Inflammation Drives Infertility--Lifestyle and Environment Are Key

Key Quotes

"We are seeing an increase in infertility but thank you so much for having me here and that we can hold space for this discussion which is something that there's a lot of stigma behind as well because many people don't understand their body their health their hormones and they don't want to talk about their fertility so by breaking down these discussions and hopefully we can help educate some people so they can understand what they should be doing or advocate for their health better."

Dr. Natalie Crawford highlights the stigma surrounding fertility discussions and the lack of understanding about reproductive health. She emphasizes the importance of open conversations to educate individuals, empowering them to advocate for their health and make informed decisions.

"The world is more inflammatory there's more obesity insulin resistance environmental chemicals and we're directly seeing that play out in sperm but we also see more women being diagnosed with low ovarian reserve I see more premature menopause than ever before I see younger patients struggling to get pregnant having higher rates of miscarriage so it's not solely just oh everything impacts the sperm we're really seeing both men and women being impacted by a change in our environment and our life and what that means for our fertility."

Dr. Crawford explains that increased inflammation, obesity, insulin resistance, and environmental chemicals are impacting both male and female fertility. She notes a rise in low ovarian reserve, premature menopause, and miscarriages, indicating a widespread effect on reproductive health due to modern lifestyle and environmental changes.

"So you've listed a handful of items do you think that the number one cause of infertility is it fair to say that it's obesity you know what I say it as I say inflammation chapter one of my book says inflammation is hijacking your fertility and this to me is many different things but obesity is largely one of them but I see a lot of patients who are not obese but they have high levels of insulin resistance they are doing behaviors they might think are healthy but the net sum of all these choices are actually leading them to have a very inflammatory life."

Dr. Crawford identifies inflammation as the primary factor hijacking fertility, rather than solely obesity. She clarifies that while obesity contributes, many non-obese individuals also experience high inflammation and insulin resistance due to lifestyle choices, leading to an overall inflammatory state detrimental to fertility.

"The older dogma is no right that tincture of time wears up and the chromosomes are going to break down and move around and you'll often hear fertility doctors say age is the number one predictor of success and yes there's a huge age component because our eggs are in our body our whole life our chromosomes are held in metaphase of meiosis which means they're all met in the middle in this perfect division you have these proteins these meiotic spindles keeping everything in perfect place and it is true the longer they are in your body they are going to start to move around more because we know those proteins break down wear and tear of our life but this metabolic health and this mitochondrial function is something we really need to pay more attention to than not enough people are."

Dr. Crawford discusses the traditional view that egg quality declines solely with age due to chromosomal wear and tear. She acknowledges the age component but emphasizes that metabolic health and mitochondrial function are crucial, offering a more nuanced perspective on egg quality that can be influenced beyond just chronological age.

"If we look at what causes inflammation in our body that we can control we've got sleep stress muscle diet and toxins and truly we're all wired a little different we all do different things and make different choices but I think the number one thing that I see that patients are not doing or they're putting at the bottom of the totem pole is going to be sleep."

Dr. Crawford lists controllable factors that cause inflammation: sleep, stress, muscle mass, diet, and toxins. She identifies sleep as the most frequently neglected factor by patients, despite its significant impact on overall health and fertility.

"Alcohol is absolutely inflammatory besides being a carcinogen and bad for your health otherwise it takes a huge load for your body to clear alcohol out of your system and what we want is it to be able to focus on making hormones ovulating appropriately you have to convince your body when you're trying to get pregnant that you're in a good place to handle the rigors of pregnancy because pregnancy is not health neutral."

Dr. Crawford explains that alcohol is inflammatory and places a significant burden on the body's system for clearing toxins. She stresses that when trying to conceive, the body needs to be in an optimal state to handle pregnancy, which is not "health neutral" due to its demanding nature.

"The things you use every day are the things of biggest potential detriment and a lot of this does come to us through fragrance and I I love fragrances but we really have to acknowledge that fragrance can be a huge endocrine disruptor and through other through smelling or getting into your skin usually if you think that you're putting on your skin like rubbing it on your skin you know your shampoo and so smelling it can be problematic but things like the laundry detergent you're using the soap that you're using on your hands the perfume you're spraying around the products you use every day are the ones you need to pay most attention to."

Dr. Crawford highlights that everyday products, particularly those containing fragrance, can be significant endocrine disruptors. She advises paying close attention to items like laundry detergent, soaps, and perfumes, as these are used consistently and can impact hormonal health through skin absorption or inhalation.