When trying to conceive there are many factors that play a role in your success.

One of these is egg (& sperm) quality.

Women are born with all the eggs they will ever have. Every month we loss around 1,000 follicles (pre-egg), which accelerates as we age.

The quality of the eggs that remain is important as any damage to the DNA may lead to chromosomal abnormalities, infertility and miscarriage.

Ensuring a healthy egg takes time, as it requires reversal of the damaging factors prior to full maturation of the egg, which takes 2-4 months.

Here is just one path egg quality can be impacted:

1. Harmful toxins can cause weight gain, inflammation and insulin resistance

2. Weight gain, inflammation & insulin resistance can lead to mitochondrial dysfunction & oxidative stress

3. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress can cause damage to follicle tissue

There are other factors that can play a role beyond toxins that cause inflammation & insulin resistance, such as chronic stress and poor sleep. So taking a look at all habits that may be disruptive of the healthiest version of yourself will provide you with the most benefit.

Since we have already established that harmful toxins can damage the tissues of your follicles, it should also be known that there are toxins called endocrine disruptors, that can also interfere with fertility by mimicking reproductive hormones. These chemicals can cause anovulation, poor uterine lining (important for implantation) and infertility. And have also been linked to PCOS and endometriosis.

So the combination of tissue damage and hormone interference can make conceiving more challenging, when that is your goal.

One way to help you with this is a detox.

When I say detox, this is more than a juice or smoothie cleanse. A detox is a step by step process to:

1. Reduce or eliminate exposure to harmful toxins

2. Cleanse and improve your detox organs

3. Mobilize stored toxins and

4. Support your natural detox process with daily choices

The first step is swapping out or reducing products that have harmful toxins in them. From foods exposed to pesticides to beauty products with fragrance, to hard plastics in the kitchen. By doing this first step you are already reducing the toxic load your body has to deal with on a daily basis. Which will help with the following steps.

Here are two great websites to check out (I have no affiliation with these websites or products on them) when looking to swap products -

ewg.org

madesafe.org

The next step is to nourish your detox organs so they can handle the work of detoxing from the toxins they are exposed to on a daily basis as well as those you wish to remove on a deeper level from your body. Each organ requires slightly different support, however, there are many overlaps. Including:

• hydration for kidney function & gut health

• whole foods, nutrient dense diet for liver function & gut health

• movement and exercise for lymph circulation, gut health, & sweating

• body work and exercise for blood flow to all the organs

After the first two steps that help reduce the toxic load on your body and improve the function of your detox organs, now your body should be able to handle mobilizing toxins out of your fat stores.

A high portion of the harmful toxins we are exposed to are lipophilic, meaning they are fat soluble and will remain in our body if not broken down into water soluble components. The longer a toxin is in our body, the increased risk it will impact your health.

The primary method to remove these stored toxins from your body is with exercise, to burn fat. Two forms of exercise that has shown to be highly effective are HIIT and whole body resistance training 3-5 times per week.

The caution with exercise is you need to have the know how and no other health precautions to start a new routine on your own. This is why it is important to receive guidance from a professional, like a Physical Therapist, who can also offer support with:

• progression of the exercise

• frequency based on your fitness level

• proper form for injury prevention and

• depending on the PT can also give you body work suggestions that can improve your muscle function & enhance the exercise.

Mobilizing toxins from your body can take over 3 months, and should be accomplished well in advance of conceiving, so as to not have excess toxins circulating in your body that can be passed on to baby.

These three steps will be supported by also addressing other behaviors and habits that can either hinder or nurture your detox.

This includes:

• stress management

• good sleep hygeine

• staying clear of cigarette smoke (1st, 2nd and 3rd hand) and

• improving your indoor air quality

This can be an overwhelming process that can stop even before you begin. Start slow and progress as it feels like.