to print it out and just feel it for the last time. And I held it in my hands and I was like, oh, my God, there's another chapter. I've got to write it. I just did. Did they let you put another chapter in? I did. Oh, that's amazing. Shout out to your publisher because sometimes they're like, we've got a word count. We've got to meet. Yeah. And it was one of the topics that I was like, oh, my gosh, this is so important. There was a little bit through the book on this, but I was like, I really need to explain the importance of inflammation for both men and women.