Infertility from a Nutritional Therapist’s perspective
Infertility is defined as the failure to achieve pregnancy after 12 months of regular unprotected sexual intercourse and it affects 1 in 7 couples (3.5m in the UK). In my experience, I’ve always found it be the female (sorry for the generalisation), that feels they have the ‘issue’ that needs to be sorted, however, the aetiology of infertility reflects:
35% of cases are due to the male factor
35% of cases are the female factor
20% of cases are both male and female factors
10% is put down to unexplained fertility (NHS statistics state 25%)
As you can see, there are so many factors at play, that also means there is SO MUCH that can be done to support couples as a whole on a fertility journey.
There have been 6 million IVF births since 1978, sperm count is declining (1.3% a year since 1973 in Western countries) and more women are being diagnosed with PCOS, fibroids, endometriosis and hormonal issues each year. WHY?
Root causes
So what are ‘root causes’? I’ve always found it useful to give my clients some information on a naturopathic/functional approach to symptom manifestation vs a conventional one. I want to make a point here that I am NOT against conventional medicine, in the slightest, BUT I am one to think that it has it’s limitations, like anything (nutritional therapy also has it’s limitations). You’ll see below I have highlighted the key differences between conventional vs integrative medicine which you may find useful to read, but as we are focusing on infertility here I wanted to give an example of a root cause we might explore…
I’ll keep this short, sharp and to the point. OUR ENVIRONMENT IS TOXIC. Our physiology was not made to deal with the world we live in today. Endocrine (hormone) disrupters, stress as a result of the fast-paced life we all now seem to live in, bad food environment: sugar, sugar and more sugar plus ultra-processed EVERYTHING. Drugs, drugs and more drugs: plasters not solutions. Bad sleep habits. Increasing autoimmunity. It’s a rotten tree of root causes. I’m often asked what nutrition and lifestyle has to do with the root cause of infertility. EVERYTHING. It has everything to do with it. Remember, we are not defined by our genes; ‘genetics loads the gun but the environment pulls the trigger’.
Nutritional therapy
OK, so what does nutritional therapy actually entail when it comes to supporting fertility? When addressing root causes with clients there are a number of bodily systems that tend to play an influential role in fertility. Looking at the body systemically, it is likely that the immune system, gut, liver, endocrine and reproductive system all have a heavy part to play. I’m not saying this is the case with every client I see, however, I wanted to give an example as to how all of these systems could need optimising in order to enable harmony in the body and therefore optimise fertility. As I work with clients, I assess and look to address anything that may be discouraging to the body and its function. It could be that a client is dealing with an autoimmune disorder that might affect the thyroid and the gut; or a client might have suboptimal liver function which will then affect how hormones are processed (very simplistically); a client may have gut dysbiosis (a non-thriving gut garden – again, put very simplistically) which is affecting how their hormones are functioning; blood sugar imbalances could be present which predispose to PCOS and inflammation. As you can see, the web of cause and effect is HUGE. I look for antecedent, triggers and mediators which all give me a lead in how I can work with my clients case history to support my clients improve their symptoms.
A functional medicine approach
In addition to a naturopathic nutrition lens, I also apply functional medicine principles to the way I practice. I wanted to include some information here on what the difference is between functional and conventional medicine, I find it really helps me explain to clients why we dig so deep with case history taking. While conventional medicine (allopathic) medicine diagnoses and treats whats above the surface – symptoms and disease – functional medicine also attends to what’s below the surface – the root cause of disease; environmental and lifestyle factors, including sleep and relaxation, physical activity (exercise), nutrition, stress, relationships, clean air and water, and so forth.
| Conventional (allopathic) medicine | Functional, Integrative Medicine |
|---|---|
| Diagnoses illnesses | Identifies the source of illness |
| Treats illness | Restores healthy function to enable the body to eliminate illness |
| Relies primarily on pharmaceuticals, surgery, and medical procedures to treat illness | Employs numerous approaches, including conventional, functional, chiropractic, osteopathic, nutrient infusion, weight loss, orthopedic, foundation training, environmental intervention, and lifestyle changes |
| Treats all patients with similar symptoms alike | Tailors the treatment plan to each individual |
| Patient passively receives treatment | Patient actively participates in diagnosis and treatment, which often requires attending to environmental and lifestyle factors |
| Treats from the outside in to alleviate symptoms and illness | Treats from the inside out to remove the source of illness and restore health |
