Ever wondered how your eating habits could be affecting your fertility journey? Join us as we dive into the link between nutrition and fertility in our latest episode. This week, we welcome back Katie, a registered nurse, childbirth instructor, and soon-to-be prenatal nutritionist. She has extensive knowledge about the role of nutrition in conception and we love learning from her.
We unravel the concept of how inflammation, micronutrient deficiencies, and inadequate food intake can negatively affect fertility. Katie shares deep insights on the impacts of gluten on fertility, linking gluten intolerance and celiac disease to infertility. We also discuss insulin resistance and egg health, and how they can be influenced by your dietary choices.
But it’s not just about the problems; we delve into solutions too! We share some easy and effective tips on bringing more healthy fats into your meals and eliminating inflammatory foods. We emphasize the significance of manageable, realistic lifestyle changes. So tune in, and get ready to hear about how your diet can support your fertility journey. It’s a must-listen for those hoping to conceive or just interested in nutrition’s role in fertility.
To connect with Katie and to find out more about her mission, she can be reached at any of the following -
Ever wondered how your eating habits could be affecting your fertility journey? Join us as we dive into the link between nutrition and fertility in our latest episode. This week, we welcome back Katie, a registered nurse, childbirth instructor, and soon-to-be prenatal nutritionist. She has extensive knowledge about the role of nutrition in conception and we love learning from her.
We unravel the concept of how inflammation, micronutrient deficiencies, and inadequate food intake can negatively affect fertility. Katie shares deep insights on the impacts of gluten on fertility, linking gluten intolerance and celiac disease to infertility. We also discuss insulin resistance and egg health, and how they can be influenced by your dietary choices.
But it’s not just about the problems; we delve into solutions too! We share some easy and effective tips on bringing more healthy fats into your meals and eliminating inflammatory foods. We emphasize the significance of manageable, realistic lifestyle changes. So tune in, and get ready to hear about how your diet can support your fertility journey. It’s a must-listen for those hoping to conceive or just interested in nutrition’s role in fertility.
To connect with Katie and to find out more about her mission, she can be reached at any of the following -
Welcome to the Maybe Baby Diaries podcast. I'm your host, mariah Montgomery. Here we'll discuss all things in fertility, like heartbreak, joy, growth, loss and the wild, crazy journey that it is. Let's bring awareness, education and understanding to the table. You aren't alone. Together, we've got this, katie. Welcome back to the podcast Two weeks in a row, i know. Thanks, mariah, thanks for having me again. Yeah, i'm excited to have you here Today.
Speaker 1:
we're going to talk about nutrition still, but we're going to shift things around. But in case you didn't listen to last week's podcast episode and you are new to everything, katie, katie, can you tell us about yourself? Sure, sorry, my mom, i have two sons And then I'm also a registered nurse that has experienced labor and delivery and postpartum, and then now in the outpatient at a large OBGYN office And then I teach childbirth classes And then I'm also a becoming certified in prenatal nutrition. I'm very close to being done with that And yeah, so that's kind of my professional resume, i guess. Yeah, i think it's great. So last week we touched on nutrition and using nutrition to heal from a miscarriage and from a loss, and today we're going to be shifting a little bit and talking about using nutrition to aid in your fertility journey. Yes, so if you are in, you know, been trying to conceive for a while, maybe a lot of places they want you to try for at least a year, right before they refer you to a fertility doctor and kind of go from there That's what I hear, anyways. And so maybe you're, maybe you've been trying for six months and you want to help yourself right to conceive on your own, or maybe you're past that point and you are taking fertility medications or IUI or IDF, and nutrition can be very supportive along each of those journeys, because they're all kind of related right, we're trying to conceive but also for there to be, you know, a healthy endometrium for the embryo to implant and then for your body to sustain that pregnancy. So, yeah, there's a lot of little tips and tricks that can help with that. So, for instance, a big one would be you want to think of your body as like a home for your baby, right, and so your body will recognize if it's not quite, the home isn't quite ready.
Speaker 1:
So if you're very deficient in a lot of micronutrients, if you're not eating enough calories every day, or if there's a lot of inflammation, then sometimes that makes it harder for your for you to conceive, because your body is, is not, it's, it's not very receptive for that. So the first thing would be trying to, you know, if you, if there are any deficiencies, trying to correct that. And you may not know, there are some labs that you can get done. But many people just start taking a prenatal vitamin, you know, when you're thinking of starting to conceive. But you can also, you know, start implementing more fresh fruits and vegetables in your diet and, you know, consider those things as well. That's kind of a whole other talk, going into each vitamin and nutrient that that you know, and what foods. It's kind of it's very in-depth, but it's just something to consider If you haven't done that already.
Speaker 1:
But more like vaguely, like broad, broadly reducing the inflammation in your body, and one of the main resources of inflammation is blood sugar dysregulation. So that's when we're having these big spikes in our blood sugar and then usually a big drop of over a short amount of time after a spike Excuse me, I'm gonna frog in my throat apparently. So so trying to eat foods that are more supportive of a more stable blood sugar, things lower on the glycemic index, you know, trying to to lessen these refined sugars in your diet. You know, sugary drinks, sugary treats if they're okay to treat ourselves, but it's just if we're doing it multiple times a day, every single day. That's where we're getting this like chronically, our blood sugar is spiking right. And if we're eating our meals are more carb heavy and aren't balanced with fiber and fat and protein, then we're getting these, these spikes. And when we eat the carbs with fiber, fat and protein, it lessens the spike. It's more of like a plateau right Instead of this big, like giant spike up. And so when we're getting these like chronic spikes, what can happen is insulin resistance And many people already have this related to other health conditions, like like PCOS, which is, you know, often related with fertility stuff. So something to consider if you already are just naturally having some insulin resistance in this, to something you may even want to focus even more so on. But that insulin resistance, it leads to that more spikes in your blood sugar, more inflammation. It's kind of like this vicious cycle And what can happen with that is it can affect ovulation and also egg quality or egg health, which is directly related to to what you're trying to do.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, so, yeah, so just you know, thinking of looking at your plate, i'm seeing you know what. What do I have on here that is carb, and do I have anything on my plate that will balance that carb out? Or is there a different carb? I could switch this one on my plate out for like a big fluffy white roll, you know. Or can I switch that out for more of like a whole grain option or sourdough or something like that? that would be a little bit nicer to my blood sugar. Yeah, i had a question for you, yeah.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, you mentioned inflammation a couple times. Can you talk about what that is and how that can negatively impact infertility, right? So inflammation you think of it as like I think of it as like a brick wall, right. And so when we've got these like beautiful, perfect, right out of the factory bricks that are lined up and like perfect, that's like I mean, we're not not ever so perfect, right, but with inflamed, i think of like the edges of that brick or the corners of the brick are starting to kind of crumble a little bit, maybe they're not fitting together as nicely as they could, and that's kind of ourselves in our body, and so ourselves don't work optimally when we've got this, this inflammation and this kind of breakdown of ourselves. So inflammation can be caused by many things. One of them is the blood sugar I was talking about, but there's, you know. Other things like if you, if you eat dairy and you're on the toilet the rest of the day, that's inflammatory to your body, right, and so that's probably some of it's just like innate person to person.
Speaker 1:
Are there certain foods that you don't tolerate that's causing inflammation in your body? What else was? oh? and then, like omega sixes. That was going to be my next, my next little topic. So when we're talking about fats in our diet and a lot of people hear about omega threes, which are in like fatty fish and a lot of people take omega three supplements, but there are also omega six fats And those are in like vegetable oils, canola oil, sunflower oil, safflower oil, margarine, and we need both. Both are important, but there's like a healthy balance of the two types of fats And the optimal balance would be the omega six being a three and the omega threes being a one. So three to one ratio, the two. Now, most people's ratio, like just average folk with an average diet, their ratio is 20 to one. Oh, my goodness, right, yeah, 20, 20 omega threes to one omega six or the other way, the other way around. So they're they're taking in way more of the omega six than they optimally should.
Speaker 1:
And the big reason is that we eat out more, right, we're not cooking in the home as much, and when we eat out more, foods are usually cooked in these vegetable canola oils or prepared in them or, like you know, think of like fast food and like how they're stored and stuff like that It's and how they're cooked. It's cooked in that kind of oil, typically for most restaurants and fast food, so, and then and then just store bought food as well. So, if you read the packaging, a lot of like I. When I learned this, i was trying to implement some of this stuff in my diet, even though I'm not trying to conceive, but it's just good to reduce inflammation for everyone, right, yeah?
Speaker 1:
And I wanted to make something that had a pesto sauce and I wanted to buy a pesto sauce. I could not find one that didn't have sunflower or vegetable or canola oil, and most people who are traditionally making at home, like if you read a recipe, usually they're using olive oil. So I don't know if it's, like you know, for storage or shelf life or what but or or price. But a lot of store bought things are using that base for their oils. So when we have this imbalance to that ratio, that also causes inflammation in the body. So you know, it's a. That's a pretty simple thing to try to change right, like when you're buying something, trying to look on actually look on the back and seeing what kind of oil is used and trying to lean more into those. Olive oils and avocado oils are generally better than I mean, they're not better, i'm just saying the ratio right, because we usually are higher in much higher than we need to be and the Omega sixes. So that's something to consider as well And then let's see.
Speaker 1:
Another thing would be when I was talking about how some people certain foods are inflammatory to them, like with the dairy, but also with gluten, and I'm not saying gluten is bad for everyone, but what was interesting that I found out was that sometimes that this is the first sign for someone to get diagnosed with celiac or gluten intolerance is is infertility. They're not able to conceive or they're having difficulty to conceive and they do all this testing and they find out that they have celiac and a gluten intolerance. So that's just something to consider. If you're having made, if you know that you have a gluten intolerance or celiac, then trying to reduce or avoid gluten in your diet And that will be helpful in conceiving. But maybe you don't know that And this is just how you've always been right, you, you don't know what you don't know. And then maybe you you're like, okay, we tried all the things I'm going to try to, maybe I'm going to eat gluten free for a few months and see if that makes a difference And it and maybe it would for you, you know or get tested for for celiac, yeah, do you have you met anyone that has experienced that before with like the celiac or gluten? So we, i wish I had it with me because I would show it to you.
Speaker 1:
But we have this book called It Starts with the Egg and I'm sure that at some point it'll come up for you because nutrition and everything and there's so much about their like supplements and it's wonderful. But in there she has this whole section about celiac and infertility and recurrent pregnancy loss And I read that and I was like blown away. We have some people that we know that were diagnosed with celiac later on in life. But this person had years of infertility and years of miscarriages And if she would have had a diagnosis sooner, you know, all that heartbreak and all that loss probably could have been avoided, right? So I mean, you don't know until you know, right. Right, it's just it's the more I'm learning and the more that I've learned in our own infertility journey about nutrition and just how important it is and how like vital it is to the journey, the more I'm like why doesn't everybody know this?
Speaker 1:
So I'm that like, because you're part of this, like fertility community, do you find that many people that are on this fertility journey that they're very hyper aware of nutrition and diet, or or is it kind of like a mix or what have you experienced with that? So, personally, i know that when we started our journey and after I got my infertility diagnosis, i was like I'm going to do absolutely everything that I can to get this under control. I'm going to look up everything that I can do, and nutrition was a big part of that. So, but the thing that really helped was that book that I mentioned at start, to the egg, because she goes in there and she talks about, you know, those healthy fats and whole grains and, you know, having brightly colored fruits and vegetables and you know, just being careful about where you're getting your protein sources And, yeah, that was a huge thing for me.
Speaker 1:
And I've noticed in the infertility community, i feel like it's really half and half. I feel like you've got half of the people that are kind of in that Maverick stage, like I'm going to do absolutely everything that I can to take control of my fertility, and a lot of that does include nutrition, right. And then the other half of people I've noticed are just kind of like oh, i have this infertility diagnosis and I'm just going to go straight into treatment, which I don't. I mean, you know, like I have no room to judge that because everybody's path is so different, but it is interesting to see how different people react to that diagnosis, right, yeah, and some I wonder if you know, like knowledge is power, right, something like this, maybe it would inspire someone to make, maybe not like go in like you know, like a cannonball into the pool, right, but maybe they dip their toes in, yeah. And then there's some small changes, which is just good for, not just for fertility but just for for our health. You know, like I've started implementing a lot of these things just in the last few months, just from from not being as aware from before. So, yeah, and then.
Speaker 1:
So I talked about fats and then was also going to mention there are like a couple of of other things, like just trying to limit refined sugars in general, you know, trying to avoid or limit it as many sugary, you know, pastries and candies and desserts and and things like that, and so that can be helpful In this journey as well. Soft drinks is another one. So there was a study that showed that women that drink soft drinks regularly 50% of them were, or they were 50% more likely to experience subfertility, which is, you know, interesting, and it also affected sperm and semen as well. So something to consider, and maybe I sat that sugar aspect right And maybe we just don't know enough about, maybe there hasn't been like a study that says this is exactly why you know That's the case, yeah, and then same thing for fast food. So Those who ate fast food regularly, their time from trying to conceive to conception was about twice as long on average.
Speaker 1:
And I know, i know that's huge. It's not like, oh, you know, 5% or 10%, like twice as long, yeah, and you know that's. That's one of those like lifestyle things that Can you know. If that's part of your lifestyle where you eat out frequently, it's just trying to make a small gradual change. It's that's when it's gonna be more effective and long-lasting, versus being like you can't go out to eat anymore ever again.
Speaker 1:
Then some people with they heard that they would go well, i'm not gonna do that, you know That doesn't work for my lifestyle. Yeah, i guess that's not something I'm gonna be able to do, instead maybe saying, okay, and how many times? so I actually go to fast food a week. Can I reduce that by a couple of times, you know? or, and then kind of try to reduce that over time. Or, what are you ordering at the fast food is? are there some options that you can, you know, change on there? that would be maybe a little bit on the Fitting these criteria. Is it possible? or where are you going? Could you go? Could you choose something a little bit different? set of McDonald's, maybe, you know, i don't know, a sandwich shop or something like that, like a soup as, or something? Yeah, yeah, so, yeah, so it's just something to to consider. And Then what was the other thing?
Speaker 1:
I was gonna say, okay, another thing is gut health, so our gut microbiome. So we have Good bacteria covering our whole entire bodies and inside of our bodies That are really good for our immune system and our overall health and we want those there and we want that to be flourishing and working and, you know, to be, to be there. And so we have, especially in our gastrointestinal tract, we've got a very it's like it's its own environment, its own biome, and if that is not working optimally or it's, you know, depleted It's, it can affect our overall health. But also our Gut biome is pretty close to our reproductive biome. You know they're they're close to each other, like externally, and so they usually are pretty Like linked to each other. So if you have a very healthy gut biome, we can, we can assume that your reproductive biome is healthy as well and and vice versa. So, trying to, trying to support a healthy gut and that can be we We can see that there's been lots of studies that those who have this healthy Gut, they have improved fertility, lower rates of miscarriages, higher IVF success, better hormone health. So it's just, it's just good overall. We can see this link between the two, yeah, and so, first off, we want to reduce or eliminate things that are harmful to this microbiome. So like those inflammatory things that we were talking about.
Speaker 1:
If you're eating foods that cause you to have diarrhea Frequently or not, a romany, that's probably not great for your your gut health. And then also like the way that our foods are cooked or the kinds of things they're cooked in, like BPAs and How do you say it, the fellates. I always say it wrong sallies, sallies. Yeah, i have this moment, like when I heard it and when I read it and it doesn't. They don't match up. Yeah, you're like, i don't feel like it's supposed to be, like trying to you know, use, use utensils and cooking ware and You know store it, storing your foods and that are BPA free and ballet free if possible. So what would that look like for somebody? so You can always check. You know you're it usually always says on there but a lot of things that are BPA free, which is great, but they what they're replacing the BPA with May, we don't know, maybe that could also be harmful as well. We just don't know right, it just hasn't been studied yet, but it's possible that that could also be harmful.
Speaker 1:
So trying to avoid plastics is one of the easiest way to do that. So, like storing your foods in glass, you know mason jars or glass containers, and just trying and this is a big one. I haven't done it completely in my home yet. I mean, i would love to eventually, but it's kind of one of those things where I don't want to spend a ton of money and replacing everything, right. So it's like, okay, when I'm ready to buy a new something, i'm going to replace it with a glass version or something like that. Or like when you buy pans, pots and pans, the nonstick stuff, you know that is chemicals and treatments in it that maybe not, you know include some of these things. So it can be this slow, gradual thing. Or, like you said, if you're like a you know a maverick just jumping into the pool full force, then then you know doing it all at once. Yeah, so those things.
Speaker 1:
If you work on reducing these things, that's going to be helpful for your gut health. And then can we, can we add in some really supportive, gut healthy foods like bone broth, homemade bone broth or, um, let's see fermented veggies like kimchi, kefir, yogurt, miso, apple cider vinegar. Those are some great options. Yeah, you don't want to like. It's not like you want to all of a sudden add in a ton of this all at once, because that can be kind of harsh. I get that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, i system and I was on a diarrhea like this, like kind of like period, a transitional period. So you might want to just kind of add slow, like just a little bit at a time and kind of work up to having these regularly in your diet. And that's why this is so great to implement it before you're pregnant right, because this is helpful for pregnancy as well. But we don't want you to be having diarrhea from adding these foods in when you're pregnant. You know nobody wants that, but if it's going to happen, we really don't want that to happen in pregnancy. If you're having diarrhea every day, all day long, that's not good for you or the baby.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and then there are some prebiotic foods as well. So foods that help to feed those probiotics and keep them flourishing well, and that would be foods like garlic, onion, asparagus, beets and artichokes are also really good. And just trying to eat more of a variety of vegetables. Like, do you only eat the same four vegetables? Like that's like, that's it You, those are your vegetables that you're comfortable with, that you know you like, you know how to cook them And so you just always eat them. Versus can we add in more of a variety? Because where these vegetables are grown and how they're grown and there's bacteria on them, and so that's going to introduce more of a variety of healthy bacteria into our diet.
Speaker 1:
And then, lastly, would be progesterone. So we know that this hormone is is crucial for fertility, for conception, for maintaining the pregnancy. It sustains the pregnancy until week 17 to 20 when the placenta takes over. So if we have really low progesterone levels, that's where we see higher rates of early pregnancy loss. So we would like to, you know, keep this progesterone at a healthy level. It also is really important in uterine receptivity and the and the health of the endometrium, so the, the implantation of the embryo. So what affects the progesterone is is egg health. So the most of the progesterone comes from the corpus luteum, which is part of the egg. And so if we're starting with an egg that's like low quality or it's not, it's just not a healthy egg we're not going to have, we're probably not going to have great progesterone levels for that. So if we can start with a really healthy egg, which, doing all the things that we talked about earlier, is going to promote healthy eggs.
Speaker 1:
And then antioxidants, so trying to reduce the oxidative stress in the body. So you know, oxidation is this, it's pretty, it's normal, but it's this like breakdown of ourselves, right? And so we can eat foods that are high in antioxidants that will be protective against this, and foods that like that would be like blueberries, lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, and then, well, most, you know, mostly vegetables and fruits. Anything with like a vibrant color is usually pretty rich in antioxidants. So trying to work some of those in if you can. And then anti-inflammatory foods. So we talked about this inflammatory process that can happen in the body And maybe you know we try to prevent it from happening all together, but you know, it's just part of life. Sometimes we get a little bit of inflammation. But are there, are there foods that we can eat that can reduce that inflammation, and that would be things like berries, ginger bell pepper, broccoli, salmon, walnuts, flax, kale, olive oil and cinnamon are also. Those are all really protective. And then let's see, blood sugar balance again is going to be helpful for that.
Speaker 1:
And then making sure you're eating enough fat, and this is a hard one because I know, because when we were growing up I mean, i don't know how old you are, but I'm just assuming you know when I was growing up and learning about nutrition as a kid, it was always like you know, fat is bad right. So then we have introduced these like low fat foods or margarines and the vegetable oils and things like that, because they're lower in calories. But those fats, those other fats, are actually really good for us, even the cholesterol. You know, as a nurse in nursing school, it was like cholesterol is really bad right. But actually I mean, it's just we don't want, obviously we don't want super duper high cholesterol. That's not good for your circulatory system. But cholesterol is important in fertility. Yeah, that is very important. It's responsible for making hormones. So if we're not eating any animal fats or proteins or getting cholesterol from anywhere, that could affect our hormone productivity.
Speaker 1:
So if you regularly eat these like low fat products, like yogurt, for instance, do you buy the non fat or the low fat or the 1%? Can we switch that out for a full fat option? Yeah, or our, you know, milks and things like that as well, and so you can try to also try to make a purposeful effort to increase the fat at each meal. So can we add a little bit of butter, a little to what you're cooking, or coconut oil, or adding an eggs to you know stir fry or something like that? Or if you're having a salad, can you add an extra bit of butter? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So you can add an extra drizzle of olive oil on top of that salad, or nuts and seeds and things. So, yeah, that's, that would be my, my spiel. I would say I love it.
Speaker 1:
Every. You are so knowledgeable and you're so informative. I love talking to you. I remember I made avocado toast right before our acre treatable and I did like eggplants. So I had sourdough and then I had like an eggplant red pepper spread on it And then I did my avocado and then I did chia seeds and then I did like microgreens and then I did like a sprinkle of olive oil on top of that. Oh my gosh, and my husband was it was so good, it was so good. My husband was like that's a lot of fat on there and I was like it's good fat, it's good fat and it's and that's good for you and that's good for your eggs and your hormones. It's all all good. It's like most of these things.
Speaker 1:
It's like it's all about moderation, right, it's like if you're eating a steak, you know every single day and you know over 30 years that could that could maybe be harmful to your vessels and your heart Right, yeah, but how you were eating it, that is completely different, right, yeah, i've I've been on this journey with this, this class and this information. It's not like I was completely ignorant. I just didn't have like specific ways to actually implement it, or like what I knew was more vague versus like how do I actually eat like that? Yeah, no, because I didn't grow up per se eating like that, so I didn't know how to cook like that or shop like that Or how to be more intentional about what I put on my toast or my salad and things like that. So it's been really helpful for me to.
Speaker 1:
I'm really into hemp seeds right now. I love that. Okay, tell me about that. It's like it's hemp seeds and they're very high in protein and omega facts, And so you can put them there like almost like flavorless It kind of looks like like breadcrumbs. I'd like I'll do like toast with not better, and sprinkle hemp seeds on top. Or if I'm making a smoothie, put a couple tablespoons of hemp seeds, or if I make a salad, sprinkling that on top and you get this like kind of like bread crummy, you know, like crouton ish texture, and that could totally take the place of the crouton Right, exactly Like I put it on a Caesar salad and it kind of gives you that vibe And I feel and I feel really good about it. You know I'm pumping up that protein source and omega threes and, yeah, fiber and all of those things, so that's an easy little add in as well. That's why I felt about chia seeds and micro grains, because I just like throw them in every. Yeah, totally, i have you done the chia seed pudding?
Speaker 1:
Yes, it is so yummy. You can make it so many different ways. I really wanted to like it because I was like this is going to be so good for me. I'm going to eat it every morning for breakfast and it's just so easy. I can prep it. You know all of that and I can't the texture. I can't get behind. So it was not the right texture for me.
Speaker 1:
But the teacher, lindsey Taylor, who I did this program through, she mentioned you could make like a jar of chia seeds and then if you were having a yogurt parfait or whatever you know Greek yogurt, nuts, berries add a spoonful of chia seeds and mixed in with your yogurt, it probably would be more tolerable. Or adding a tablespoon into your smoothie that you're already making. So I've been doing that to try to work in more of those. Yeah, that's the texture is like a. I know, i know It's like gladness, it really is. There's nothing quite like it. I'm very texture sensitive So I'm more of like I love crunch. So that's like the exact opposite of that. And like even with yogurt I have to add I can't just eat a bowl of yogurt. I have to have apples or berries and nuts and seeds on it, because otherwise it's just, it's just not enough for me. And that's okay, like that's okay. But I mean it sounds like you hacked it with the flak or not flak seed, i'm sorry, with the hemp seeds. Yeah, you can do the same thing with chia seeds. You know, get like a spoonful, just put it on top of your salad, just throw in your omelets and yeah, totally.
Speaker 1:
So many great little tips, yeah, so when you were mentioning cast iron or not cast iron, that's what I was going to mention. When you were mentioning nonstick, the first thing I did when I heard that nonstick was actually really toxic and that it's not good for you. I was looking up different cookware things and stainless steel and cast iron seemed to be like the best. So we got rid of all of our nonstick pans and now we just cook on our cast iron and I actually really love it. Like it's a lot easier to take care of than I thought it was going to be And that's a good easy switch, easy switch, right. And then once you do it, you're not really not thinking about it. It's just like change that you've made, that that now you're taking in less of these, you know chemicals into your body.
Speaker 1:
We my husband he bought stainless, like a stainless steel set a few years ago And I mean It was not really that intentional, It was just like they were on sale or something, right, yeah, it wasn't like they were needing to switch anything out, it was just like, oh, let's get these. And so I'm really happy that he ended up picking those out. The only thing is that they're very heavy. And same thing with cast iron. Cast iron is heavy, sometimes like yeah, like I roasted a chicken and I was like I can't get this thing out of the oven. No, not with a chicken, i need my hands in the oven. I'm like honey, i need help. I'm glad he was home, just because I have I don't know. It's just like I have weak wrists or something. But yeah, those are very simple and easy changes that you can make With all of these things.
Speaker 1:
It can be very overwhelming to be like I can't do anything that I already do. I have to make all of these changes, i have to buy all these things. I don't know if I can do that, and so that overwhelm might cause some people to just not do it Right Or like forget it, i can't, there's no way. But instead just choosing one thing to change And then maybe after a few weeks, or like, that was easy, now I'm not even thinking about that And then now I'm going to choose one other little thing to change and just, you know, slow, gradual change. It doesn't have to be this huge life. You know, now I'm living completely differently from one day to the next because that's just not realistic. I mean, for most people that's not realistic And it's hard. It's hard to.
Speaker 1:
I was that way when we first started and I learned about all this stuff. I was like, okay, that's it. We got to get rid of all of the plastics, we got to switch our cookware, we got to do all of the things And it was really overwhelming And I wish I would have just seen that. You know, one change at a time is still change and it's still going to make a positive impact And it doesn't have to be everything all at once. Yes, and then also, like you got to have whoever you live with you know has to be kind of on board and supportive of these changes.
Speaker 1:
Right, like, yeah, for me I'm not. I don't have the specific goal in mind per se, like I'm not trying to, i'm not having another baby or trying to conceive or things like that. So I'm just like, okay, i'm making these gradual changes in my diet and, you know, trying to reduce dyes in my kids diet and things like that. And my husband sometimes is like, but why? I'm laughing because my husband's the same way. He's been so supportive but he like questions, everything that I do, and I'm like here's all the science, like just look at that, it's fine. Part of me just wants to be like, just do it, you know. But especially with the dyes, like he's like they're everywhere, they're unavoidable, that's his mindset And I'm like that's not.
Speaker 1:
There are lots of people that are able to at least reduce. You know how much dyes you're taking in, at least in the home, maybe when we go out, or maybe if they're at a friend's house or at school, you know the group snack or whatever. I'm not going to worry. But like at home, what I'm putting in their lunchboxes or what I'm putting in front of them on my table, like I want, i want to make this change, you know, and it's still going to make a difference. I mean, even if it is just a home, it's still going to make a difference, exactly So. Anyways, that's kind of my segway. Off of that, it's okay, it's okay. Oh, my point was that, you know, sometimes it's I'm having to kind of convince him to get on board with that, but he'll get there.
Speaker 1:
And I feel like, when it comes to infertility, i mean, your partner wants a baby just as much as you do, right. So I feel like if something's important to you, it's they're going to be able to see that and they're going to want to make that change with you because, i mean, they love you and they want this baby with you. And if you know, you've got to be a team and I feel like a lot of men, if you talk to them, they'll be a little bit more on board and a little bit more supportive. Right, if you just all of a sudden say you're not allowed to do this or buy this, or we're not getting this anymore. But if you can explain to them, you know your reasoning and why it's important to you. And you know, sometimes some guys want proof, you know, if you got to pull up the article or whatever, but yeah, but sometimes it's just saying, hey, this is important to me And I I need you to do this for me. Yeah, most men would do that in a heartbeat, right, speaking of men, do you have any nutritional advice?
Speaker 1:
when it comes to men, when it comes to sperm health, they have it a little bit easier because, right, every three months there, right, you know, the reproductive system kind of like resets itself and they have new sperm and they have more, i feel like opportunity to have better turnover on their health, if that makes sense. Yeah, yeah, with this it was more focused on the woman's perspective, but they did say that basically all this applies to the man and their sperm as well. All of these things are important for them as well. Like, if there's a lot of inflammation in his body, then his sperm is going to not be as high of quality. So it's all applicable. We're trying to reduce inflammation, reduce, you know, the oxidative stress in the body. So I don't have anything specific though. I mean, i heard things, but I don't have anything like from this class or from that's like legit, basically, yeah, But you know, just saying that it all applies to both partners.
Speaker 1:
I think that's plenty And I think that's perfect, right, and then that's going to be helpful, you know, for you to actually implement these changes too, as if you guys are doing it together, oh yeah, and you're just holding each other accountable and things like that, and you're working towards a common goal. And this I mean, if you're both doing it, then it feels like you're more of a together in the process And that makes a big difference. Yeah, we're trying to add another player to the team. So, yeah, yeah, i love that. That's adorable.
Speaker 1:
Do you have anything else that you want to add or anything else that you want to say? I think it's been awesome. I love talking to you. You are so knowledgeable. Oh, thank you, you're so sweet. I appreciate you having me on, especially since this is like this is a newer you know thing for me, but it doesn't make it less valid that it's newer to me, right? So it's all. I really appreciate you trusting me and having me onto your podcast. I had a really great time, really.
Speaker 1:
Thank you for being here. I have had the best time talking to you and I'm so glad that I got to talk to you two weeks in a row. I know, i know We're like BFFs now. I know I'm going to be asking you for updates on your kids. Yeah, i'll be like hey, girl, you are. You are in Utah, so that's not even that far. No part of Utah are you in. So we're in the Roy area, so like Weber County, ogden, oh, okay, yeah, yeah, Okay, cool, yeah, yeah, if you're ever in Idaho, look me up Wherever in Utah, i'll send you a message. Yeah, that'd be awesome. I would love that. I just adore you. You've been so awesome You too. Thanks Maria, thanks Walter.