How does our gut health influence our fertility, what are the signs of a gut imbalance and what can we do to support our gut health?
Our gut health is central to our whole body health and fertility is not different.
Often gut health is forgotten about during the preconception phase or when couples are struggling to fall pregnant- but it's incredibly important and an area I spend so much time working on with my clients.
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So let's get into why it's important to support your gut health for fertility!
1. Hormone Regulation
There are interactions between our gut microbiome and the regulation of our sex hormones, and we know how important it is for our hormones to be balanced for fertility. The gut microbiome regulates the level of circulating estrogen, so if you have excess estrogen or estrogen dominance, supporting your gut health is going to be important for rebalancing estrogen levels.
2. Immune System and Inflammation
Our gut and immune system are intrinsically linked, and a gut imbalance or a leaky gut can trigger the immune system and ultimately lead to increased inflammation. The impact inflammation has on our fertility is multifaceted, it can impact our menstrual cycle health, reduce egg quality and again, influence our hormones. In up to 70% of unexplained infertility cases, chronic inflammation was detected, chronic inflammation may also be related to recurrent pregnancy loss.
3. Micronutrient Absorption
An inflamed gut can impact our ability to absorb nutrients from food causing micronutrient deficiencies which can impact egg quality.
4. Vaginal Microbiome
As well as a gut microbiome, we also have a vaginal microbiome, and the two are in continuous communication with one another. When there is a gut imbalance it can influence the health of the vaginal microbiome and this may reduce fertilisation and implantation rates, and impact the thickness of the uterine lining.
5. Mental Health
Finally, it’s also important to consider how our gut health plays a role in our mental health, anxiety and stress and the greater impact this can have on fertility.
Signs of a gut imbalance
Some of the more obvious signs of a gut imbalance are things like irregular bowel movements, diarrhoea, constipation, loose stool etc, stomach cramps, bloating gas heartburn.
However, there’s some sneaky, less obvious signs, that you are probably attributing to something else but can actually be a sign of a gut imbalance, including headaches, skin issues (acne, eczema etc), sleeping issues, low energy, low mood etc.
So what does a balanced gut look like?
I always describe a balanced gut to my clients as ‘when you’re feeling on top of the world, you have energy, you’re regular, you can focus, you feel aligned and comfortable! It truly is an amazing feeling.
Now, if you’re feeling like you’ve got some work to do on your gut health- fear not, your gut microbiome is one of the parts of your health that you can actually modify and improve!
However, it's important to note, understanding the root issues of gut disturbances is key to solving them and improving fertility! In fact, it's so important we dedicate a whole module to investigating and supporting gut issues in the Fertility Freedom 1:1 nutrition program, you can learn more about that here.
How to Improve Your Gut Microbiome for Fertility
1. Fruits and Veggies
First up, is a wide variety of fruit and veggies, diversity is the key here and research shows that consuming around 30 different fruit and vegetables per week can be beneficial for gut health. This might seem like a lot, but I promise you with the right tactics it’s very achievable.
2. Polyphenols
We also want to include some polyphenols found in blueberries, green tea, almonds, olives, beans etc, as they promote the growth of specific beneficial bacteria.
3. Fibre
Lots of fibre-rich foods are great for our gut health and our hormone health, foods high in fibre such as root vegetables, whole grains, legumes, nuts & seeds may help to eliminate excess estrogen and therefore be of particular importance to those with endometriosis or PCOS.
4. Prebiotics and Probiotics
Pre and probiotics, prebiotics such as onions, garlic, oats, bananas etc act as food for your little gut bugs, whereas probiotics contain bacteria that support your gut health. Fermented foods are rich in probiotics, so dose up on some sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir or tempeh- I always advise my clients to include at least 1 serving into their diet each day!
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If you're feeling like your gut could do with a bit of extra love and care, remember it's never too late, or too early to start working on your gut health! I promise you it will make you feel amazing, and benefit you and your future bub!
PS. I didn't even touch on gut health during pregnancy and the influence that can have on bub's lifelong health- we'll have to save that for another time!
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