Unlocking Fertility Secrets: How Lifestyle Impacts Your Reproductive Health

How Lifestyle Impacts Your Reproductive Health.

Optimizing Fertility through Lifestyle

If you have been trying to conceive without success, consider this: when it comes to fertility, lifestyle factors can have a major impact. There are some elements of fertility that are beyond your control, of course, like your genetic makeup and your age. However, there is a lifestyle and infertility connection to indicate that changing your habits may be helpful in improving your chances of conception. Here, we offer some suggestions for adopting healthy habits for fertility.

Improve Your Diet, Improve Your Fertility

When you eat a nutrient-dense diet, filling your plate whole grains, healthy fats, lean proteins, and plenty of multi-colored fruits and vegetables, you are doing something that supports both male and female fertility, benefiting sperm production and ovulation alike. Consuming essential nutrients like folic acid, iron, zinc, and antioxidants can protect the body from inflammation and cellular damage, and help promote a healthy pregnancy. Trans fats should be limited or avoided entirely, as they are linked with higher risks of infertility. Strive to maintain a healthy weight, as being underweight or overweight can impede fertility.

The Right Amount of Exercise Can Improve Fertility

Regular moderate to vigorous exercise is good for the fertility of men and women alike. Strive for physical activities that elevate your heart rate, like brisk walking, because this kind of activity is linked to higher-quality sperm and better maternal and fetal health outcomes. It is important for women to avoid workouts that are too intense, though. While exercising in moderation promotes reproductive and overall health, excessive exercise can inhibit ovulation and disrupt a woman’s hormonal balance, decreasing a woman’s chances of conceiving. A sedentary lifestyle is just as bad for a person’s health, and can lead to obesity, which can diminish fertility. According to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, women should be encouraged to participate in aerobic and strength conditioning exercise before, during, and after pregnancy. Finding the right balance can be tricky, so if you have concerns, speak to your doctor.

Reducing Your Stress Can Benefit Your Reproductive Health

Stress, on its own, does not cause infertility. However, it is one piece of the puzzle, and there is evidence to suggest that people with a long history of anxiety or depression may have trouble conceiving, both naturally and with IVF. This issue needs to be studied further, but it does help to try and manage your stress when trying to conceive. Of course, properly managing your stress is important for your overall health, as well.

The Reproductive Health Impact of Substance Use

As is evidenced by the impact of dietary options on your fertility, what you put into your body matters. Women have long been told to completely avoid alcohol when trying to conceive, and there is evidence to indicate that consuming alcohol when attempting IVF lowers the chance of conception by as much as 16 percent. However, what is less well known is that men should avoid alcohol when trying to conceive, as well. Excessive alcohol consumption has been linked to reduced testosterone levels, and can also make it difficult to maintain an erection.

Cigarette smoking also reduces fertility in both men and women. If you needed another reason to quit smoking, in addition to the long list of reasons that already exist in regard to your overall health, smoking damages eggs and sperm, decreases motility, is harmful to the lining of the uterus, damages DNA, and impedes essential hormone production. Quitting smoking should be high on your list of lifestyle changes if you are trying to conceive.

This may not even need to be said, but illicit drug use is not something you should be participating in when trying to conceive. Drugs like marijuana, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, and methamphetamines can disrupt menstrual cycles as well as lowering sperm count, testosterone levels, and total seminal fluid. For the sake of your fertility, and for many other reasons, recreational drugs should be avoided, particularly when trying to conceive.

Center for Vasectomy Reversal Cares About Men’s Health

When you are trying to achieve pregnancy, it is important to understand the impact your lifestyle choices have on your reproductive health. Of course, it is also vital that you partner with healthcare providers who can help you improve your reproductive and overall health. At the Center for Vasectomy Reversal, men’s health is our priority. We pride ourselves on helping men improve their health and fertility through uncompromising, concierge-level patient care. Dr. Green and his team provide state-of-the-art treatment for men who need a reversal of their vasectomy or have other fertility concerns. Having had extensive training in urology, microsurgery, and vasectomy reversal, Dr. Green founded the Center for Vasectomy Reversal to provide the highest level of patient care while delivering optimal surgical results. To learn more about how our experienced team can help you reach your reproductive goals, contact us through our website or call 941-894-6428.