Balanced hormones are the key to a successful natural conception and healthy pregnancy. At times hormones can seem quite complicated to set straight, but what doesn’t need to be complicated is where to get started on your journey to balancing them naturally.
1. Take Control of Your Mental-Chatter & Stress Levels
When you have been struggling to get pregnant for some time, it can begin to sap you of positivity while simultaneously raising stress levels. One of the most important places to begin when looking to balance your hormones is to ensure you work to stay positive, and focused on your goal of conceiving, no matter what life throws at you. By staying focused on the positives, any other lifestyle changes you need to make will become much easier.
An interesting study carried out at Emory University School of Medicine found that the women taking part in their study, who had stopped ovulating for more than 6 months, had high levels of cortisol (a stress hormone). This small study found that seven out of eight participants who received stress management therapy began ovulating again, versus two out of eight who received no intervention.
There are a variety of ways to manage stress levels, learn our best tips for reducing stress while trying to conceive here…
2. Choose a Whole Food Fertility Diet with a Focus on Alkaline-Forming Foods
Learning how to eat a nutrient dense, whole food fertility diet is a great way to begin your natural fertility journey. Not only are the foods that are part of the fertility diet nutrient rich, but many helps to provide the right blood pH needed to help make conception possible.
The blood pH should be 7.2, which is slightly alkaline. Therefore, if we want to function optimally then we should be doing our best to keep it this way every day.
Typical acid-forming foods and drinks to avoid:
- White sugar
- Wine
- Coffee
- Soft drinks/colas
- Wheat flour
These acid forming foods may be a breeding ground for micro-organisms like yeast (candida), fungi, and negative bacteria and viruses to thrive in the body, leaving the body susceptible to a variety of health related issues including the following:
- Interference with enzymes and coenzymes
- Reducing the absorption of essential vitamins and minerals needed for hormonal balance
- Menstrual difficulties
- UTI’s (Urinary Tract Infections)
- Vaginal infections
- Impotence
- Prostatitis (Chronic pelvic pain)
- Inhospitable Cervical mucous (wrong pH for sperm to survive in)
Try to achieve a diet that consists of 60% alkaline-forming foods, and 40% acid-forming foods. But still keep healthy basics in mind when choosing your acid-forming foods.
Don’t be afraid of choosing acid-forming foods either such as lean, organic animal protein as these are vital for hormone building, just be sure to top up the rest of your plate with plenty of alkaline-forming foods such as organic, dark leafy vegetables, chickpeas, cucumbers, sprouts, avocados, quinoa, and buckwheat.
3. Purify Your Household Water
Most municipalities around the world spend a lot of time adding chemicals to our water to ensure it is left drinkable for us and our families. While their intentions are good, what is not so good is the fact that these chemicals remain in our water when we go to drink it, or shower and bathe in it. Some of these chemicals have been linked to causing some major health problems by credible scientists.
Chlorine is one such chemical used to kill bacteria in our water, but its consumption may cause an underactive thyroid. It is important we don’t let this happen because when one endocrine gland is out of balance, this eventually causes others to follow suit due to extra demands placed on them.
So it is vital you invest in a good quality reverse osmosis water filtration system for your household water, that helps filter out these unwanted chemicals and other toxins.
- Johnson, M. (n.d.). Can’t Get Pregnant? How Stress May Be Causing Your Infertility. Retrieved from http://health.usnews.com/health-news/family-health/womens-health/articles/2010/08/27/cant-get-pregnant-how-stress-may-be-causing-your-infertility
- Rizk, J. (n.d.). FERTILITY & THE ALKALINE DIET . Retrieved from http://thedetoxdiva.com/fertility-and-the-alkaline-diet/
- Benson, J. (n.d.). Your guide to eating alkaline – What are the top alkaline-forming foods? Retrieved from http://www.naturalnews.com/036782_alkaline_foods_optimal_health_acidity.html
