Get your body prepped by dealing with hormonal imbalances, supporting your organs and making sure you’re optimally nourished for conception and pregnancy.
- Eat these foods for a better chance of conceiving.
- Simple daily changes for healthier eggs and sperm.
- How to include essential fertility nutrients in your everyday diet?
Sperm and eggs take 3 months to grow and mature so it’s ideal to start a nutritional programme to support conception well before you start trying, we’d suggest around 6 months or longer if you can wait!
Improving the quality and health of the sperm and eggs means that, when you do conceive, the pregnancy is more likely to be successful.
How To Balance Your Hormones?
In order to conceive, it helps to establish a ‘normal’ regular cycle, but how many of us actually have one? Hormonal imbalance is very common; it causes issues like PMS, period pain, endometriosis, fibroids, polycystic ovaries and water retention.
Men’s hormones don’t fluctuate as much as women’s but they are just as important to get balanced, and the advice below applies to both parties.
Nourish your ‘master gland’ with Maca:
The pituitary gland in the base of the brain controls all our hormones. Maca is an incredible adaptogenic root that nourishes the pituitary, which then stimulates the rest of the body’s hormone-producing glands and organs.
By working with your natural hormone production, Maca helps you make hormones at the correct levels for your body’s needs. Clever stuff! Plus, it does not contain any of its own hormones as you find with flax and some herbs.
Common causes of hormonal imbalance and what to do:
Eating sugar and fast carbs triggers a surge of insulin – the hormone that takes excess sugars out of the blood and stores them in fat cells. When your body consistently produces a lot of insulin, a) you can become resistant to insulin, and b) other hormones will be down-regulated.
This is why hormonal conditions such as polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) are commonly linked to insulin resistance.
How to avoid over-production of insulin:
- Steer clear of refined or ‘fast’ carbohydrates like white flour products such as bread, pasta, pastries as well as added sugars in sweet foods, sauces, breakfast cereals, energy drinks, sodas & processed fruit juices.
- Cinnamon has been found to reduce sugar levels in the blood after eating (Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism, 2009). So, by helping keep a tighter control over the levels of sugar in the blood stream, Cinnamon can reduce our need for so much insulin.
- Have 1 serving (1 teaspoon or 4 capsules) of our True Ceylon Cinnamon daily with breakfast, & an extra serving before eating any large/carby/sugary meal or snack. You can even add to your coffee to reduce the effects of caffeine on your blood sugar.
The liver can get overloaded with alcohol, caffeine, medications, pollution, pesticides and more, so it can’t do its other important job of detoxifying and excreting our excess hormones. This can mean hormones get reabsorbed into the bloodstream in a stronger form and cause major disruption.
How to support the liver:
- Organic Burst Chlorella supports your liver and bowel by grabbing toxins and helping eliminate them from the body. Take 4 tablets or 1 teaspoon in lemon water, juice, or your favourite smoothie every day
- Eat high quality protein (from nuts, seeds, tempeh, quinoa, Spirulina)
- Add green vegetables to all your meals!
- Our heirloom Sri Lankan Turmeric is packed with powerful antioxidants that support the liver in detoxifying nasties from the body. Have 1-2 servings daily
- Drink dandelion or fennel tea – a cup or 2 a day
- Try 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar in warm water each morning
Fake oestrogens from our environment can suppress other important hormones for fertility including progesterone and follicle stimulating hormone, and in men they can affect testosterone levels.
These external oestrogens come from herbicides, pesticides, plastics and even drinking water recycled from our rivers.
How to avoid external oestrogens:
- Reduce the plastic in your life (don’t wrap food in cling film, use glass or BPA-free food containers, choose a stainless steel canister instead of a plastic water bottle) and never heat foods in plastic containers
- Eat organic food as much as possible to reduce exposure to pesticides, antibiotics and hormones
- Drink filtered and mineral water (preferably from glass bottles) not tap water
- Try to use mainly natural toiletries
- Aim to eliminate dairy. Milk, cheese, yoghurt, cream, etc. contain a lot of animal and sometimes synthetic hormones which can negatively affect fertility
Stress diverts energy and nutrients away from the sex organs so they don’t produce the right levels of sex hormones. When your body thinks it’s under attack, making babies is the last thing it wants to do, but biologically there’s no way to explain that you’re just very busy (mental stress), or enjoying a caffeine buzz and not being chased by a wild animal!
Help eliminate stress:
- Reduce stimulants including caffeine, alcohol, chocolate and nicotine which increase stress hormones
- Take ½ - 1 teaspoon Organic Burst Maca mixed into a cup of warm almond milk instead of a latte/cappuccino for a caffeine-free energy boost that also helps fertility! In multiple studies Maca was shown to balance hormones, including sexual hormones for both men and women and enhance fertility.
- Make sure you exercise regularly and use relaxation techniques such as a few minutes of focusing on your breathing, meditation, or stretching each day. Use essential oils such as lavender and rosemary on your temples and wrists, or try a room diffuser.
Star Fertility Nutrients And Where To Get Them
Help your fertility with our pick of the top nutrients and foods below. Depending on whether you’re currently experiencing any health issues (e.g. skin conditions, problem periods, low energy).
It may be worth speaking to a nutritional practitioner to order some tests to check your levels of essential fats, iron, vitamin D, zinc.
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Fertility multi-vitamin tablets are most people’s first thought when it comes to trying for a baby, but choose them carefully. We would always recommend to nourish your body with natural whole foods first, then consider ‘food state’ vitamin tablets that are more easily absorbed and used by the body.
Cheap, mainstream vitamins are full of additives, bulking agents and preservatives that we don’t need and could potentially be harmful.
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Folate (the natural form of folic acid) is the star nutrient for cell division (making new cells). All fertility nutritional supplements will contain it, but the synthetic form - folic acid - isn’t a patch on natural folate found in vegetables like courgettes/zucchini, kale, broccoli and in Organic Burst Spirulina and Chlorella.
Eat A LOT of greens and add in these amazing superfood algae and you’ll be getting good levels of natural folate along with a wealth of other valuable nutrients including iron that is especially important in the early stages of pregnancy.
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Omega-3 essential fats are pretty much the key ingredients for baby making. They’re components of our hormones, hormone receptors, new DNA and more. Here are our top plant-based sources: Organic Burst Chia Seeds, walnuts, flax seeds, hemp seeds, Organic Burst Spirulina, Brussels sprouts, perilla oil.
Have a daily serving of our Turmeric, since its powerful compound curcumin has been found to help the body convert plant ALA to DHA (the fat we use to make new cell membranes) in the liver.
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Zinc is an essential component of genetic material, and lack of it is a common reason for not conceiving quickly. Eat lots of pumpkin seeds – especially the man.
Make pumpkin seed flapjacks, spread, or eat a handful a day as a snack. Seafood is also a rich source of zinc. If you’d like to try a supplement, choose zinc citrate (which is a more absorbable compound).
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Antioxidants help stop sperm from getting damaged and the DNA fragmenting (this is a common reason for miscarriage when the quality of the sperm is not optimal).
Lots of brightly coloured vegetables like greens (again!) squash, bell peppers and berries will offer vital protection, plus Brazil nuts for selenium and vitamin E – eat 5-6 Brazils per day.
- Two important amino acids l-arginine and l-carnitine, from complete protein such as that found in our Spirulina, are responsible for building sperm count and motility.
Eat a wide range of vegetable proteins like seeds, beans and peas or take 2 tsp or 8 tablets of Organic Burst Spirulina every day.
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Vitamin D3 levels in both men and women should be optimised before conception, it helps to balance hormones, improve sperm count and also regulates the immune response, which is important in early pregnancy.
Sometimes the woman’s immune system rejects the embryo because it doesn’t recognise the foreign DNA. In summer make sure your skin is exposed to the sun for 20 mins per day – we’re talking shorts and vests not just your face and forearms (but make sure you don’t burn).
Eat plenty of mushrooms and take a high strength, quality supplement to maintain levels in winter.
Try Our Hormonal Balance Bundle
Our Hormonal Balance Bundle includes our authentic 4-variety Maca, True Ceylon Cinnamon, super-pure Chlorella and heirloom Sri Lankan Turmeric. These 4 Bursts are the perfect partner for your fertility journey.
Good luck and remember to enjoy yourselves during this exciting time!