A Helpful Strategy for Those Trying to Improve Health
Many health issues are influenced by metabolic issues and underlying inflammation in the body, and a common culprit is an unhealthy diet resulting in being overweight. This extends to reproductive issues, too. If you’re struggling to get pregnant, improving your diet, habits and overall health can help your chances of success.
Drs. Lee and Kelly Caperton and their team at Caperton Fertility Institute counsel patients to consider different strategies to help optimize health and prepare them for fertility treatment. One of those strategies is intermittent fasting. This practice has a myriad of health benefits, some of which likely will extend to improving fertility potential and the chance of success with fertility treatment.
Intermittent fasting has become a popular topic the past few years. You’ve probably seen influencers on Instagram talking about the trend. Or perhaps someone you know finally lost weight by following an IF schedule. Whether you’re curious or skeptical, there’s hard-core scientific evidence that the practice can help with metabolism, heart health, brain function and more. It appears to be one of the few ‘panaceas’ of human health, and has been proven in most models to reduce the risk of most severe human diseases, and to even prolong life in many animal models.
IF is simply the process of eliminating calorie intake for specific periods of time. Your body uses stored glucose for energy, and when you’re fasting, your insulin levels start to lower and your body begins breaking down fat to use for energy instead. As the energy stores deplete, the body begins a process called auto-phagocytosis, a process where the immune and other cells of your body start to clean up the trash that has accumulated over time within our system. It appears that not only does fasting result in weight loss, but also helps the body heal itself from chronic conditions such as heart and vascular disease, reduce the plaques that build up in the body and cause brain disease like Alzheimer’s disease, lower blood pressure, and potentially even lower the risk of cancer or sudden death.
Because so many of these conditions exist in patients experiencing infertility, Caperton Fertility uses IF as a global treatment in most patients (unless we are concerned that patients are underweight or have had pathologic issues with eating disorders that might be aggravated or triggered by this advice).
There are a few different ways that people approach fasting, such as doing a 36-48 hour fast every week or only eating within a specific window of time every day. The longer you fast it appears the greater the benefits are from the process. Our goal is to try to get patients to at least a periodic 36 hour fast, which means no calories (although you can have water and possibly tea or coffee with no added sugar or creamer). Once you get used to it, we find most people do not struggle too much with the practice.
One of the nice things about intermittent fasting is that you can control the window for times that you might want to take in more or higher carbohydrate meals (think birthday parties, the Super Bowl, etc.). This makes it a more sustainable path toward long-term health than more restrictive diets such as keto or other low-carb diets. Our goal at Caperton Fertility is to be more holistic, thinking about your health and fertility long-term, and not just for the period that we are helping you build your family.
It’s important to talk to a fertility specialist to understand how a change in diet might help you better prepare for fertility treatment. The team at CFI is here to help you with that. Our fertility doctors, advanced-care practitioners, and staff provide compassionate care, advanced technology and cutting-edge medical expertise to support you on your journey to parenthood. To learn more, visit www.capertonfertility.com.