Last week we heard from our Senior Nutritionist Ciara Wright PhD about how the immune system affects your fertility.  And now she’s talking about your gut and its connection into this unexpected triad.

Digestion and Fertility – an important link

You may not have considered it, but your digestion plays an important role in your fertility, supporting a healthy conception and a healthy pregnancy.  Perhaps you have been putting up with irregular bowel movements, thinking this is a ‘live-with’ situation.  Perhaps you know there are certain foods that just don’t agree with you. Maybe you get bloated and uncomfortable but think this is fairly ‘normal’.  There are lots of different symptoms for digestive issues but feeling discomfort and pain are not normal.  A regular bowel movement should occur on average once per day and should not be too firm or difficult to pass or be too loose – some say ‘toothpaste’ consistency!

But why does this matter for your fertility?

Optimal digestion is critical for absorbing critical nutrients to support pregnancy

This goes for the men and the women; you can have a good diet, but if you are not absorbing those nutrients, then it could be going to waste. Simple tests with your GP can test for iron absorption and B12 absorption, often affected when you are not digesting properly. However, critical minerals for sperm and egg health such as zinc may also be affected and tests in our clinic have shown high rates of deficiencies.

Your immune system surrounds your gut

All day long, we are putting ‘foreign material’ in the form of food down our gullets to fill ourselves up! It’s no wonder that the immune army is strongest in our digestive tract, guarding us from all this foreign stuff and preventing our immune system from completely over reacting to foods.  Approximately 70-80% of our immune cells are found here so it is no wonder that how we eat and how we treat our gut has a huge effect on our immune system.  

Keep your good bugs happy

Keep your gut and those good bacteria happy by eating plenty of fibre and a wide variety of fruits and veg. These bacteria play a role in modulating your immune system, so it’s important to keep them on side so that everything remains calm.  Their favourite foods are high fibre pulses and resistant starches like raw oats, flaxseed and cooled cooked potatoes and pasta.  Yes, our good bugs love potato salad just as much as we do!

Address your digestion to optimise fertility

Sometimes all the healthy eating still doesn’t solve the problem.  If you find in fact that high fibre foods don’t suit you, this could be a sign of bacterial imbalance which needs to be addressed.  If you suffer from constipation, diarrhoea, bloating or pain despite following a good diet then ask us how to get to the root cause of these issues and optimise your nutrition.

Your immune system is an incredibly complex army that protects us from everyday onslaughts of bacteria, viruses and general dirt and grime all day long. However, we know that sometimes it can get a bit out of control. With so many different soldiers, some with their own agenda, there can be revolutions and in-fighting. This can cause chronic inflammation and autoimmune conditions in some people. 

What has this got to do with your fertility?

The immune system should recognise anything non-self as ‘not safe’.  Technically it doesn’t know what a bacteria or a virus is, but it knows it’s not good news.  An implanting embryo in the uterus is also non-self.  It is only 50% maternal DNA, the remainder comes from the father or paternal DNA. It’s a brand new combination of both parents so it is not ‘self’ where our immune system is concerned.  As with many amazing things the body can do, we have adapted to this.

The uterine-foetal environment is able to supress the local immune system so that we tolerate the developing embryo and allow it to peacefully co-exist for nine months.  What actually happens is we tip the balance over to one side of our immune system – which in simple terms is the side of the house that usually looks after allergies. This is called our Th2 side- and is one of the reasons why certain allergies such as hay fever often only show up for the first time in pregnancy.  The attacking arm of our immune system – the Th1 side – should stand down and sit tight. Again, this is a reason why some people experience a remission of their symptoms of autoimmune conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis in pregnancy.

But what if things go wrong? We know from other immune-related conditions, that the army doesn’t always do as it’s told and within the uterine environment is no different.  An army geared for attack can prevent healthy conception and implantation or increase your risk for early miscarriage.

Could this be a cause of ‘unexplained infertility’?

Have have been struggling to conceive or having recurrent miscarriage with no known cause? It might be time to take a look at your immune system. Approximately 30% of couples have difficulty conceiving. These couples end up with a diagnosis of ‘unexplained infertility’ after the usual rounds of tests and examinations.  We would prefer to call this ‘undiagnosed’. If you haven’t looked at your immune system as a potential culprit here, then the ‘unexplained’ may just yet to be uncovered.

How would I know if this affects me?

There might be some clues, like a personal or family history of chronic inflammatory conditions or autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thyroid disease or coeliac disease to name but a few.  Alternatively, it might be something apparently unconnected, like chronic eczema, psoriasis, asthma or skin rashes. Or, and here is the interesting part, you may have no indications at all.  In our experience, we have helped women get pregnant when the only thing that pointed to their immune system was simply that it was something to be ruled out after many failed IVFs or miscarriages.

How do I find out more?

We work with Dr Lyuda Shkrobot of the Sims IVF clinic who is an expert in this field.  The Sims IVF have some of the most progressive testing services. These include immune blood tests and uterine biopsies to help you find out what exactly your immune army is up to.  Following your results, we can support you with nutrition and medicinal mushrooms. This can help modulate your immune system and support a healthy pregnancy.  When we re-test, we will usually see the immune system back in balance This is a good time for you to try to conceive now that your environment is right.

Dr Lyuda says ‘I have worked with a large number of patients who have tried unsuccessfully for years.  Once we balance their immune system, their chances of conceiving and staying pregnant increases significantly.’

If you would like to find out about our tests or how we may be able to help, call us on 01 4020777.

The thyroid is a small gland that lies across your windpipe at the front of your neck.  It produces two hormones, thyroxine (T4) and triiodothyronine (T3).  They are made from one small protein molecule called tyrosine (an amino acid) and either 3 or 4 molecules of iodine,  hence the name T3 and T4.  These two hormones essentially control the metabolic rate of all cells throughout the body. In other words,  the thyroid hormones influence every system, every chemical reaction and the activity of every organ and muscle in the body.  No surprise then that it needs a lot of good nutrition and some key nutrients!

Critical nutrients for thyroid health

The essential nutrients for thyroid health are iodine, selenium, zinc, magnesium and vitamin D. There are of course other nutrients that play a role (such as iron and B vitamins)  but these are the key five.

Thyroid cells are the only cells in the body which can absorb iodine. If you have a thyroid condition, iodine could be critical to your health and wellbeing.  Testing is essential though as you can get too much of a good thing if your thyroid issue is autoimmune in nature.  In cases of Hashimoto’s disease, supplementing blindly with iodine can make you worse. Check out our recent scientific publication here to find out more about how correcting an iodine deficiency can help.

Good sources are seaweeds (a little goes a long way) , dairy and fish, with smaller amounts in eggs, cranberries and strawberries. Most good health shops have seaweed based ‘salt’ shakers which are a great way to get iodine into your diet while also adding flavour to your foods.

Selenium is also found at very high concentrations in the thyroid gland – it is required for the enzymes that convert T4 to T3. Brazil nuts are the best source and you can get your daily intake in 1-2 nuts per day!  Again, more is not always better, and it is always wise to test and supplement accordingly if needed.

Zinc is required as a co-factor for the production of T4 and conversion to T4 so pretty important for thyroid health. It is also a key nutrient for a healthy immune system. If you like oysters, you are in luck as oysters are to zinc what Brazil nuts are to selenium! Other good sources are red meat, nuts and seeds and also legumes for those following a vegan diet.

Vitamin D has the ability to get our immune system to ‘stand down’ and can trigger anti-inflammatory signals.  It is a lot more complex than this for course.  But when it comes to autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s,  symptoms are worse in the setting of vitamin D deficiency so testing and supplementing sensibly is important.

Vitamin D is the sunshine hormone and you only need 10 minutes of safe sun exposure –ideally to the face and limbs – to make your days’ worth of vitamin D, though sadly we don’t always get this, even in the summer! Food sources include oily fish and mushrooms. Interestingly, when mushrooms are left in the sun (i.e. on a sunny windowsill for a spell) it is thought that their vitamin D content is increased.

Magnesium is needed for our thyroid gland to utilise iodine and is also a nutrient that is commonly depleted by physical and phycological stress.  There aren’t many of use who can claim to have absolutely none of this (sadly!). Approximately 60% of our patients in clinic are deficient in this mineral through blood testing.

Food sources of magnesium include leafy greens, legumes, and nuts and seeds.  Cacao is also a good source -good news for the chocolate lovers.

Can we not get all these though diet?

Nutrients such as zinc require a robust digestive system as you need zinc to produce stomach acid, and you need stomach acid to digest the kinds of foods zinc is in, such as meat and nuts and seeds. It can turn into a bit of a zinc-deficient vicious circle with your poor hard-working thyroid paying the price. We also need to love our livers as a lot of the T4-T3 conversion takes place there and a sluggish liver (from high alcohol or sugar consumption can also mean a sluggish conversion.

So,  we say, test, don’t guess. Contact us on 01 4020777 to find out about our thyroid nutrient tests and support.