Are you struggling to conceive? Some seemingly harmless parts of your self-administered wellness routines could jeopardize your chances. Self biohacking is a recent trend gaining in popularity with health aficionados, and many are using it to increase overall health and wellness without much research, clinically tested regimens, or evidence-based advice. Could these biohacking faux pas be jeopardizing your fertility?
What is Self Biohacking?
First and foremost, to understand self-biohacking you need to know what biohacking is. If you’ve never heard of biohacking, the term refers to the practice of employing methods from biology, genetics, neuroscience, or nutrition to enhance your physical and mental conditions (Neumann, 2023). The end game would be improvements in your overall health and wellness. While that sounds ideal, implementing these practices without consulting a health professional or applying new techniques from sites or people who are not experts in biohacking, which can have detrimental effects on your fertility, Mama.
Some call it the movement of “do-it-yourself” biology because most of the time, people test these hacks on themselves to see which one works. Biohacking is also one of the fastest-growing industries, as it’s worth over US$ 22.7 billion in 2022 and has a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.8% from 2022 to 2029 (MMR, 2023). This further proves that many people could be creating self-biohacking DIYs without much care or consideration as part of their get-rich-quick schemes, causing irreversible harm to those who fall prey.
The movement started as a discussion forum in 2008, and now it’s been adopted across the world (Meyer & Vergnaud, 2020). One of the reasons behind its growth is the rise of wearable technology, such as smartwatches and diagnostic devices. You can now easily gather data about your health and use the information to adjust your regimen accordingly. Unfortunately, what they do not warn you about is that we are all individuals. While these methods are presented as universally sound, rarely are the methods uniquely considered. No warnings or special circumstances are provided, and they are usually presented as quick fixes.
Here are the common types of self-administered biohacking methods you might even be doing right now (Geng, 2022):
- Age biohacking focuses on cellular preservation and regeneration with techniques like red light therapy and cryotherapy.
- Energy biohacking focuses on creating more energetic individuals. Techniques in energy biohacking include sleep tracking, taking melatonin, and encouraging risky behavior to overcome adrenaline fatigue.
- Diet and nutrition biohacking is usually used by people seeking weight loss or better digestion. When done safely, this can significantly help your fertility. However, dangerous techniques in nutrition self-biohacking, which include specific diet practices like keto or paleo, can harm fertility potential due to their lack of nutritional status needed for fertility enhancement.
- Physical health biohacking involves techniques that enhance physical performance, such as cold plunging, heat therapy, intense exercise training, vibration therapy, or electrolyte consumption. Extreme acts, including high-intensity exercises, are known to spike cortisol and trigger your body’s fight or flight response, resulting in a significantly negative impact on fertility. When your body is in distress, it does not make a welcoming environment for your future baby.
- Brain biohacking, which means improving your cognitive abilities with the help of exercises and brain games. Neuroplasticity is something we want to have and pass down to our future generations. However, if the things you are doing cause you stress and anxiety, it can potentially harm your chances at conception.
At first glance, this trend might seem helpful, serving as a way to take control of your wellness by using numbers and data. However, self-administered biohacking involves testing methods on yourself before it’s proven by controlled clinical settings. This is why it is vital for your well-being and fertility to trust in science and experts who have done the testing for you. Without proper scientific research or consulting with a licensed healthcare provider, you could be taking a risk without knowing it. Something that seemed like a simple way to stay healthy can be the reason behind your fertility struggle.
Your fertility does not have to be another ‘trial and error’ experiment with the Primemester Protocol. The Primemester Protocol was designed to take the good aspects of biohacking, fueled by nearly 30 years of expertise, and create a comprehensive approach to fertility. Using techniques like biohacking to nurture your individual fertility and enhance your overall well-being. Encouraging proven epigenetic pathways of fertility enhancement.
Trust in the epigenetic enhancement with the Primemester Protocol. Your path to your superbaby has never been clearer and safer, Mama.
Biohacking Regimens and Their Effects on Reproductive Function
Physical biohacking often involves unique practices that aim to take your athletic performance to the next level. Some examples of these techniques are cold plunging, heat therapy, vibration therapy, or pulsed electromagnetic fields therapy (Paolucci et al., 2020).
One form of self-administered biohacking that can be harmful is heat therapy, such as a sauna, which can affect male fertility negatively. Research has found that sauna exposure can significantly impair sperm count and motility (Garolla et al., 2013).
In addition to heat, vibration could also cause reproductive disorders in men. The latest popular device in biohacking is a vibration training plate, a platform that vibrates to activate your circulatory system. Vibration was found to decrease sperm counts, affect motility, and induce structural damage (Penkov & Tzvetkov, 1999).
Overview of Fertility & Its Self-Biohacking Factors
There has been a severe decline in childbirths over the past half century, particularly in industrialized regions (Skakkebæk et al., 2021). This is due to the fall in fertility rates affected by biological, behavioral, and socioeconomic factors. Approximately, around 10 to 15% of couples struggle to conceive (Sharma et al., 2013). To understand the complexity of biohacking and why it is advised to trust in an expert, it is important to understand the intersectional complexity of fertility.
There are several factors that influence your fertility, which is why a comprehensive and holistic approach to biohacking is more realistic for fertility. The first one is age, while men’s fertility starts to decline by age 35, most women’s fertility start’s to decline in their early 30s. The next factor is nutrition, which is one of the simplest pathways to epigenetically enhance your fertility. People focusing on fertility should consume more healthy fats, high-quality proteins, low-toxicity methyl-donating green leafy vegetables and a rainbow of low GI fruits and vegetables, gut healing prebiotic foods, and probiotics.
Being over or underweight also impacts your fertility. In general, you should aim for a body mass index (BMI) that is completely normal and unremarkable, meaning not too high or too low. Limit harmful lifestyle choices such as cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, or the use of illicit drugs. This goes for both partners, egg and sperm carry equal value in the conception of your future baby. Lastly, pollutants and environmental exposures could also harm your chances of conceiving.
Safe Self Biohacking Trends For Fertility
There are several ways biohacking –when done correctly and through the advice of a biohacking fertility expert– can enhance your fertility.
Intermittent Fasting For Fertility
Intermittent fasting is an eating pattern that alternates periods of fasting and eating. If you have come across my teachings before, you understand how powerful how you eat can be for your fertile potential. It is used primarily as a weight management tool to improve metabolic health, but it can also balance hormone levels, regulate menstrual cycles, and improve reproductive health (Cienfuegos et al., 2022).
According to Chiofalo et al. (2017), intermittent fasting helped women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) improve their hormone levels, insulin sensitivity, and ovulation rates significantly, resulting in heightened fertility. The important thing to note is the effect intermittent fasting has on insulin sensitivity, which is extremely important for fertility since it encourages regular ovulation. Also, prioritizing good foods when you do eat allows you to fill your body with fertility-enhancing nutrients that fuel your body for conception.
Intermittent fasting can be a safe way to control your blood sugar levels, tame your cortisol levels by encouraging good stress, balance your hormones, and regulate your ovulation for fertility. By doing it safely, under close supervision by a fertility expert, you can determine if it is suited for your individual needs. Always consult an expert, even when implementing scientifically approved ways to enhance fertility.
Steer clear of self-administered biohacking and consult with our specialized FPI Team to determine your individual fertility plan.
Biohacking With Nutritional Supplements For Fertility
Consuming supplements is one of the most common techniques that you can do to safely biohack your fertility, Mama (Gaskins & Chavarro, 2018). This is through providing your body with the nutrition it needs but cannot get from your current diet and to bring your nutritional status back up-to-par with that of our biological evolutionary past. In the past, fertility was not an issue because the food we ate gave us everything we needed to have a healthy conception and pregnancy.
Problems arise when over-the-counter, generic, or hyper-focused supplementation is used rather than carefully curated and evidence-based supplementation. Many popular fertility supplements focus on female fertility and leave out the male factor, and they tend to have more harmful additives and fillers that lower nutrient potency and can potentially harm your health. Supplements for fertility need to be focused on reducing oxidative stress, enhancing egg or sperm quality, improving uterine health and implantation, reducing the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, and aiding in hormonal balance for fertility goals. If they cannot do this, then those supplements may have a higher chance of letting you and your fertility goals down.
These reasons led to the creation of Superbaby Nutraceuticals. Supplements that focus on preconceptional fertility for both male and female fertility, with no harmful additives or fillers, get you and your partner the nutritional support to enhance your fertility epigenetically. Superbaby Nutraceuticals uses 5 essential foundational nutrients that are scientifically proven, clinically tested, and naturally sourced to be your ideal fertility friend. These nutrients were curated through evidence-based research and formulated with the ideal dosages to increase your chances of conceiving your precious little one.
Get Superbaby Nutraceuticals for your carefully curated biohacking nutrient needs!
Fertility Biohacking With Exercise
Another form of self-administered biohacking is intense and prolonged exercise, which people often use to lose weight or build muscle. Exercise is a key player in maintaining optimal blood flow, regulating weight and hormones, and introducing a healthy level of stress to your body. However, not all exercise methods are created equal, and some self-administered biohacking techniques might do more harm than good, particularly when it comes to fertility.
Engaging in intense and prolonged workouts without proper guidance can have adverse effects on fertility. It’s essential to be cautious and avoid pushing your body to extremes, as it may disrupt hormonal balance and interfere with reproductive functions. Excessive exercise can lead to anovulation, which is when an egg or ovum isn’t released during a menstrual cycle (Mussawar et al., 2023).
On the flip side, a safer approach to fertility biohacking involves short bursts of intense exercise with rest intervals, such as High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workouts. This method allows you to keep your body in top shape without risking over-exertion. The science behind it is simple yet effective. Short bursts of intense exercise stimulate the release of growth hormone and improve insulin sensitivity, positively impacting reproductive health. Additionally, HIIT workouts help regulate weight, contributing to overall fertility.
Women are not alone in this because intense, prolonged exercise also decreases male fertility (Jóźków & Rossato, 2016). Men engaging in vigorous prolonged workouts could damage their fertility due to friction and heat. Some parameters that are affected by intense training are sperm concentration, motility, and morphological aspects. The findings were much more apparent in professional athletes than in recreational ones.
So, when it comes to biohacking your fertility through exercise, opt for the smart and safe route with short bursts of intense workouts. Your body will thank you, and your fertility will benefit from the right kind of stress. To get the perfect balance of stress and hormones, invest in Superbaby Nutraceuticals Complete Mama and Dada Bundle. You and your partner can find relief in knowing these nutrients will reduce your added stress, protect your fertility from imbalances, and nurture optimal egg and sperm health.
Invest in your fertility with The Complete Mama and Dada Bundle and biohack your chances of having your superbaby TODAY!
Biohacking Your Fertility Safely
Self biohacking might seem like a way for you to take control of your health, but if your main focus is fertility it might not be the way to go without the help of a fertility biohacking expert. Embarking on the journey of biohacking your fertility demands caution and strategic planning. Self-administered approaches may inadvertently expose you to risks, especially when adopting methods not tailored to your individual needs. The pitfalls lie in the lack of curated guidance and the absence of substantial research, leaving you vulnerable to potential harm. Without the expert touch, it’s like navigating uncharted waters without a compass.
Contrastingly, collaborating with a fertility biohacking expert ensures a roadmap customized for your unique physiology. Experts meticulously sift through methods, discarding those that could jeopardize your fertility while refining and enriching strategies that epigenetically enhance your chances of conception. It’s about leveraging their knowledge and experience to create a personalized plan that optimizes your reproductive health, setting the stage for a healthy superbaby and a smooth pregnancy journey. When it comes to unlocking fertility potential, trust in the expertise that paves the way for a safe and successful conception.
Book a consultation with your dedicated FPI Team and discover what it’s like to get guided help from a biohacking fertility expert.
If you’re doing these things, you aren’t alone, and there are clinically backed fertility-biohacking techniques I can help you with that will get you closer than ever to welcoming the baby of your dreams into your family. When it comes to fertility, your best bet is to make informed decisions and consult a healthcare professional who knows and cares.
I have personally helped tens of thousands of women and families in 23 countries and 6 continents (and counting) to have their superbabies. It’s time you become a part of those families, too. You can start by learning about our Primemester Protocol for an at-home, guided, and comprehensive biohacking protocol, you can easily adopt.
Explore the benefits of the Primemester Protocol before our doors close, Mama.
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