Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to The Bean Talk with me, Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother, joined by my trusted partner in life and in the mission of Mungbean Health, Jeremy. Here at Mungbean Health, we're on a mission to unlock the secrets of fertility and natural wellbeing one episode at a time.
Speaker: Hello and welcome back to The Bean Talk with Rhiannon and Jeremy. Hey guys, welcome back. We are excited to have you here. Let's talk about our little Ben Big Ben. Damn, have you got any? We're doing our veggie challenge, which is cool. Parsnip this week.
Speaker: We had our, what did we have last week? Spinach? Yeah, yum. Kale the week before? Cabbage. Oh, the cabbage? Yes. So good, that cabbage. I know. Actually, we've got a quarter in there that I'm going to cook up.
Speaker: Just like smother it in butter, a bit of paprika salt. Put in the oven and roast it. It goes like caramelized. It's so good. What else have we been doing? We've been taking our supplements. been really good. We've been ticking off a couple of things.
Speaker: Yeah, it's all been happening. I know actually, happening there's a lot happening. There's a lot of things going on at the moment behind the scenes. Business, the joys of having a small business in Australia, I guess. It's a lot happening, but we will conquer.
Speaker: Today we wanted to talk about something a little bit more serious, which is genetics and fertility and the science of conception, because we know how crazy it is that like you and I are sitting here today from all the odds that are against us. And there's a lot of them.
Speaker: Seriously. This is often overlooked or not discussed when we talk about fertility. And I think part of it should be and part of it is sort of there's not a lot you can change, but there's so much you can change for some things. So let's talk about genetics. And when most people think about fertility,
Speaker: They think of hormones straight away, which so you should. But behind the scenes, your genes are actually influencing so much more than you might realize. Genetics can actually affect things like our hormone metabolism.
Speaker: Yep. Egg and sperm quality. Yes. Detoxification pathways. Blood clotting. Yeah, immune function, which we know the immune system has to literally shift to allow the embryo to attach and grow. Nutrient metabolism. Yeah, nutrients as well and how we use those. So for both men and women, these factors can impact fertility long before you even start trying for a baby.
Speaker: So if our genes play such an important role here, what does that actually mean for your fertility? Well, that's exactly what we're going to dive into today. So let's talk about that.
Speaker: So this episode is essentially perfect for anyone who is trying to conceive if they're planning a pregnancy in the future. Has experienced miscarriage. Yeah, if you've experienced loss or if you have a family history of genetic conditions or you just want to optimize your fertility for conception, which is that is chef's kiss. That's where everyone should be. But here's the truth. Your genes aren't your destiny. They provide the blueprint, but understanding them allows you to make informed choices that support both your fertility for you and also the health of your future baby. So what are genetics?
Speaker: Let's talk about it. Start with basics. Yep. Every single one of them carries thousands of genes. Think of them as your body's instruction manual. Yes. Yep. So they're already there doing their thing. They tell your body how to grow, how to repair itself, which is so cool, how your hormones work, how nutrients are processed, how your reproductive system functions. Sometimes small changes occur within these genes.
Speaker: These are called genetic variants or mutations. Many of these have little to no effect, which is great, but some can absolutely influence our fertility, our pregnancy and our reproductive health. Female fertility and genes start there. our Genes can influence fertility in several ways. So yes, as you mentioned before, definitely egg quality. It's a big one. Some genetic conditions can affect both the number and quality of eggs. An example of this is the Fragile X pre-mutation, which we actually treat and support in clinic a lot. It actually comes up a fair bit.
Speaker: Yeah, right. It's a bit more, I guess you'd say, like if we didn't work in a fertility clinic, it's more rare. It's not something that everyone's talking about. Actually, I might do a little TikTok on that. It'd be a good one. Raise a little bit more awareness around it. um But yes, genetic condition. And then also our genes can influence our hormonal regulation.
Speaker: So genes also influence how our body produces and responds to reproductive hormones, including estrogen, progesterone, follicle stimulating hormone or FSH and luteinizing hormone LH, which we all know how important they are for your fertility to have a baby.
Speaker: And then there's small genetic differences can affect our ovulation, menstrual cycles, hormone balance, and yes, implantation as well. How do genetics affect male fertility? Yes. You actually mentioned before as well, yeah the sperm. But fertility, of course, is never just about women, even though in the past it has always been a woman's problem. Male factors contribute to around half of the fertility complications. Tell me what can those genes influence?
Speaker: Sperm production. certain genetic conditions may reduce sperm count, yeah sperm quality, sperm movement. Yeah. And some examples of this are the Y chromosome micro deletions.
Speaker: I always struggle with this one, but it's kellenfelter syndrome i'm sorry i know what it is yes kleinfelter syndrome yes yeah i don't know why i always struggle with that when i read it one but then when i hear it someone that had that condition yeah i know somebody who has that as well or like i know of someone someone's yep someone that's i know is Yeah. um So yes. Yeah. Yeah. I don't know why always struggle with that. You know, like there's those words like jewelry, you can never spell properly. It's like jewelry. about that. um Also hormonal functions for men. Genes can affect testosterone production, sperm development and overall reproductive health. But the good news is that many genetic causes of male fertility can now be identified through appropriate testing, helping guide treatment and family planning.
Speaker: So let's talk about the MTHFR. You've probably heard or seen it discussed before. It is very commonly on social media or in the media, often with an association to fertility or infertility linked to miscarriage, anxiety, and a long list of other health concerns. So let's clear up some of the confusion.
Speaker: MTHFR stands for, here we go again. that's a massive word, that one. It's methylentrophhydrofolate reductase. That's good It's a mouthful one. it's probably wrong, but that's that's how you sort of say it. Let's just stick with the MTHFR gene. That's why they call it the MTHFR gene. One of my lectures would actually call it the mother effigy. She would actually say that it was like her way to remember it, which is so funny.
Speaker: But MTHFR is easy to remember. In short, this is an enzyme that plays a key role in the body's methylation process. It is a biochemical pathway involved in everything from DNA repair and detoxification to neurotransmitter production and hormone metabolism.
Speaker: MTHFR helps convert things like folate into active forms that the body can actually use. Variations of the MTHFR gene can lead to complications during during pregnancy, largely due to the inability to convert and utilize folate effectively, and this compromises the methylation process. So there's a lot more to MTHFR than just folate absorption. There are two main genetic variants in the MTHFR gene.
Speaker: called C677T and A1298C. One of the biggest misconceptions around MTHFR is that it is rare when it actually isn't. Studies suggest around 1 in 4 people worldwide actually carry the common C677T variant and about 1 in 13 people have 2 copies of it. Having a MTHFR gene mutation or variant does not automatically mean you'll experience infertility. or pregnancy complications, which is great. In some individuals, certain variants can play a huge role in nutrient deficiencies, methylation, mood, mental health, metabolic health, and hormonal conditions.
Speaker: And it's very important that then you're taking the right nutrients. Yeah. And this is why genetic screening is very important. It is. Yeah. yeah Many couples never realised genetic could be contributing to fertility challenges.
Speaker: Genetic screening can be incredibly valuable because it can identify carrier status for inherited conditions such as cystic fibrosis. Screening may also identify chromosomal abnormalities, causes of recurrent pregnancy loss,
Speaker: conditions that could be passed on to future children as well. Even if you're not experiencing infertility, knowing your genetic background before conception can make you informed on your decisions and optimize your health. While genetics are important, then only one piece of the picture. And also sometimes I do feel like it leans a little bit on the fear side. This is my personal opinion.
Speaker: er everyone's titled to their personal opinion mine is that sometimes you can lean in on the fear yes it's amazing for those really bad conditions like cystic fibrosis etc um but sometimes you find out these things freak out and then it's not an issue for you uh so sometimes it's not better to know later it's good to have an informed choice of what you want and know from there but just knowing that it's not always going to cause an issue.
Speaker: that make sense? Yeah. um And yes, only one piece of the puzzle, the health of both parents before conception play a huge role in fertility and pregnancy outcomes. Good preconception care includes reviewing personal medical history, family history, screening for chronic health conditions, nutrient deficiencies, infections,
Speaker: You want to be optimizing nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress management, environmental exposure, taking high quality preconception supplements where appropriate, targeted nu nutritional support based on individual needs.
Speaker: And that is what we would help you with in naturopathy. And importantly, understand your genetic background. Yes. Think of preconception care like preparing the soil before planting the seed. The healthier the environment, the better the opportunity for that seed to grow and thrive. And that is what naturopathy will literally help you with.
Speaker: We are so big on helping that soil because I was talking about it in maybe another video or somewhere else I was talking about it where if you think about...
Speaker: I think I was talking about IVF. And although it's important for a lot of cases, many cases, and it's wonderful that we've got it. If we don't prepare the soil, say, like they're talking about here, and you have a desert base, and it's not good in the environment, it's like a desert, and you're trying to plant a beautiful flower that loves water in there. You're just getting it out and you're just putting it in. You're just hoping for the best. You need to feed the soil and create the environment to be able to put that plant back in and for it to grow and thrive. Otherwise, it's a pointless exercise that's so heartbreaking for people and costly as well. Costly, not to mention all the synthetic hormones and everything, although they're amazing. Medical science is beautiful when used correctly and needed, but it's just so overused. yeah That's the problem. um
Speaker: So, yes, creating that environment for the seed to grow and thrive is first and foremost, and that is what we as naturopaths are always looking at, fixing the root cause to help everything bloom.
Speaker: So if you want to reach out, please do. We'd love to hear from you. www.mungbeanhealth.com you can also dm us we are at mungbean underscore health and that is on instagram and on tiktok and yeah if you're trying to conceive yeah and looking for a want to find a really good preconception supplement look no further we've got our oops folly for her folly for her and cedra for him These are our beautiful supplements that we created literally sitting across in clinic from beautiful couples that are trying to conceive for close to 10 years and seeing exactly what they need. This is the beauty of that. All of that experience in two capsules a day, easy to take, won't make you nauseous, which was a huge part because obviously I know people that are feeling sick when taking their supplements, they're not going to take them. um You need to take them for it to be effective. So,
Speaker: You can find that www.sproutlingsupplements.com.au. And we are also on Instagram. We share heaps of information. So if you love this, go there. it is at Sproutling underscore supplements. And we can't wait to help. you Bye guys. See you next week. Bye.
Speaker: And that's a wrap on today's dose of wellness. I'm Rhiannon, your fertility fairy godmother. Thank you for joining us. Stay connected with us on Instagram at mungbin underscore health.
