Are plastics messing with your fertility?

7 Ways Plastics Damage the Body

Ronald Grisanti D.C., D.A.B.C.O., D.A.C.B.N., M.S.

Plastics (or the chemical name, phthalates) are now considered the number one pollutant in the human body. They make products flexible, durable, and these chemicals are also in items you would not considerto be plastics, like pesticides, detergents, cosmetics,medications, or your shampoo. They are found everywhere. It is difficult to completely avoid them.

You can live in the most pristine place on planet earth and still find animals polluted with plastics.

It is an interesting fact that plasticizers are over 10,000 to 1,000,000 times higher in our bodies than any other toxins thathave been found in EPA studies.

Unfortunately once in the body, these plastics do enormous damage.

7 Ways Plastics Damage the Body

1: Phthalates damage the chemistry of fatty acids mostimportantly, the fatty acid, DHA (docosahexaenoic acid). This is the fundamental chemistry necessary for making every cell lining or membrane. These fatty acids are the foundation for brain health including memory and recall.

2: Phthalates can create a zinc deficiency which will compromise the metabolism of vitamins A and B-6. In turn this could lead to conditions such as indigestion, depression, heart disease,cancer, diabetes, and accelerated aging.

As a quick side note the combination of low zinc and low DHA can lead to chronic inflammation. Medical literature has clearly identified chronic inflammation as one of the most common underlying pathologies of most diseases leading to auto-immune diseases (rheumatoid arthritis, MS) to cancer and heart disease.

3: Phthalates has been found to be responsible for damaging the pancreas leading to diabetes, insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome X.

4: Phthalates has been found to lower sulfation.  This means that you are no longer able to effectively detoxify like you should. This in turn can lead to a whole host of health challenges.

5: Phthalates damage hormone function, especiallythyroid and testosterone.

6: Phthalates can poison the peroxisomes needed for the control of the chemistry of cholesterol. They can cause high cholesterol while at thesame time keep cholesterol from forming the “happyhormones” (neurotransmitters) of the brain.

7: Phthalates can damage the body's ability to makecatalase. Catalase is absolutely essential for devouring up thehydrogen peroxide that cancer cells make to allowthem to metastasize or wildly spread throughout the body. Lack of catalase is a reason why manycancers briefly seem to be in remission aftertreatments, only to resurface months or years later with lethal consequences.

 Compliments from Functional Medicine University www.FunctionalMedicineUniversity.com

Infertility and BPA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has banned the use of BPA in products such as baby bottles and sippy cups, but the chemical continues to be used in many other products we use daily. 

Most people have a few cans of beans lying around that contain BPA in the lining of aluminum and tin cans, where it is used to prevent corrosion.

BPA is also is found in thermal paper cash receipts, which are coated with the chemical, and a study has shown increased BPA levels in their urine of those using the reciept printers on a regular basis! 

The chemical BPA can disrupt the hormonal system acting like artificial estrogen which could disrupt the hormonal balance and cause reproductive issues. Unfortunately we don't know what all the detrimental effects of BPA can cause and the exposure is difficult to avoid in today's society where it's use is widespread. According to the CDC in a study they found 93 percent of the US population tested positive for BPA exposure. BPA has even been found in breast milk of nursing mommas.  For long term safety of you and the planet I recommend staying away from BPA containing products and limit your exposure to plastics in general. 

Tips to Reduce your exposure to BPA. (Tips form hazwaste.org) 

The best way to reduce your BPA exposure is to avoid household products that contain BPA.

Food choices:

• Eat fresh and frozen foods instead of foods stored in cans.
• Purchase foods packaged in glass containers, ceramic containers or cardboard brick-shaped cartons. Juice boxes are an example of a cardboard brick-shaped carton. Look on the bottom to see if it was made by Tetra Pak or SIG Combibloc.

Food containers already at home:

• Replace pre-2011 baby bottles, sippy cups, water bottles and other hard, clear plastic food storage containers. 3
• Throw away cracked or scratched plastic containers. Recycle them if possible (ask your local recycling program) or put them in garbage.
• Use glass or unlined stainless steel water bottles.
• Keep plastic containers labeled with a 1, 2 or 5; they do not contain BPA or other plastic chemicals of concern.
• Dispose of plastic containers labeled with a 7 inside the recycle symbol. Although not all 7 plastics contain BPA, it’s not easy to tell which contain BPA and which don’t.

Safer practices for food containers made of polycarbonate:

• Use polycarbonate plastic for cold storage and for non-food items.
• Heat food in glass, ceramic or stainless steel containers. In polycarbonate containers, heat leaches more BPA into foods and liquids.
• Wash polycarbonate containers by hand instead of in the dishwasher to prevent scratching. Scratching releases more BPA.

Safer practices for receipts

• Wash your hands after handling receipts
• Consider putting gloves on before handling a lot of receipts

Empowered Fertility: Supporting the emotional struggles of infertility

FREE clinician's guide to Empowered Fertility. Infertility is an emotional journey and it pays to be equipped with the tools to support your clients during these trying times.

I put together this FREE guide to help you support the mental and emotional needs associated with getting pregnant.

Get my Clinician's Guide to Empowered Fertility

What is a fertility diet?

What is a fertility diet?

Maybe you have been drinking and eating things that you know you shouldn't. When eating for fertility instead of thinking about cutting back or eliminating foods it's good to think about adding healthier foods and habits into your life. Too many times we get caught up in the day to day activities with eating out and having a glass of wine to wind down after a busy day...Most women know they need to get enough fruits and veggies in their diet and adequate protein and such but what happens in real life sometimes gets in the way. So what we have found is that people do better in an environment when they have the right support and accountability to follow through. This is why we created the ecofertilitymethod support sisters:) 

Join a group of amazing women to clean up your diet and prepare your body for pregnancy. We all know that it's a little easier when we do it together.  

Here's the link to join us, don't delay as there is never a better time than now. 

 https://app.convertkit.com/landing_pages/144135

Creating change takes hard work...

How many times in your life have you heard that if you want to change something you must work hard at it. And when you work hard for a long time you might achieve the results you are looking for.  What if I told you that you were doing it all wrong? What if I told you that it could be easy.  What if I told you it could be done with comfort and ease and that it doesn't need to be hard at all.

Time and time again I get clients who push themselves, and push themselves really hard to achieve the best results, and some of them are really good at it.  They are the master pushers....

But what is it costing them? It costs them time with their loved ones, connection, their health, their sanity...all so they can get ahead or achieve their goals,  but they forget about the journey. They spend all this time pushing to get to the end but the end keeps getting farther and farther away.  It's like that reoccuring dream where you are running and running but not getting anywhere. Or trying to scream but no sound comes out. 

How long can you keep it up? Usually you can keep it up for about 30 days or so then you succumb to exhaustion, sickness, headaches, and generally don't feel well but have no idea why.  You know the story when you have these high hopes of joining the gym and exercising every day and then 30 days later you have several injuries and muscle fatigue so you have to stop. Or when you are just going to put your head down and work really hard to get a head on your bills then when you look up you've lost touch with your friends, your family and have gained 10 pounds.  Its like you create an environment where your body screams balance...but do you listen?

Do you know how to listen?

Have you ever noticed that when we don't listen the signs just keep getting louder and louder until we have to? Maybe you get anxiety, palpitations, feelings of impending doom, or feel like there is no way out of it...

I have realized over the years of treating thousands of clients that pushing hard and making something happen is no way to live and ultimately sets you up for disaster.  We must listen to what our heart is telling us so we can find our path.  The path that is in service to ourselves so we can stop pushing so hard to make things happen but to just listen to our heart for what we truly need and ultimately what we truly desire...

Who are you going to listen to?

Are you ready to let go of the struggle?

"Live the life you love...."-Angela Tisci, Acupuncturist and Integrative Fertility Coach