In males and females, environmental, recreational and medical toxins can have a significant impact on the chances of conception.
An increasing amount of research is highlighting the negative effects that smoking, alcohol, caffeine, mobile phone usage and even psychological stress can have on fertility.
It is becoming more evident that cleaning up your diet and lifestyle will enhance your chances of conceiving and ensure a healthier pregnancy and baby.
It has been estimated that up to 13% of infertility cases may be caused by cigarette smoking. Smoking has been associated with compromised ovarian function, reducing levels of important nutrients needed for reproduction, and increasing levels of heavy metals such as cadmium in the body. Passive smoking can be just as harmful.
A study has found that women drinking over 300 mg/day of caffeine had a 27% lower chance of conceiving for each cycle, and those who drank less than 300 mg/day had a 10% reduction in conception compared with women who drank no caffeine.
We all know the detrimental effects of drinking alcohol during pregnancy and breastfeeding but it also appears to be an issue in parents-to-be. A woman's alcohol intake has been associated with reduced fertility, even among women drinking five or fewer drinks a week. Alcohol has a negative impact on your nutritional status, depleting many important vitamins and minerals which can ultimately affect fertility in men and women.
It can be extremely stressful if you are not conceiving as easily as originally hoped. Psychological stress has been shown to have a negative impact on semen quality in men, reducing measures of semen quality by up to 50%.
High mobile phone usage has been shown to effect semen in men. Research published in 2008 found a decrease in sperm count, motility, viability and normal morphology correlated with an increase in daily use of mobile phones.
Apart from avoiding the above mentioned toxins, you can also implement ways to remove toxins already accumulated in your body that could be having an impact on your fertility. If you feel that you would like to do a detoxification program as part of your preconception plan, great!
You may also wish to consider seeing a naturopath to ensure you are taking the correct herbal and nutritional supplements to suit your needs.
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Other references available on request
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