Research is suggesting that when women are still in utero they have 6-7 million egg follicles!
Pretty impressive isn’t it! Of course that number drops to around 700,000 follicles when we are born and then 400,000 when we hit puberty but it is amazing to think how much creative possibility we have within us before we are even born.
As women we lose around 20-30 follicles each cycle which is why many of us feel the pressure to conceive by a certain optimal age. Of course we certainly have an ideal timeline for conception but that doesn’t mean that someone past that age can’t conceive either (unless they’ve hit menopause).
One major part of improving your fertility is reducing your toxic load so that the mitochondria in your beautiful oocytes (eggs) aren’t overwhelmed and burn all their available energy cleaning up. When sperm reach the oocyte, it is the mitochondria who have to sort through the unwanted parts of the sperm (eg: the tail) and essentially give the remaining parts a good sprucing before allowing fertilisation to take place.
If there is too much to "clean up" inside the oocyte then the mitochondria do not have enough energy left to initiate a healthy fertilisation or properly clean up the sperm. This means that it is also a smart idea to incorporate lots of antioxidants to go alongside the reduction in toxins to mop up any residual “gunk” that may be lurking from the past.
This might be from a history of smoking or heavy drinking, under-nutrition, chronic health struggles, infections or high caffeine consumption. Healthy couples take on average 3-4 months to fall pregnant, when you add one of these risk factors into the mix that balloons to 2 years. Add another and that balloons even further.
As a blanket rule you should both be removing:
- Coffee
- Alcohol
- Cigarettes
- Excess stress
- Poor sleep nights
And adding in:
- LOTS of bright coloured fruits and vegetables
- Minimum 2L filtered water for women and 2.5L for men
- Meditation and mindfulness
- Gentle regular exercise
- Supplements (to be honest, most people need additional help)
Reducing inflammation and ensuring you are eating enough food is also vital for enhancing your fertility. Please remember that this work takes time. Eggs take around 100 days to mature and therefore that should be the minimum amount of time to prepare for a successful and healthy conception.
If you know that you want to conceive in the near future it is best to start "acting like you're pregnant now to get pregnant later" (Gabriella Rosa).
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