How sugar impacts your fertility

Did you know that the tantalizing sweetness known as sugar can impact your fertility in ways you probably never thought about previously ?

Why does something that tastes so good do so much harm to our bodies, and our fertility in particular ? In a nutshell, processed white sugar, or refined sugar, impacts our hormones and its ability to properly maintain its overall vitality. Sugar raises your insulin levels and then makes it drop significantly, which puts your adrenal glands into overdrive working to get back in line and normalize. The adrenal glands play a significant role in fertility and thus when your adrenals are in a state of imbalance for prolonged periods of time, hormonal dysfunction results.

In order for you to successfully conceive, it is important that your hormones are healthy, balanced and that your body isn’t using excess energy to normalize itself. Not only does a diet high in sugar offer no nutritional value, but could lead to chronic diseases, obesity, and cause inflammation- all of which doesn’t HELP achieve optimal health when trying to conceive.

InThe Natural Health Bible for Women, the author states “any women who suffer from PCOS have insulin resistance. Insulin is released by the pancreas to convert sugar to energy; ergo the more sugar we eat, the more insulin we release, eventually leading to insulin resistance. Insulin resistance is linked to issues with ovulation, maturation of the egg and implantation of the embryo into the uterine lining. It also puts women at a much higher risk of miscarriage.”

If you are struggling to conceive, sugar IS your enemy and you should treat it as such ! It is best that you eliminate sugar as well as its close friends- dextrose and high fructose corn syrup – from your diet immediately. All of the aforementioned sugars and sweeteners tend to be key ingredients in processed foods and canned foods, thus why it is important to build your fertility diet based on whole and natural foods. 

Believe me, I know how much of a challenge it is to give up sugar, especially if your diet has consisted of it for so long. If you must have something sweet, use a natural leaf stevia sweetener, organic maple syrup or honey. There are several product brands that I have personally used to take the place of sugar and my personal fave is SweetLeaf Stevia sweetener. Check your local organic market for this brand or it can be ordered online. 

Do your body some good and eliminate sugar altogether. The more you nourish your body with foods that are fueling it and helping it to become stronger and healthier, the better your conception chances.  

All my best to you as you continue on your journey to optimize your fertility !

Lenetra