6 NUTRIENTS TO SUPPORT OVULATION
Apr 28, 2021
ARE YOU SKIPPING THE BIG ‘O’??
And no I’m not talking about orgasms 🙊 (although they can help)!
The BIG ‘O’ is OVULATION!
OVULATION is essential to healthy and well-balanced hormones!
Now you may be wondering, what is the big deal about ovulation?
But you see, without it, our body struggles to produce key hormones that help keep us happy, healthy and fertile (even if you don’t want babies… we need our bodies to act like we are preparing for one every month).
Ovulation (regular) is needed for optimal levels of estradiol (main form of estrogen), and progesterone which are the two KEY female sex hormones.
Dr. Lara Briden, author of Period Repair Manual says in her book ‘Ovulation is how we make hormones’.
Ovulation is not simply the time you are most fertile, nor is it just about the release of an egg, although this is extremely significant, when it comes to our health, we want to ovulate for a number of other reasons too!
Not only do we produce those KEY sex hormones – estradiol and progesterone, but ovulation is a time where we feel most confident, high energy levels and motivation, increased creativity, and communication skills, skin is glowing and gives you a real period!
Yes, that’s right, unless you ovulate, it’s not considered a REAL PERIOD!
There are a number of reasons we can skip ovulation (and I sure have had my fair share of skipped ovulation)… but when we are ovulating, it communicates to us that our bodies are healthy and operating smoothly!
REASONS YOU MIGHT SKIP OVULATION
The number one is STRESS on the body and this can come in all forms:
– Extreme or too much exercise
– Very high stress levels
– Low body weight
– Obesity
– Thyroid dysfunction
– Perimenopause
– Low ovarian reserves
– Being on a hormonal contraceptive – like the OCP
So, if you are wanting to OVULATE every month, managing your stress is the UTMOST importance!
On top of that we want to support our body with key nutrients that not only help the body ovulate, but help produce hormones, and keep us hormonally balanced throughout the month!
6 KEY NUTRIENTS TO SUPPORT OVULATION:
- Zinc: helps regulate normal hormonal function, cell division and ovulation (as well as boosting your immune system and skin health, healthy growth of hair and nails).
Sources include: red meat, oysters, eggs, poultry and nuts like cashews. - Vitamin B6: this is essential for the production of progesterone, and the corpus luteum, as well as metabolising estrogen from the liver.
Sources include: poultry, some fish, peanuts, bananas and oats - Magnesium: is responsible for over 300 different functions in the body, particularly calming the nervous system (handling stress), so sufficient levels will allow for the body to know it is safe enough for ovulation to occur.
Sources include: nuts and seeds (particularly pumpkin seeds), green leafy veggies and wholegrains. - Iodine: this nutrient helps keep our metabolism happy and regulated, for the role it plays in our thyroid health, and the thyroid helps to regulate ovulation.
Sources include: kelp, seaweed, fish, iodised salt and eggs. - Selenium: has been shown to promote healthy follicles in the ovaries which are responsible for the development and release of eggs, as well as protect against birth defects.
Sources include: brazil nuts, seafood and organ meats. - Vitamin D: has been shown to enhance ovulation, increasing the follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) sensitivity, as well as production of progesterone.
Sources include: salmon, liver, egg yolks and cod liver oil.
So if you wanting to make sure you hit the BIG ‘O’ every month, look at adding in these key nutrients into your diet, and managing your stress!
Yours in Health,
Sheree xo
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