Maintaining fertility health is crucial for increasing your chances of conceiving naturally. Here is how daily habits like eating junk food, experiencing stress, lack of exercise, smoking, or drinking can harm your fertility.

Many people tend to overlook the impact that their daily lifestyle habits can have on their fertility. These habits can gradually reduce fertility, making the journey to conception stressful for couples. Fertility refers to the ability to start a family naturally with fewer complications and health issues during pregnancy and childbirth. However, not everyone experiences this joy easily. Some couples face several complications such as low sperm count, swollen veins in the scrotum, erectile dysfunction in men, and issues with the fallopian tubes and uterus, endometriosis, hormonal imbalance, uterine fibroids, and infections in women. Therefore, it is crucial to take necessary steps and precautions to safeguard your fertility health and increase the chances of conceiving.

We spoke to Dr Ritu Hinduja, Fertility Consultant, Nova IVF Fertility, and she told us some daily habits that are harming our fertility health.

Eating Processed Foods

Binge-eating unhealthy processed and packaged food can hamper your fertility. These foods are high in sodium, sugar, unsaturated fats, additives, and preservatives, which can potentially interfere with an individual’s hormones, leading to hormonal imbalances. Hormonal imbalances can cause problems with sperm production and ovulation. Processed foods contain fewer essential nutrients like vitamins, minerals, proteins, and healthy fats, resulting in nutritional deficiencies. Oxidative stress tends to increase in the body, further damaging reproductive cells and tissues. Avoid eating junk food like chips, chocolates, cupcakes, pizza, pasta, noodles, panipuri, aloo tikki, and French fries.

Stress

A busy lifestyle can contribute to stress. Chronic stress can significantly impact your overall well-being and fertility. It can create hormonal imbalances in women, resulting in irregular periods and making it difficult to predict fertile windows. Stress hormones like cortisol, responsible for functions like regulating blood pressure levels, metabolism, and reducing inflammation, can impact your fertility. It can affect both men and women by reducing sperm production and ovulation, respectively. Therefore, it becomes essential to manage stress and maintain a balance between work and life. Stress-relieving techniques like meditation or deep breathing can be helpful.

Lack of Mobility

Exercise or physical activities are key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and staying fit. Sitting in one place for prolonged hours or not moving enough can contribute to health problems like obesity and hormonal imbalance, directly interfering with your fertility health. Staying active regularly for more than 40 minutes a day through activities like hitting the gym, weight training, yoga, meditation, swimming, running, or playing basketball can improve your overall well-being. It can also increase your stamina, energy levels, and reproductive health.

Smoking, Vaping, or Drinking Alcohol

Habits like smoking, vaping, and drinking alcohol can significantly impact the overall reproductive system of both males and females. Harmful toxins present in cigarettes like tar, arsenic, and nicotine can take a toll on reproductive health by disrupting the formation of sperm and eggs, respectively. Vaping, often perceived as a safer alternative to smoking, can also contain harmful chemicals that negatively affect fertility. These habits lead to a decrease in the quality and count of sperm and eggs, creating hurdles in the fertilization process. Alcohol can lead to reproductive issues like poor sperm quality, reduced libido, and lower testosterone levels. Individuals are advised to quit smoking, vaping, and drinking alcohol to maintain their fertility and increase their chances of conceiving naturally.

Excessive Screen Time and Exposure to Mobile Gadgets

Spending prolonged hours on mobile gadgets and other electronic devices can contribute to a sedentary lifestyle, leading to obesity and hormonal imbalances, which can negatively affect fertility. Additionally, excessive screen time can lead to increased stress levels and poor sleep quality, both of which can interfere with reproductive health. It’s important to take regular breaks from screens and engage in physical activities to mitigate these effects.

Exposure to WiFi and Bluetooth Technology

The potential impact of electromagnetic radiation from WiFi and Bluetooth devices on fertility is a growing area of concern. Some studies suggest that prolonged exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMFs) may affect sperm quality and motility in men, as well as ovarian function in women. While more research is needed to establish a definitive link, it is advisable to limit unnecessary exposure to these technologies. Simple steps like keeping mobile devices away from the body, turning off WiFi and Bluetooth when not in use, and using wired connections where possible can help reduce potential risks.