Are you thinking of freezing your eggs?

Freezing eggs is a way of storing unfertilised eggs to use later in life, it’s a way of preserving fertility. Whilst it’s not a guarantee to always end in a baby later in life, it is a chance to preserve frozen eggs that are a younger cellular age and will have a better potential for creating an embryo when you are older.

There are many reasons why women choose to do this ranging from not being in the right circumstances at the right age to have a child, to medical reasons. Egg freezing can be a wonderful tool to put someone’s mind at ease knowing they have ageless eggs waiting, but how good are those eggs? They are only as good as the health you have when you collect them. Your health at the time of collection influences the quality of your eggs, and what they carry on to the child. It takes roughly 100 days for a follicle to mature in the ovary to then release as an egg. In this time exposure to the right nutrients and avoidance of toxins can have a big influence on that egg.

Research shows us that those with low folate, zinc, B vitamins and other nutrients have poorer egg collection and quality than those with the optimum levels. Not only do these nutrients influence egg quality, but they influence hormones, your nervous system, and many other aspects of your health. Lifestyle factor such as poor sleep and sleeping patterns have also shown to yield poorer results with egg collection and quality, as have those with exposure to certain toxicants. If you are going to freeze your eggs, you want to make sure they are the best quality that you can possibly have, so not only will you have a better collection but also a higher chance of creating a healthy embryo with that egg.

What are the first steps for egg freezing preparation?

• – Full health assessment that includes your diet and lifestyle
• Diagnostics for nutritional deficiencies and hormone levels
• Digestion and gut health should also be assessed to ensure you can absorb your nutrients
• Ideally allow 3 months cellular regeneration and to absorb any nutrients you may need to top up
  on for your eggs to be at their best.

A question I get asked all the time, can egg quality change? Research shows certain supplements and diets clearly can make a big change in egg quality; the benefits usually take 3 -4 months of making the changes. In my experience I see changes all the time in egg quality in my patients, and it is worth the wait.

What can you do today to start preparing?

• Begin a healthy diet, high in many different vegetables and adequate levels of fruits; especially those that contain antioxidants such as anthocyanin and ellagic acid. Vegetables and fruits like beetroot, blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, purple carrots, cherries, pomegranates, and purple cabbage.
• Ensure adequate levels of Omega 3’s – deep sea small fish such as sardines, mackerel, trout and anchovies. Or to a lesser degree, Avocado, chia seeds and fresh nuts and seeds.
• Avoid as many processed foods as possible – higher intake of processed foods has been linked with poorer hormone balance, poorer IVF outcomes.
• Drink at least 1.5 litres a day of filtered water to help with day-to-day cellular detox.
• Try to get into a good sleep pattern for your individual needs – We can help you assess this at Merge Health
• Address any known nutrient deficiencies now, it usually takes 3 months to make the difference!

To book into have your health assessed for optimal egg support or optimal fertility support please book in with Samantha Van Dort Womens Health Expert