10 Things You Need to Know About Having a Fertility-Friendly Detox

1. Detox is simple not complicated

Fertility detox attracts many different interpretations and opinions, and so can seem very confusing.  Yet if you get back to basics, it’s actually quite simple.

Detox is short for detoxification – this refers to a series of processes which are happening inside our bodies all the time.  And it’s a good job they’re happening all the time because we couldn’t survive without them!  Our detoxification processes help to ensure that toxins are eliminated that would otherwise be harmful.  And just like any other aspect of your health, there are diet and lifestyle steps you can take to help the body’s detox processes work as effectively as possible.

In short, ‘detox’ really is about bringing together carefully considered diet and lifestyle steps that will support your body’s ability to process toxins efficiently.  That way they won’t be left circulating around your system, potentially causing harm.  This is particularly important when optimising health for fertility treatment or TTC naturally.

2. ‘What you do every day matters more than what you do every once in a while’

This quote from Gretchen Rubin (The Happiness Project) is one I share often because it’s highly relevant to every aspect of health, and especially to your detoxification processes.  These detox processes don’t just spring into action once a year, they are continually working around the clock.  And this means they will benefit most from support ‘every day’, rather than ‘once in a while’.  It’s important to prepare your body for TTC and fertility treatment at least three months in advance so try and get into good habits to support your body’s detoxification process.

3. We’re surrounded by toxins every day

This may sound like an exaggeration, but sadly for most of us, this statement is very true.

The toxins we should perhaps be most concerned about, especially when trying to conceive, are environmental toxins: man-made chemicals that are widely prevalent in our modern world and have the potential to be harmful to our health and fertility.

Most of us will come into contact with these types of toxins on a daily basis; through our food and drink, (including cookware and packaging), what we inhale (air, cleaning products, fragrances, smoke, household furnishings, paint etc.) and many of the products that are applied topically to our skin (cosmetics, toiletries etc.).  There are literally thousands of different types of toxins, many are not well studied, but many are known to be harmful to health.  And maybe even more so when we are exposed to high levels through multiple sources.

When trying to conceive, it’s important to minimise exposure to harmful toxins.

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4. Reducing your exposure to toxins is key

The sheer level of toxins that we can potentially come into contact with in our daily lives means it is impossible to avoid them altogether but the good news is it is completely possible to significantly reduce your total load, especially when you’re TTC.

Use the infographic shared below to learn simple ways to reduce the toxins you might be coming into contact with on a daily basis.  This is the first and most important step of any ‘detox’: Reducing your toxic load is an ongoing process and something you can keep chipping away at over time.

5. Be informed – The EARTH Study

Making positive diet and lifestyle changes to reduce overall toxin exposure is important for everyone and especially if you’re about to try to conceive.  There are many different reasons for this, among the most compelling are some of the findings of the Environment and Reproductive Health (EARTH) Study which has been carried out by a team of researchers at Harvard School of Public Health and MGH Fertility Center in the US.

Led by Dr Russ Hauser, the EARTH Study research team have studied more than 1,500 participants since 2005 to investigate whether environmental chemicals and diet can impact fertility and pregnancy outcomes.  Their research findings have been presented in over 130 publications in scientific journals and they have repeatedly found that environmental chemicals do have the potential to impact fertility and pregnancy outcomes.  (Learn more here.)

The overwhelming takeaway of the study is that finding ways to reduce your daily exposure to toxins is a very worthwhile aim, particularly when TTC.

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8. Nurture supportive lifestyle habits too

Lifestyle changes are important not just for weeding toxins out of your daily life, but also for helping detoxification processes to work well.  Active relaxation (mindfulness meditation, breathing exercises), regular exercise and regularly getting good quality sleep are all key to preparing your body for conception.

9. Keep calm and change one small thing

It can feel overwhelming when you start to understand that potentially harmful toxins are widely prevalent in our environments.  And it can be stressful worrying about having a fertility detox as well as TTC.

But the great news is, there’s lots you can do to detox safely and easily when TTC or pregnant.

If you’re ready to make some changes and not sure where to begin, the best advice is to start small and change just one thing.  Know that you don’t need to change everything overnight – this journey is a marathon not a sprint – and know also that change is generative. This means that once you’ve taken action, no matter how small, what tends to happen is that you’ll keep going and make more changes as a result.

10. Where to start a fertility detox?

This useful infographic is a great place to start.

It provides 21 simple diet, lifestyle and nutrient steps you could take to support your body’s detoxification processes.  And it’s a great mix of weeding toxins out and adding supportive factors in.  Print the infographic out, stick it on the fridge and pick out just one simple step to start with.

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