SOLUTIONS TO INFERTILITY: HORMONES AND BLOOD SUGAR

The key to the link between excess weight and reduced fertility lies in the way your blood sugar levels (which are controlled by your diet and eating habits) affect your hormonal cycle. If the first is not in balance, then your hormones (which control your fertility) may not work properly either.

This link was recognized by Dr Katharine Dalton, a pioneer in the treatment of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS), who discovered that her patients’ PMS symptoms were relieved by eating regularly. The ‘little and often’ approach to eating prevents the blood sugar levels from dropping excessively and stops adrenalin from being released. What Dr Dalton discovered was that this adrenalin blocked the utilization (or uptake) of progesterone in the second half of the menstrual cycle. This problem, ultimately due to poor eating habits, was causing the symptoms of PMS. The answer was to stabilize blood sugar levels by getting patients to eat properly and stop the adrenaline interfering with the progesterone.

Interestingly, when women with PMS are tested, their blood hormone levels, including progesterone, are no different from those of women without PMS. The difference is not that PMS sufferers have low progesterone levels but that, because of their low blood sugar levels (hypoglycemia), their bodies cannot use the progesterone they have.

This discovery has huge implications for fertility and miscarriage problems. If progesterone is blocked in this way it reduces the chances of maintaining a pregnancy, since, this hormone is needed to maintain the womb lining at the very start of a pregnancy. Many women who think they are infertile may therefore actually get pregnant without knowing but lose the embryo early on because their bodies cannot use the progesterone they have. In such cases they may believe they are just having a normal period.

There is also a clear and well-established link between blood sugar balance problems such as diabetes, poor eating habits and excess weight. If you are not eating properly your blood sugar levels can zoom up and down chaotically. Not only can this have the hormonal effect observed by Dr Dalton but it may also spark off the sugar cravings, food obsessions and bingeing habits that make us eat even more of the wrong food and put on even more weight. So it is a vicious circle.

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