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10 Possible Reasons Why You're Having Trouble Getting Pregnant - 10 Ways to Increase Your Chances
By Sally Moran
So you want to get pregnant? You may be wondering what's taking so long.
First, let's talk about the odds of getting pregnant. One study cited a couple's chance of getting pregnant within the first month of trying at 25%, 60% will get pregnant within 6 months, 75% within 9 months, 80% within 1 year, and 90% within 18 months of trying.
Now let's talk about the factors that may be affecting your fertility and your partner's fertility. Here are the 10 most likely causes of infertility issues followed by some conception tips.
1. Smoking. If you or your partner smokes cigarettes, this will greatly hinder your trying-to-conceive efforts. Women who smoke are 60% more likely than non-smokers to be infertile.
Egg depletion and sperm damage caused by smoking is the cause for this decrease in fertility. An unborn baby is at a high risk for many complications if the mother is a smoker. Also, if your partner smokes around you, you are affected by the second-hand smoke, which is very harmful as well.
2. Illicit Drug Use or Alcohol Use. Illicit drug use is a no-no for those trying to conceive. Marijuana use specifically suppresses hormone production, which can cause decreased sperm count and possible erectile dysfunction in men and irregular periods in women.
3. Caffeine Intake. Caffeine is believed to reduce fertility. It also is believed to be risky during pregnancy with an increased risk of miscarriage with more than very mild use. If you truly want to get pregnant more quickly, you should give up caffeine altogether for a better chance of increasing fertility.
4. Poor Diet. What you eat or don't eat is crucial to your overall well-being and reproductive health. Getting pregnant is a complex process, one that requires many different body organs and glands to function properly to have proper hormonal balance and functioning. Most people don't get the recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables and water per day. This is very basic, but it's crucial to pay attention to in order to help increase your fertility and your chances of getting pregnant more quickly. Eat lots of green leafy vegetables (leaf lettuce, kale, collard greens, etc.), whole grains (oatmeal, whole grain breads, brown rice, etc.), raw nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, walnuts, cashews, etc.), and a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables.
5. Lack of Exercise. If you're sedentary, get moving. It will help you feel better, lose weight if needed, and will improve your fertility and chance of getting pregnant. Exercise at least 3 times a week for 20-30 minutes at a time.
6. Obesity or Being Overweight. If your BMI is greater than 25, you are considered overweight and are prone to health risks. A BMI of 30 or more is considered obese. Avoid fad diets or skipping meals. It has been proven that starving yourself only makes things worse. Do eat, but eat smaller portions more often, and cut out the junk food.
7. Stressful Lifestyle. Stress will not only affect your fertility, it will affect your overall health and place you at greater risk for heart disease and many other health problems. Practice deep breathing to help relieve stress. Another stress reliever can be a leisurely walk. A warm bath can also be a great stress reliever; just don't make it too warm, especially for the males, as it could affect sperm quality and quantity.
8. Advanced Age. Advanced age is widely considered to be age 35 and older. Women who are 35 years old and older do have somewhat of a disadvantage when trying to conceive. It is said that a female is born with the total amount of eggs she will have her entire life. Thus, at age 35 and beyond, her eggs are considerably "older" than they were in her 20's, making it more difficult to conceive. That said those of us who are older need to be even more diligent to be optimally healthy in order to increase our changes of getting pregnant faster. Men can be affected by age as well, especially as libido tends to decrease with age.
9. Poor Intercourse Timing. In order to conceive, a couple needs to have intercourse near the woman's ovulation time - the closer the better. If a couple just has intercourse "whenever", their chances of getting pregnant are not as good.
I like to track my cycles by using a basal thermometer. A basal thermometer is an ultra-sensitive thermometer that tracks your body's most minute temperature shift and helps you calculate ovulation. Another means for determining ovulation date is an ovulation predictor kit (OPK). There are two kinds - the urine strips and also the fertility monitors. The strips are like a pregnancy test stick, only they measure LH (or luteinizing hormone) instead of HCG (the pregnancy hormone). The fertility monitors use saliva to determine your most fertile period by showing a ferning pattern when you're most likely to conceive.
10. Physical Issues. Eating right, exercising, losing weight, and quitting bad habits can greatly help to heal many of these conditions. Sometimes medical intervention is necessary, though. These conditions can include irregular menstrual cycles, anovulation (lack of ovulation), PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome), endometriosis, low sperm motility or mobility, low sperm count, or luteal phase defect, among others.
Get some prenatal tests done for you and your partner. If you've been trying to get pregnant for six months or more, especially if you're 35 or older, see a reproductive endocrinologist. Prenatal testing is very beneficial even if you want to get pregnant naturally. If you know what your condition is, you're more likely to be able to overcome it.
The Five Hidden Causes of Weight Gain
By Dr. Teresa Rispoli, Ph.D
There are more than 100 million of us currently fighting the battle of the bulge. In the end, we usually wind up back where we started-unhappy and overweight.
My own struggles with weight ended when I began a program of cleansing and detoxification that left me 30 pounds lighter in three months!
Whole foods, herbs and dietary supplements can become a path not just to healing, but also to weight loss. I've been able to keep my body pretty much fat-resistant for nearly three decades now since discovering an entirely new approach to managing weight.
FIVE HIDDEN WEIGHT GAIN FACTORS:
A stagnant lymph system, sneaky food allergies, birth control pills, hormone replacement therapy, and medication all play a part in retaining and gaining weight.
#1: YOUR TIRED TOXIC LIVER
The first revelation is the connection between weight loss and the liver. Keeping this vital organ in tip-top shape is a key to effortless weight loss.
The Liver metabolizes fat and filters toxins from your body. As toxins trapped in fat cells are released when you begin to lose fat, your liver, gallbladder, lymphatic system, and colon flush them from your system.
When your liver lacks essential nutrients or when it is overwhelmed by toxins, it no longer performs below par. Hormonal imbalances may develop and fat may accumulate in the liver, just under the skin or in other organs, while toxins build up and enter your bloodstream. Among the signs of "toxic liver" are weight gain (especially around the abdomen), cellulite, elevated cholesterol, and fatigue. A sluggish liver affects, every organ in your body, and can block your weight loss efforts. A toxic liver can lead to hypoglycemia, which can produce sugar cravings, weight gain, and Candida overgrowth. A liver overloaded with pollutants and toxins cannot efficiently burn body fat, and will sabotage your weight loss efforts.
Clean your Liver and Gallbladder at least once a year.
#2: WHEN FAT IS NOT FAT
Cellulite-that dimpled accumulation of stored fat on our thighs and buttocks-is connected to a sluggish Lymphatic System. The Lymphatic system is a relatively unknown secondary circulatory system underneath the skin, which rids the body of toxic wastes, bacteria, heavy metals, dead cells, trapped protein, and fat globules.
On a "good" day, your body is 60 to 70 percent water by weight. About two-thirds of the water is in your cells; the rest is in blood, body fluids, and spaces between cells. This water is essential. However, many individuals carry an extra 10 to 15 pounds of water trapped in their tissues. This water contributes to abdominal bloating, cellulite, and face and eye puffiness. Consuming too little water can cause your body to retain water.
Food Sensitivities Often Lead to False Fat
Food sensitivities are common causes of weight gain through a chain reaction of fluid retention and through overeating brought on by cravings. The production of histamine and other chemicals causes blood vessels to expand and contract, leaking fluids into tissues and setting off a secondary inflammatory response and swelling. This leaking fluid often carries protein with it, and the proteins attract sodium and still more fluid. To compound the weight gain from waterlogged tissues, food sensitivities also trigger weight gain from adipose tissue. This results from either heightened cravings for reactive foods or disruption of your metabolism. Fatigue and irritability set in. Once again, you crave the reactive food to bring back your energy level. Your insulin levels become destabilized, which lowers your blood sugar levels, you are weak and starved for food, especially carbohydrates. Finally, your levels of the neurotransmitter serotonin drop. Avoiding reactive foods will help regulate your system.
Candida and Food Reactions: It's Overgrowth, Not Overweight
Among the most common reasons food enters the bloodstream before it's fully digested is Candidiasis, an overgrowth of the naturally occurring yeast Candida Albicans damages the intestinal wall creating Intestinal Permeability (Leaky Gut). The holes in your intestine allow food macromolecules to enter the bloodstream-the trigger for food reactions. Many of the symptoms of Candidiasis mimic those of food reactions: fatigue, headaches, bloating, nasal congestion, heartburn, and moodiness, among others. The relationship between Candidiasis and food sensitivities is made even stronger by consumption of sugars and refined carbohydrates.
Hormonal Imbalances Lead to Obesity
For many women, the hormone cycle is disrupted, and weight gain-from both actual fat and water retention-becomes permanent. Hormone replacement therapy (HRT) often causes estrogen-progesterone imbalances, and millions of American women are currently undergoing HRT.
Among the symptoms of estrogen dominance are fat gain, sluggish metabolism, bloating, and water retention. Estrogen can promote sodium retention. This hormone changes the way your body metabolizes the amino acid tryptophan, which is necessary to produce serotonin.
When estrogen is much higher than progesterone, you may develop hypothyroidism. A healthy thyroid gland secretes hormones that help signal the pancreas to produce insulin. With a sluggish thyroid, your body may produce too little insulin and trigger low blood sugar, along with intense cravings for carbohydrates.
Low levels of progesterone cause your body to burn 15,000 to 20,000 fewer calories per year and increase water retention.
High levels of progesterone increase your appetite. They also slow down intestinal transit time to increase food absorption, which can increase insulin levels.
#3: FEAR OF EATING FAT
Although you've probably read about the need for essential fatty acids found primarily in plant-based oils, you still don't quite believe it. You're not alone in your fear of eating fat. 80 percent of Americans eat a diet deficient in EFA's. Our bodies cannot make EFA's, yet, as precursors to hormone-like prostaglandins, they regulate every bodily function at the cellular level.
EFA's also carry fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K through the bloodstream, activate the flow of bile, help your body conserve protein, slows the absorption of carbohydrates to balance blood sugar levels, and are building blocks for production of estrogen, testosterone, and other hormones.
#4 - EXCESS INSULIN AND FAT STORAGE
A fat-free diet, low in protein but high in carbohydrates keeps insulin levels elevated, which promote fat accumulation.
All carbohydrates Are Not Created Equally
Nutritionists have categorized carbohydrates as either simple (white flour, pastas, white rice, potatoes, starches, sugars) or complex carbohydrates (vegetables, fruits, beans and seeds). However, more recent research has increased our understanding about how food is metabolized, and the simple/complex categorization has been replaced with the glycemic index.
#5: STRESS AS FAT MAKER
68% of us admit to being stressed out, or that 90% of us admit to using food as our drug of choice to pacify ourselves. Stress makes the adrenals kick out the hormone cortisol, which raises insulin and insulin is a fat storage hormone.
Elevated cortisol makes you store fat around the mid section. Central fat cells are deep abdominal visceral cells (located around our major internal organs), which are a fast energy source in times of stress. These central fat cells also happen to have four times more cortisol receptors than the fat cells found right beneath the skin. Consequently, cortisol is drawn to the central fat cells, which ultimately increases fat storage in that area.
If you are like most people, you've exercised, counted calories, and cut out fat, then protein, and now even carbohydrates. Lost weight is often regained; but there is hope. My patients have discovered which of the Five Hidden Causes of Weight gain were throwing their body out of balance. You can too
Dr. Rispoli, Ph.D., L.Ac. President and founder for Complete Health in Agoura Hills has helped thousands in her 25 years as a Nutritional Advisor lose weight, balance hormones naturally, eliminate food allergies and stop GI distress, leaky gut and Candida.
For an appointment with Dr. Rispoli, contact our office at: 818 707-3126.
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