In this week's show, I am focusing on sugar and the ways in which sugar can affect your hormonal balance. Why am I focusing on this? Well, when it comes to fertility, everything revolves around hormones. Our hormones should be balanced to allow our bodies to function at their best. So, here are five ways in which sugar can affect your hormones:
This weekly show is designed to help you improve your fertility. Every Tuesday, I will be focusing on actionable steps to help you take control of your own TTC (trying to conceive) journey. I'm Maria, a personal trainer specialising in fertility. Whether you are preparing for IVF, managing your BMI, or ready to throw everything you have at your own trying to conceive journey, tune in each week to hear more.
In this week's show, I am focusing on sugar and the ways in which sugar can affect your hormonal balance. Why am I focusing on this? Well, when it comes to fertility, everything revolves around hormones. Our hormones should be balanced to allow our bodies to function at their best. So, here are five ways in which sugar can affect your hormones:
Insulin: Consuming sugary foods or drinks, especially those high in refined sugars, causes a rapid rise in blood sugar levels. This leads to the release of insulin by the pancreas. However, overconsumption of sugar can lead to chronically elevated insulin levels, potentially contributing to insulin resistance and conditions like type 2 diabetes and PCOS. Pay attention to food labels and be cautious of hidden sugars, especially in low-fat labeled foods.
Leptin and Ghrein: Leptin and ghrelin are hormones that regulate hunger and fullness, crucial for managing weight and fertility. High sugar intake can disrupt the balance of these hormones, interfering with leptin signalling and making you feel less full. Additionally, sugary foods often lack fibre and protein, leading to increased ghrelin production and increased hunger. Focus on homemade meals with whole ingredients to better control your sugar intake.
Cortisol: Cortisol, known as the stress hormone, is released in response to stress. High sugar intake, combined with chronic stress and poor sleep, can contribute to elevated cortisol levels. Increased cortisol levels are associated with weight gain, particularly around the abdominal area, and can interfere with other hormonal functions. Keep stress levels low by incorporating relaxing cool-downs into your workouts and minimising overall stress.
Sex hormones: Excessive sugar consumption may indirectly impact hormone balance. Insulin resistance resulting from high sugar intake can disrupt sex hormone regulation, affecting menstrual cycles and conditions like PCOS. Focus on healthy meal plans to regulate sugar intake and support fertility.
Growth hormone: Sugar consumption, especially fructose, has been associated with reduced growth hormone levels. Growth hormone plays a crucial role in fertility, affecting factors like embryo implantation, follicle growth, and pregnancy. Be mindful of your sugar intake to support optimal fertility.
The take-home message is that sugar can have a significant effect on your overall health and fertility. Be aware of your sugar consumption and modify your diet as needed. If you need guidance and support, don't hesitate to reach out at info@fitnessfertility.com.
Maria, the IVF trainer, is passionately dedicated to supporting women and couples in realising their dream of having a baby.
Personal Trainer | Fitness Fertility
Instagram (@fitness_fertility)
This Podcast is a Worth a Listen production
DISCLAIMER: The content in the podcast and on this webpage is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your doctor or qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have heard on the podcast or on my website.
Welcome to Fertility Focus, this weekly minisode is designed to help you improve your fertility. Every Tuesday I will be focusing on actionable steps to help you take control of your own ttc journey.
I’m Maria, I’m a personal trainer specialising in fertility. Whether you are preparing for IVF, managing your BMI or ready to throw everything you have at your own trying to conceive journey, tune in each week to hear more.
In this week’s show, I am focusing on sugar, and the ways in which sugar can affect your hormonal balance. Why am I focusing on this? Well, when it comes to fertility, everything revolves around hormones. Our hormones should be balanced in order to allow our body to function to the best of its ability. So, here are five ways in which sugar can affect your hormones.
1. Insulin: When we consume sugary foods or drinks, particularly those high in refined sugars, our blood sugar levels rise rapidly. In response, the pancreas releases insulin to help manage this. The problem is that over consumption of sugar can lead to chronically elevated insulin levels, which may contribute to insulin resistance and the development of conditions like type 2 diabetes and PCOS. PCOS can lead to huge problems with fertility and can lead to anovulatory cycles, meaning you don’t ovulate regularly or at all. To avoid consuming too much sugar, really focus on the labels of the food you are eating; unfortunately things can be far more processed than you think. Pay particular attention to foods labelled as low fat, as these foods are made to taste good or “normal” by pumping them full of artificial ingredients, including sugar.
2. Leptin and Ghrelin: Leptin and ghrelin are hormones that regulate hunger and fullness. These hormones are crucial when it comes to managing our weight, and as we all know, when it comes to fertility, a high BMI can really hinder your ability to access fertility treatment. When it comes to sugar, high sugar intake can disrupt the balance of these hormones which can interfere with leptin signaling. This means leptin can’t work as well as it normally does and your brain doesn’t receive the message that you are full. This of course means that you eat more than you actually need, which is a massive contributing factor to weight gain. When it comes to ghrelin, sugary foods often lack fibre and protein, which can lead to increased ghrelin production, which makes you feel more hungry. So again, try to make sure you are really aware of what you are eating; try and make meals from scratch so that you know exactly what is in them. This doesn’t have to be as hard as it sounds, even if you are not comfortable in the kitchen. I have been using my own app for all my meals and the recipes are incredibly simple to follow. To get started with making your own meals, keep it simple and just focus on one meal of the day e.g breakfast. Get this one right before moving on the the next.
3. Cortisol: Cortisol, often referred to as the stress hormone, is released by the adrenal glands in response to stress. High sugar intake, especially when combined with other unhealthy lifestyle factors like chronic stress and poor sleep, can contribute to elevated cortisol levels. Increased cortisol levels have been associated with weight gain, particularly around the abdominal area, and can also interfere with other hormonal functions. So, aim to keep stress levels low, which I know can be especially tricky when going through infertility and IVF. To help with this, I have been really focusing on the cool down aspect of my workouts, and really emphasizing the need to cool down the body and the mind. The time spent in the cool down should be a time to relax your muscles, but also time for you to relax your mind, stay off your phone and try to lower your overall stress levels.
4. Sex hormones: There is some evidence to suggest that excessive sugar consumption may impact hormone balance indirectly. For example, insulin resistance resulting from chronic high sugar intake can lead to increased levels of circulating insulin, which may disrupt sex hormone regulation. In women, this can affect menstrual cycles, potentially leading to problems. Some studies have also indicated a potential link between high sugar intake and increased androgen levels in both men and women, which could impact conditions like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). As someone with PCOS I know how disruptive this condition can be, and I also know how much better I feel when I stick to my healthy meal plans. So, another tip to help regulate your sugar intake is to have meal plans for the week; again this doesn’t have to be any where near as bad as it sounds. Pick two days worth of meals. One day is a day when you are at home and you have access to a kitchen. Another day is when you are out and about and may need more food on the go. Have ingredients in for both days, then just follow your meal plan for whatever day you have coming up. This is a very simple but effective way of helping you manage your sugar, and therefore support your fertility.
5. Growth hormone: Sugar consumption, particularly in the form of fructose, has been associated with reduced growth hormone levels. Growth hormone plays a crucial role in growth, metabolism, and muscle development. Now this may not sound that relevant when it comes to fertility but growth hormone is crucial for optimal fertility. It can effect how receptive the lining of your uterus is to your embryo, i.e. effect implantation, it can effect the growth of your follicles, and when it comes to pregnancy, growth hormone is key to the embryo growing.
So the take home message here is that sugar can have a huge effect not just your overall health but also your fertility. It is crucial to be aware of how much sugar you are eating, and then to modify what you are eating if needs be. If you feel overwhelmed and like you don’t know where to start, don’t worry, just get in touch at info@fitnessfertility.com and I can help you.
If you really want to make sure you work out regularly, with people who truly understand what you are going through then follow me on instagram at fitness_fertility, where you will find my community of thousands of women who are also trying to conceive.