From the Desk of Carolyn Dean MD ND
According to the World Health Organization, (WHO) more than 17 percent of people around the world – or 1 in 6 people – struggle with infertility. WHO has defined infertility as a disease, diagnosed after 12 months or more of a couple’s inability to achieve pregnancy without intervention.
What Dr. Google might say about infertility
I scanned Dr. Google to see the online consensus about male and female infertility. At a glance, it boils down to a woman having trouble ovulating, or having endometriosis or compromised fallopian tubes, and a man having a low sperm count and/or low testosterone, or the combined problems of both partners. Infertility isn’t considered a 50/50 male, female problem. The cause of infertility is attributed in the following way. One third either to the male or female partner, and another third involves both partners, and the final third is an unexplained mystery.
And I will chime in below to offer some insight into the unexplained. That’s what I do.
Some suggested causes of female infertility run the gamut from autoimmune diseases, thyroid dysfunction, to uterine fibroids or polyps and polycystic ovary syndrome.
Dr. Google’s causes for male infertility include ejaculation problems, low testosterone, low sperm count, or the result of tight underwear and too much time boiling testicles in hot tubs to get close to ladies in bikinis.
What Dr. Google’s advice looks like
According to a number of fertility focused websites, more than 80 per cent of couples do conceive within the first year of trying. If you’ve not been successful in that first year, the recommendation is to seek medical advice and testing. If you’re between 35 and 40, where age is an increasing risk factor, it’s recommended that you discuss your concerns with your doctor after six months of trying.
Females seeking information and advice on the health and wellbeing of their reproductive organs might be sent for a series of tests and procedures to determine whether there are blockages, structural problems or scarring. There are eight or more procedures, some quite invasive, that a woman might have to endure.
Males on the other hand offer up a blood or semen analysis to determine their reproductive wellbeing. Some may have a scrotal ultrasound to observe testicular health.
If the female is diagnosed with any of the impediments to pregnancy, it seems that Dr. Google is quick to involve the expertise of fertility specialists who take their patients through costly cycles of individually designed fertility treatments.
Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)
In vitro fertilization (IVF) is a process of using drugs to stimulate egg production. The eggs are removed and fertilized outside the body and then reinserted into the uterus. This is the most common of the processes used in ART. The cost of a single assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment is shown to be more than a person’s average annual income.
My concern… well one of my concerns… is that couples are moved towards catastrophically expensive and invasive medical procedures to achieve pregnancy without exploring the natural options.
What I Say About Infertility
After a year of having regular intercourse without achieving pregnancy, many couples begin to panic, adding to their stress and slicing into the calm, relaxed atmosphere that’s most conducive to conception. (see my recent blog, A Sweet Conception for ideal conditions for conception)
Unlike a few decades ago when reproduction difficulties were blamed solely on the woman, now, both men and women are investigated for infertility. Men have a sperm test to check for quantity and motility. Women are tested for endometriosis, PCOS, anovulatory cycles due to hormonal imbalance, and scarring of fallopian tubes from a previous STD infection.
Despite the investigation and testing, many couples are never provided with a concrete reason for their fertility challenges.
In modern society, there are many causes of infertility that will seem commonsense once you read them:
- a junk food diet
- ingested chemicals, including prescription drugs, the birth control pill (BCP), and street drugs
- environmental pollution of our air, food, and water
- food additives, especially aspartame (NutraSweet).
What I Say About Female Infertility
In my blog A Sweet Conception, I outline how to eat to prepare for conception- essentially the antithesis of a junk food diet.
One of the biggest contributors to female infertility is the birth control pill and it’s totally ignored. Young women, who may not have even started having regular periods, are often given the BCP. After ten years of artificial hormone intake, the body may not be able to trigger its own hormonal cascade that is necessary for conception. The daily levels of synthetic estrogen and progesterone in the BCP shut down the pituitary gland’s production of FSH and LH, which prepare the follicles in the ovaries to become eggs.
In medical school I was taught that women should only take the BCP for a maximum of ten years (5 years would be safer) and then find other means of contraception. But many woman continue on the BCP for the majority of their reproductive life.
Fertility requires balanced hormones
What does a decade or two of using the BCP and the subsequent inability to conceive when you stop the BCP, followed by a few years of taking fertility drugs or IVF (In- Vitro-Fertilization) do to the delicate balance of female hormones? To set the stage for this discussion, let me define what I mean by the delicate balance of female hormones. Hormones are measured in incredibly tiny amounts in the nanogram and picogram range. Depending on the stage in your menstrual cycle, normal levels of estradiol for a woman can fluctuate from 50pg/ml to 300pg/ml. How small are these amounts? Consider the following:
One milligram (mg) = one thousandth of a gram
One microgram (mcg) = one millionth of a gram
One nanogram (ng) = one billionth of a gram
One picogram (pg) = one trillionth of a gram
Once you realize that a nanogram is one billionth of a gram (1 with 9 zeros) and a picogram is one trillionth of a gram (1 with 12 zeros), you get an idea of the power of hormones and a better understanding of why our hormones can so easily be thrown out of balance when using microgram to milligram doses of synthetic hormones for the BCP or to treat menopausal symptoms.
How to bounce back from the BCP?
Because long-term use of the BCP often causes infertility, give your body at least six months to rebalance before trying to conceive and especially before going on any fertility drugs. We still don’t know the long-term side effects of those fertility hormones because they have not been properly studied, although they have been associated with an increased risk of cancer. If you have been on fertility drugs, be very careful about taking more synthetic hormones in your lifetime, such as HRT for menopause.
Make sure there is no underlying reason that your body might not be able to sustain a pregnancy. The usual medical tests for infertility must be done to rule out any anatomical abnormalities. If you are chronically ill or chronically allergic, your body might not direct its energies toward creating new life until it has a strong, viable life force to sustain it. Make sure you have no underlying allergies, yeast overgrowth, or mineral deficiencies by doing your own research and/or working with a Naturopathic practitioner.
Dietary Supplements for Women
There is no one “fertility supplement.” All vitamins and minerals are involved in making a new life. Well-absorbed dietary supplements that support the structure and function of the body, mind, and spirit from the cellular level are vital. I recommend food-based vitamins A, B, C, D, E, K; picometer minerals including magnesium; and Omega-3 fatty acids. I’ve written several books on my various formulas that will explain why nutrients are necessary.
We have received numerous reports of infertile couples achieving pregnancy after taking picometer magnesium, and it could simply be due to relaxation of the fallopian tubes.
Getting a baseline reading of your magnesium, vitamin D, omega-3 fatty acids, folate and iron will give you insight into where your health picture is when you embark on improving fertility. Nutritional testing can be done without a doctor’s prescription in many states. For example, we have a close relationship with Grassroots Health, which provides an in-home finger prick testing kit. You can access this test on our RnAReSet website. Request-A-Test.com offers online lab testing.
What I Say About Male Infertility
A man’s diet and lifestyle can have a tremendous effect on semen and sperm count. This means men should avoid smoking and greatly decrease their intake of sugar, coffee, alcohol and refined foods. An excellent diet will achieve optimum results.
Men should also avoid wearing tight underwear. The testicles are meant to hang outside the body, because they make more viable sperm at a lower temperature than body temperature. As noted above, hot tubs should also be avoided when trying to create viable sperm.
Dietary Supplements for Men
- picometer magnesium
- picometer minerals
- whole food Vitamin C
- picometer zinc with copper
- arginine, 500 mg twice daily to enhance sperm motility
Zinc for male fertility
The following abstract indicates zinc’s role in supporting male fertility:
Zinc (Zn) is the second most abundant trace element in humans, which can’t be stored in the body, thus regular dietary intake is required. This review explained the physiological and pathogenesis roles of zinc in men’s health and its potentials in germination, quality of sperm, and fertilization.
Our investigation showed that Zn contained many unique properties in human, especially males. The antioxidant quality is one of them. Also, the increased reactive oxygen species levels in the seminal plasma of men who are both infertile and smokers influence the Zn content of seminal plasma in a way that physiology of spermatozoa can be affected as well. Moreover, Zn acts as a toxic repercussion against heavy metals and cigarette inflammatory agents.
Zinc as a hormone balancer helps hormones such as testosterone, prostate and sexual health and functions as an antibacterial agent in men’s urea system. It plays a role in epithelial integrity, showing that Zn is essential for maintaining the lining of the reproductive organs and may have a regulative role in the progress of capacitation and acrosome reaction.
In contrast, Zn deficiency impedes spermatogenesis and is a reason for sperm abnormalities and has a negative effect on serum testosterone concentration. Based on these findings, Zn microelement is very essential for male fertility. It could be considered as a nutrient marker with many potentials in prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of male infertility.¹
Share this information with couples who are considering pregnancy so the outcome will be optimal.
Carolyn Dean MD ND
The Doctor of the Future
