This is part 2 of a 3 part series.
Detoxifying the Body
Detoxifying the body is important for both potential parents. A heavy toxic burden can have a negative effect on your body especially your endocrine system. The endocrine system includes the glands in your body that produce all of your hormones. As examples, carrying a heavy toxic burden can negatively impact both the male and female sex hormones and the man’s sperm count. As we can see it is important to detoxify both parents but especially the mother because poisons in the mother can cross the placenta and be taken in by the fetus. Even following birth, studies show that 20% of the mother’s toxic burden is transferred to the infant via the breast milk.
It is important to understand that:
· Fetal exposure to some endocrine/hormone disrupting toxins not only affected the fetus but also subsequent generations, children of those children.
· Many environmental agents have a neuro-toxic effect and can result in severe mental retardation and disability depending on the timing and the dose.
The action steps that should be taken here are:
· Have you and your spouse tested to identify a potential toxic burden.
· Find and use an affective, safe systemic detoxification program with appropriate whole food nutritional and herbal supplementation.
· Detoxify your environment by using stainless steel cookware, install air and water filters, and find family friendly cleaning products to name a few.
Endocrine Gland Status: The two main glands we will talk about are the Pancreas and Adrenal Glands.
Pancreas Status and Insulin Sensitivity
The pancreas is a large gland that produces the well-known hormone insulin which drives your body to store energy as fat and the lesser-known, but equally important, hormone glucagon which drives the body to burn fat as energy. The pancreas is also involved with lipase production which breaks down fats, protease which breaks down protein, and amylase which breaks down carbohydrates and sugars.
Some indicators for pancreatic distress or insulin and glucose tolerance issues are:
· Waist measurement of 35” or greater for a woman, 40” or greater for a man
· HDL level of less than 50 for a woman, 40 for a man
· Glucose level of greater than 110 or 120 depending on system used
· Triglycerides of 150 or greater
· LDL of 120 or greater
· Body fat % of 37% or greater for a woman, 29% or greater for a man
· For the potential mother to be obesity during pregnancy is associated with higher blood pressure and increased inflammatory response.
· Women with an elevated glucose tolerance test are at risk for adverse peri-natal, post-delivery, outcomes. Insulin resistance puts the mother at risk for preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and hypertension which increases the risk of an unfavorable outcome for the fetus.
Action steps to help heal the pancreas and restore the body’s insulin sensitivity include being evaluated for any problems and if a problem or weakness is found follow the proper herbal protocol and whole food supplementation plan to return the pancreas to normal. Exercise is also an important factor in controlling your blood sugar levels and we will discuss that as a separate topic.
Adrenal Status
Now, with all of the above information in mind and with your stress levels on the rise we will discuss the main stress organ, your adrenal glands. Stress can affect fertility for both men and women and the stress hormone cortisol has been linked to spontaneous abortion and miscarriage. A few of the other problems associated with high and/or chronic stress are:
· Studies have found that stress causes a decline in the quality of semen with an inverse relationship between the amount of stress and the semen quality
· Stress can cause preterm labor
· Reduce birth-weight
· Slow growth rate
· Predispose the child to attention deficits
· Cause temperamental difficulties and predispose to depressive illness
The first action steps to be employed are lifestyle strategies to remove, modify, and manage any stress in your life. The next is to evaluate your adrenals themselves to ensure optimal function and if indicated support your adrenals through proper herbal and whole food supplementation.
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