Inflammation: The Main Contributor to Declining Egg & Sperm Health as we Age

Did you know that inflammation is one of the biggest culprits behind aging—and it’s directly impacting your chances of getting pregnant? To boost fertility at any age, it’s crucial to address inflammation. Where best to start?

Your Microbiome: Your Fertility's Best Friend (or Foe)

We as humans are bathed in bacteria! In fact, our bodies are made up of more than 60% of microbes. As we age, our bodies are exposed to more and more factors that affect our microbiome (stress, antibiotics, painkillers, lack of fibre in our diets, and environmental toxins). As a result, our microbiome can become more harmful microbes, and this directly increases inflammation. Science tells us an imbalance in our microbiome is the preceding process to ageing within our bodies.

 For women, a healthy vaginal microbiome is essential to egg quality, fertilisation, and a successful pregnancy -  about 67% of female infertility cases have unfavourable vaginal microbiomes that can prevent harm from moving, hinder implantation and even increase chance of miscarriage.

And let’s not forget men—his semen has its own microbiome too! Unfavourable bacteria in the seminal microbiome can damage sperm DNA, and reduce sperm's ability to move fast.. This can increase the risk of miscarriage if conception occurs or increase the chance of unfavourable genetics within the offspring.

Nutrient Powerhouses: Fuelling Healthy Eggs + Sperm

Nourishing your body goes beyond the usual suspects like Vitamin D and Zinc! A whole host of nutrients supports a crucial process called methylation—key for healthy genetics in your eggs and sperm. As we age, our DNA shows signs of wear and tear, meaning a harder chance to conceive, or increased risk for miscarriage. Optimising methylation by testing your nutrient levels and methylation ability can help turn things around.

Optimising methylation and the microbiome are two crucial areas to my practise, which will help support your hopes in having a healthy, happy baby.