How Increasing Egg Quality Boosts Fertility.
By Kari Pettersen
Ladies, listen up. You want to boost your fertility?! It starts with the egg. So Many women do not know that increasing egg quality can boost fertility. But what’s the egg got to do with it? Let me explain. Our eggs require alot of energy also known as ATP! They contain about 200,000- 500,000 mitochondria ( these produce energy). This mitochondria is replicated faster and is more sensitive to damage then our nuclear DNA. Basically this means that our eggs are very vulnerable and are affected by age, what we eat, lifestyle and genetics. A decrease in egg quality can affect everything from fertilization, implantation as well as IFV outcomes.
So, what causes us to have poor egg quality to begin with?
Age- Fertility peaks at 25 and after 35 starts it starts to decline. Every year after 35 the decline becomes more and more rapid. The older we get we start to see decreased mitochondrial function and decreased ATP ( energy production), increase in oxidative stress, damage to cell proteins, lipids and DNA and increased cell death.
Nuritional Status- You are what you eat. Refined sugars, not enough protein, not enough exercise, obesity ( causes oxidative stress and alters mitochondria numbers) or nutritional deficiencies can all contribute to lower egg quality. Rule of thumb is to eat organic whole foods with lots of vegetables and berries, protein and healthy fats. Vegetarians and Vegans really need to look into whether or not they are getting enough protein. Exercise- anything that increases lean muscle mass increases mitochondrial function. HIIT has been shown to increase mitochondria in older women.
Environmental Exposures- We are exposed to over 800 chemicals daily and many are endocrine disruptors. These are found in the kitchen, plastics, makeup, lotion, cleaning products etc.. Eliminating plastic and teflon from the kitchen is one of the easiest and most impactful changes. Switch out plastic for glass in the kitchen and water bottles and try to find products that are cleaner to use with less chemicals. Also, some medications like metphormin can cause issues with egg quality so if you are on certain medications then supplementing with diet and vitamins are a must.
Stress- Causes issues with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis
Genetic Variables - Some genes can cause issues with vitamins or how our liver process’s toxins.
It can feel a bit bleak to read how much can affect our egg quality, but ladies, not all is lost. There is so much you can be doing right now to increase your egg quality. If your are over 35 or even 40 you can boost your egg quality starting today! It takes about a 100 days for eggs to mature. That means changes to the their environment can have an impact in around 3 months time. If you are planning on IVF you want to be focusing on egg quality before you go for egg retrieval 3 months prior to your IVF appointment regardless of age to help boost your success. In the blog today I am going to focus on some key supplements that you can add to help boost egg quality.
Supplements
Not all supplements are created equal. Vitamins and supplements are not regulated, and there is a huge range in quality. Be sure to use a brand that uses quality ingredients, organic products, is research-based. The product should be third-party inspected and certified that what’s on the label is actually in the bottle. You want testing for high quality, purity and potency. I sell Vancouver based Bioclinic Naturals because they provide just that. They are Isura approved meaning their products have undergone a stringent battery of laboratory tests to confirm that its ingredients are:
Non-GMO compliant,
Contaminant-free,
Adulterant-free,
Authenticated, and
Accurately and inclusively labelled
In a non professional grade you could be taking so little of the active ingredient that you could be throwing money away and wasting time swallowing a bunch of pills every day. There is no guarantee if they’re not quality supplements. Professional grade supplements are more potent. It is always best to go with the professional grade so you know that you are getting the best quality and quanity there is. Here are the top 8 supplements to boost egg quality.
CO-Q10- improves egg numbers and quality, embryo quality and pregnancies outcomes. Improves response to clomid in women with PCOS
PQQ- Can help generate new mitochondria. Improved number of hatched in aging females.
Melatonin- Studies show melatonin increases egg and embryo quality, fertilization rate, and pregnancy rate. Melatonin also decreases oxidative stress and help signal the implantation window to start. Not only that but it also resets your sleep-wake cycle improving sleep. Another important factor in egg quality.
L- Carnitine- Is an antioxidant that helps decrease oxidative stress and improves egg quality by not exposing the egg to to much inflammation. Can also help with women who have thin lining.
NAC- For detoxification of harmful substances and helps protect mitochondria from oxidative stress.
Vitamin D- Very common deficiency related to sub fertility, endometriosis, fibroids, PCOS, preeclampsia, pre- term delivery, gestational diabetes and bacterial vaginosis. Helps in reaction of and selection of egg to sperm and increases estrogen, progesterone and growth factor protien in ovary. Increases embyo and blastocyst transfer as well as implantation rates in IVF
Inositol- Great for women with PCOS because it can help with insulin resistance, decrease androgens and acts as a second messenger for FSH and TSH. This can be better for women then metformin which can actually lower ATP; a side effect we don’t want when looking to get pregnant. Inositol improves maturation, fertilization and embryo development. Can also help older women or women who are less responsive to fertility drugs after many treatments.
Opti Ova- I recommend the product Opti Ova by Bioclinc Naturals. Not only does it have all of these supplements together in a pre package but it also has a prenatal with L-5-MTHF, the bioactive form of folate which bypasses the often impaired enzymatic step needed for folic acid activation. As a result, pregnant women supplementing with L-5-MTHF have been shown to have higher red blood cell folate levels than when supplementing with folic acid. It also includes Omega 3 with DHA and EPA. Omega 3 also decreases inflammation, boost egg quality and helps with fetal brain development.
Acupuncture- Acupuncture can increase egg quality by reducing stress and inflammation thus allowing the HPA axis and mitochondria to function more optimal. The goal is to get your body to optimal health to allow pregnancy to happen. To essentially fertilize the soil to help plant the seed. Combining lifestyle changes with Acupuncture is how we achieve this. Read HERE to learn more about Acupuncture and fertility.
Sources
Prefoundation Bioclinic Naturals. (2020). Retrieved from https://bioclinicnaturals.com/product/prefoundation-prenatal-multiple-vitamin-mineral-formula.
Quality goes hand in hand with Bioclinc Naturals. (2020). Retrieved from https://bioclinicnaturals.com/about/purity-and-quality/quality-assurance
Bioclinic Naturals works closely with industry associations and government agencies to ensure that we provide the latest and best nutritional supplements possible. (2020). Retrieved from https://bioclinicnaturals.com/about/purity-and-quality/certifications
Opti Ova Bioclinic Naturals. (2020). Retrieved from https://bioclinicnaturals.com/product/opti-ova-female-wellness-kit
BNC Fertility. (2020, July 15). Optimizing Oocyte Quality By Dr Jennifer Fitzgerald (video file). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcUJX89Enes&feature=youtu.be