The Extra Scoop: The Fertility & Lifestyle Connection

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0:48Welcome to The Extra Scoop, our expert-led bonus episodes, giving you the need to know on the topics everybody is talking about. That's right. From gut health to sleep, hormones to skin, we are cutting through the noise with top experts, so there is no fluff, just facts. Exactly. It's all quick, practical, evidence-based advice to fit into your busy lives. So this is The Extra Scoop. Let's get started.

1:17So today we're going to talk about something which I totally appreciate is quite a sensitive topic, but it is in the headlines all the time. And so we felt it was a very important one to cover on The Wellness Scoop. And the question is, how much does our lifestyle really impact fertility? and what's a myth and what's a fact. So in this short conversation, we're going to be tackling the questions that you have probably seen in the headlines, be that age, sperm count, microplastics, nutrition, exploring what the science is actually saying about all of this, what's fear-mongering, what's not. And of course, as always, we'll be sharing actionable advice on what you can do to support your fertility so that you can cut through the noise of all those confusing headlines.

1:55Yeah, 100 % Ella. And we've got the best guest. We've got dietitian Roe Huntress with us today. And we've actually got some stats for us. So the UK has seen the biggest fall in fertility rates amongst like all the G7 countries since 2010. And in 2023, there were 591 ,000 live births on average in England and Wales. And that's the lowest number since 1977. And these stats are quite big. And we're finding it quite interesting because we hear so much about fertility being impacted by modern lifestyles. And I guess the first question, how much of this is true and how much is a headline? Yeah, so I think the statistics speak for themselves really, and that there really has been a change.

2:37And I think that you can look at this in a couple of different ways. So firstly, you know, in terms of our lifestyle, so our diets now are very, very different to what they used to be. We have a lower intake of fruits and vegetables, whole foods we've got a higher intake of ultra processed foods those that are high in sugar saturated fat salt our diet is very much this western diet which kind of like it encapsulates this but in addition to these kind of poorer dietary habits that we see we're also probably a little bit less active than what we should be as a as a nation we've got pretty high stress levels we're probably not sleeping enough we've also got exposure to environmental toxins and things like that and there's um a really interesting observation actually that over the past 30 years the average sperm count has dropped by 50 percent which is crazy and that actually just goes to show how much our environment what an effect it can have on our fertility and our fertility markers but I think there's another way in which we can think about it as well in terms of society and how that has evolved you know taking women in particular there are so many women now who are delaying having children sometimes it may be by choice other times it may not be by choice but if we even think about like the working environment for women now there are so many more career opportunities just for people in general there's opportunities to just travel and do things that people enjoy.

4:11But on the flip side, there's, you know, the cost of living crisis, it's expensive to have a child, some people may not have found the right partner. So all of these things are kind of encouraging people in a way to, to have children that little bit later. And, you know, with the increase in uptake of fertility treatments, there's more fertility treatments available, the effectiveness of those is getting better, we're seeing a rise in egg freezing. so with this we're seeing you know the average age of motherhood in like the 70s was mid-20s and now we've we've crossed that age 30 barrier it's now sitting at 31 the average age of motherhood for women now and in terms of men a few decades ago it was 29 now it's 34 so things really really are changing so both from our lifestyles but also from the society point of view and we know that with age comes declining fertility.

5:05Gosh, it's such an extraordinary conversation. I mean, I think when Ria and I first started talking about this podcast, what we really wanted to do for people is try and find that middle ground where we're showing that actually in so many health challenges or conversations around health and wellness, actually your lifestyle, your diet, they do really matter, but equally trying to show you what's normal and what's not you. Because I think there's so, so much where if something's not working, you know, fertility could be one of those things in the way that we expect it to, or that we would like it to, we're so quick to say, well, this is my fault, my body's not working.

5:38And it can be quite a negative cycle. And I think what's so powerful that you're really showing there is actually there has just been this complete societal shift. And it's so multifactorial, be that lifestyle, be that age, you know, and age being so impacted by our career opportunities, you know, a woman now who's 25 looks fundamentally completely different to someone who, you know never went to university and became a housewife as we probably most of us would have done 100 years ago I don't think we'd be living the lives we are having the careers we are so it's just so different and I'm so conscious of kind of how difficult that is for people to hear as well some of this information but really trying to normalize it is is so brilliant in the way that you're talking about it I think as well you know we as people but I think like women in particular are very very quick to put blame on ourselves and you know we must say that you know nutrition and lifestyle it can help and it can increase the chance of pregnancy it can reduce the time it takes to get there but it won't solve every reason for infertility there may be things to do with genetics there may be certain things around like health conditions so it really really is is multifactorial and i think a woman a person should never blame put blame on themselves and it's really about assessing the whole situation then understanding what are those modifiable risk factors that we can take control of and positively influence to then promote our own fertility Have you got a list of those modifiable risk factors?

7:02Yeah, well, I mean, obviously, diet is a key one activity, things like supplements, as well, stress, sleep, all of these things. And even in terms of we can't often change the fact that we have a medical condition. But for many of the medical conditions, we can manage it so we can improve the symptoms of it, and therefore, can kind of like influence its effect on fertility. so there's lots of different things that we can change but then there's things that we can't change like our genetics and we can't sadly change our age yeah and there's so many myths and misconceptions and I think big things that often I mean I think my generation used to um here is that the contraception that we use can you know damage our fertility what truth is there on that because there's a lot of talk about the man pill it never happened what's really going on there yeah and I know there is I think there is a lot of fear around um birth control methods and I think that fear is growing.

7:57And I think really the fear around that it doesn't need to grow. So really, in terms of its effect on fertility, it can just be really quite short term. So if someone's taking hormonal birth control, so taking like the pill or the patch or something like that, it may just take a few months for cycles to regulate, but then fertility should return to normal. This can happen even quicker, the return to normal fertility for people who have the coil, so like the hormonal coil and then there's also like a copper coil as well fertility can return really quite quickly but with other things like there's an injection as well that people can take and that tends to be a little bit longer that can take up to 12 months for fertility to return so I think actually it's all it is is just about having the knowledge because if people are planning a pregnancy thinking about trying to conceive then it's just having that knowledge okay it may take me a few months or if I'm on the injection, it may take up to a year for things to normalise.

8:54So people can kind of like take that into their plan. So if somebody wants to start trying to conceive at a particular time, then it may be that they start to come off that birth control, potentially a few months before and just use other methods of protection during that time just to allow, yeah, for cycles to regulate. We've been talking in a past episode exactly about how important it is to know your cycle and how empowering that information can be. So it's always interesting to see the same themes reiterated, which is also what you're reiterating with the fact that obviously so much of our health, including our fertility is out of our hands.

9:29But then these same conversations around our diet, our activity levels, our sleep, our stress, these day to day things that we can control to a degree, and actually how powerful they are. And I was curious when it comes to nutrition in particular, about our lifestyles, what is the most important thing for people to be thinking about what actually matters and what doesn't? Okay, so in terms of lifestyle and fertility, it's what we briefly touched on before in terms of those modifiable risk factors. And actually, you know, for somebody going on a fertility journey, going through IVF, for example, when so much is out of their control, it's really empowering to be able to focus on those things that we can control.

10:07And that can have a significant impact. So, you know, really, if we take diet now in terms of fertility nutrition it can get really quite complex when we go to trying to achieve specific things but actually there's a general approach that can work for both men and women as a foundation to what we should be doing in terms of our fertility diet so a key dietary pattern that can be positively influential for both male and female fertility is a Mediterranean style diet. So the fundamental principles here are fruits and vegetables. So at least five portions there. And we want to have an array of different colors.

10:46It's important for the nutrients that it provides, but also antioxidants play a key role in preserving and promoting fertility. And this is in terms of egg health for women and also in terms of sperm health for men. We also want to include whole grains. So not only do they have antioxidants in them as well, but they have specific uses in terms of increased whole grain consumption has been linked with improved IVF outcomes. It can also help to thicken the endometrial lining, which means the implantation of the embryo is more successful. Then we want to have healthy fats, extra virgin olive oil, for example, omega-3s that we find in our oily fish, nuts and seeds, legumes, plant-based protein.

11:29And then we want to kind of like minimize things like sugar and red meat and kind of like those less nutritious ultra processed foods. So that really is kind of like it's a foundation. And it's about thinking, okay, what does my diet look like now? And how does it compare to that approach? So what changes and what swaps can I make to get me from here to there? So that's kind of like one thing. And then on top of that, when someone's trying to conceive is thinking about supplements. So what may and what should I be adding in here? So in terms of the public health guidelines, the advice is to be taking folic acid, so three months before conception, and then until at least the 12th week of pregnancy.

12:11And also, you know, in terms of public health guidelines, everybody should be taking a vitamin D supplement during those winter months. But we can find that nutrient deficiencies can play a role in infertility. So if somebody has a vitamin D deficiency or they have a vitamin b12 deficiency this can mean it's going to be much more difficult for these people to get pregnant so if somebody is struggling with infertility then these are some of the checks that we should be doing because then we can correct these with we're looking at the diet first say like with vitamin b12 could we be getting any more from the diet but then also looking at supplementation where this is required as well but when people come to us and they are struggling to conceive actually for all women unless there is a contraindication but really across the board we do recommend having a prenatal supplement just because there is research to show that it tends to increase the chance of pregnancy reduce the time it takes to get there it's an additional dose of antioxidants there it can help to fill nutrient gaps within the diet it's been linked with improved amh levels so there's all sorts of reasons really why a prenatal supplement can be useful for women on this journey.

13:25And then it's looking at those other aspects of that healthy lifestyle. So keeping active. So it doesn't mean that we need to be running marathons, but trying to just be active every day. That may be going for a walk. It may be something with a little bit more intensity, just thinking about what you can fit within your own lifestyle. And then tackling those other things as well. And I know it's easier said than done, but trying to manage stress as much as is possible and taking those steps to make life that little bit less stressful for you. We know that there's a link between stress and infertility.

13:55We don't really know which can first, you know, like the chicken and the egg scenario. But we know that reducing stress and managing stress is it's going to have a positive effect. And whether that's on fertility or whether it's on our kind of like on our mental health, but absolutely something to consider. And also sleep as well. So sleep when we have less sleep, this impacts fertility outcomes. It can impact IVF outcomes. It can have an influence on sperm health and sperm quality. So really when looking at fertility and creating kind of like our foundation for a healthy fertility lifestyle, those really are the kind of things that we want to consider.

14:31I mean, Ro, it's huge. It is huge. I know. And I have to stop myself because I could go on and on. But it's so interesting because to our listeners, you can't replace a good diet with a supplement, which we know, or I hope everyone listening will get the gist, you know, really trying to focus, I guess, on getting those cooked meals in where you can. And I know that I've seen you before speaking about coenzyme Q10 and other options for people. But for so many people, these supplements are out of reach. And it's just obviously I think the best advice, right, is to follow the balanced diet. But a question I had to get in, Ro, because it's everywhere on TikTok, on social media, is what about endocrine disruptors like plastic?

15:14Even I'm freaking out about plastic now. I want my house to be free of it. But am I overthinking? Am I exaggerating the data? Yeah, so I'm really glad that you've asked that question because I think it does need more discussion. It does need more airtime. but to kind of classify you know what are endocrine disruptors so they're chemicals or substances that interfere with the endocrine system so that's our hormone system in essence and they can mimic block or alter the function of hormones and yeah we find these in plastics as you mentioned so things like bpa and phthalates pesticides and herbicides that we'll find within the food chain, the food system.

15:59But even things like our personal care products can contain parabens. So these are just some examples of how these chemicals and substances are really heavily integrated in our everyday life. And it's interesting because like the World Health Organization, who hopefully everybody will be familiar with, they acknowledge that endocrine disrupting chemicals are a growing global concern. And they have particular concerns over exposure to EDC, so endocrine disrupting chemicals during pregnancy, and also early childhood, because they can influence the development of a child. So really, you know, when you go and look at this on the WHO website, you're like, whoa, okay, it's a it's a thing.

16:41And then the confusing thing is, well, why don't we see it on the NHS website? Where is it in the UK public guidelines? And to be fair we don't see it in the US we don't really see it anywhere else so yeah it's kind of like puzzling in in that context but one of the industries and sectors of health where it does get a microphone is within the fertility space there's been quite a lot or like a reasonable amount of research that's gone into this and the the impact of these EDCs on both female and male fertility and there's reasonable evidence to suggest that it does have a negative impact so So you will see that as part of someone's fertility plan, their fertility lifestyle plan, that reducing exposure to things like plastics and pesticides and other things may be a part of their plan.

17:30And, you know, we said before that, you know, all those things that I listed off, it can become a bit of a headache. It's like, oh, my God, how many things do I actually have to do? So, you know, we're really careful not to just like overload, right? do this, this, this, this, and you've got 20 things to go and do. And also, you know, we don't want to scaremonger. And it's not possible to completely rid our lives of endocrine disrupting chemicals, that's not going to happen. But what we can do is reduce our exposure. And where this plays a role in the people that we deal with, is those who are dealing with with infertility.

18:05So they are struggling to become pregnant. And we're looking at every way in which we can make a positive difference so some people are happy to you know include that as part of their plan but you know sometimes it can be easy to make certain changes just even like with fruits and vegetables for example it's just washing them like washing them before use then that can reduce the your pesticide intake if you like and then just yeah making simple changes in the house around plastics and just doing those kind of things so you know that they're kind of like easyish swaps to make and then that can kind of like become part of your lifestyle but it's a really interesting conversation.

18:42And I think that in the coming, I mean, it might not be anytime soon, but I think coming decades, we're going to see public health guidelines include this conversation a bit more, but certainly it's one that's very much happening in the fertility space currently. It's absolutely fascinating. But as you said, Ria, I think it's one of these interesting moments actually within health and wellbeing. Obviously, as you said, it gets the microphone in fertility, but looking at it, as you said, on this kind of broader stage, as it likely will be over the next decade or so, how we find this. And I don't think anyone has necessarily the answer, this balance between realizing as from this conversation, any conversation that we're having, that what you eat, how you move your body, how you manage your stress, your sleep, you know, the level to which you consume ultra processed foods and, you know, have exposure to parables, et cetera, it does matter.

19:32And I think this is the bit that for me is fascinating is how do we all find this collective balance of realizing how we treat our bodies, what we put in and around our bodies, it does really matter. And it does affect, be that our fertility, be that our gut health, be that our skin, you know, more superficial conversation, but as we were having the other day, yet we don't want to become completely obsessive and perfectionist to the point that it has a really detrimental impact on our mental health. And I think for me, as I said, I don't think any of us sitting here today probably have the answer.

20:01I certainly don't, but I think it's something certainly for listeners to take away that trying to find this balance in your own life is really difficult of knowing it matters and trying to take tangible actions on the back of that, but equally not trying to be perfect. Because as you said, all of these, you know, be that the endocrine disruptors, be that ultra processed foods, they are so deeply infiltrated into our society that a total avoidance, unless you're going to go and live in a commune in the outer Hebrides. And, you know, as in like really remove yourself from modern lifestyle and really go and live in a very unpopulated part of the world where you could grow everything yourself and do absolutely everything in a much more kind of old traditional way feels almost impossible totally and I think you know avoidance can actually end up being unhealthier for us because as you said you know in terms of you know even like our societal health our relationships our mental health um so it really is about you know you'll hear a lot about like the 80-20 rule when it comes to diet and lifestyle you know eat well live well 80 % of the time you know be a bit kinder to yourself and the other 20, if you're really going on a health drive, push it to 90-10, but always allow yourself that leeway.

21:07And it comes back to what we were saying at the beginning, it's never having that guilt, it's being like reasonable with yourself and really what we're trying to achieve here. Thank you, Ro. Honestly, I think it's just been so, so helpful because it is, like we've all said, it's overwhelming, the numbers speak volumes, but equally it's hard for people out there now to navigate. And if it's not even on our NHS yet and on our public health systems about some of the things we've discussed let's watch this space Ro thank you so much for coming on the wellness scoop today oh thank you so much for having me thank you guys so much for listening to us on the extra scoop we are a community-based podcast we want this to be helpful for you so any requests we want to hear it absolutely let us know which experts that you went on the extra scoop and we will see you on Monday can't wait

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