As with any ecosystem, your body and mind can suffer when pollutants overwhelm them. This can really affect your reproductive health. Whether someone is struggling with fertility, menstrual issues or menopausal transition, an important step in seriously addressing the underlying cause is to detox.
The ability of men or women to reproduce healthy babies can be heavily influenced by toxic overload. Detoxing is a process of gently removing toxins from our body with the goal of improving our overall health. This can be a pivotal point for men or women trying to improve their reproductive health – including the ability to conceive or maintain healthy pregnancy.
Furthermore, the need for conscious pre-conception preparation is increasingly being supported by research. The pre-conception mental and physical health status of both men and women is linked to conception rates, pregnancy health and the ongoing well-being of the child. The moment a baby is conceived, it receives the genetic makeup that will determine how he or she develops in utero and after birth.
If you are actively trying to conceive, detoxing should not involve fasting. Rather, focus should be on eating the right foods and eliminating the wrong ones, in order to get the nutritional optimisation required for improving fertility.
I generally advocate a minimum of 6 months to 1 year of pre-conception preparation time for women. This is often necessary to reverse toxic impact on reproductive health including hormone imbalance and to optimise the environment a developing egg is in. Similarly men should plan a pre-conception preparation period of at least 3-6 months.
Some people resist doing a detox diet, others go into it with a mindset of deprivation. Choosing to detox is actually a positive choice which should leave you feeling better than before you started it. So celebrate it! The toughest days are usually in the first week. After a couple of weeks, most people start to notice they feel better in some way – either mentally or physically. The point of doing a detox is not to deprive yourself of your usual fixes and to hang out to return to them. Instead, it should be an act of empowered decision making to break some habits that may not be serving you well.
The best way to go into a detox is with a positive mindset and by being organised. Plan your meals and snacks so you shop well and are prepared. Start label reading so you really do know what you are eating and get the processed foods out of your house once and for all. Recognise where you will be challenged and make some positive contingency plans. Do a detox strictly for a defined period of time and include a plan for when you finish. It’s important you don’t go back to your old habits and undo all the good you have done.
Follow this link to get the hit-list DOs and DON’Ts for an optimal detox. Some people find it a little confronting at first, but rest assured, those same people quickly notice how much better than feel if they stick with it. This is a great time to creative with your food – eating healthy even while detoxing, can still be delicious.
What are your greatest challenges to sticking with a detox? Write them all down. Then come back to them later. Challenge your thinking and start playing with some solutions. Many people find the obstacles fall away once they start putting some good plans in place with a solution focused mindset.
