Reproductive health can be a difficult topic for many people to discuss, as it can deeply impact those who want to become parents. Just under 1 in 6 people experience reproductive challenges in their lifetime, highlighting how common these issues are.
One reason that some people may experience these issues is inflammation. Although the exact effect that inflammation has on reproductive health is unclear, various studies point toward a connection between the two.
What Is Inflammation?
Inflammation is how your body responds to an injury and many illnesses. Inflammatory cells target the affected area while cytokines stimulate further inflammatory cells, promoting healing to help you recover. This type of inflammation is described as acute, and typically lasts a few days at most.
Chronic inflammation occurs when your body sends inflammatory cells even when your body isn't damaged by illness or injury. When this happens, the inflammatory cells can damage healthy cells, often resulting in pain, swelling and discoloration. Other symptoms can include:
- Fatigue
- Joint stiffness
- Insomnia
- Fever
- Skin rash
- Gastrointestinal issues
- Infections
- Weight gain or loss
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Mood disorders
Chronic inflammation can last months or even years, and so can have a serious and long-term impact on your body. One of the main effects it can have is on your reproductive health.
How Inflammation Can Affect Female Reproductive Health
Chronic inflammation may negatively affect the uterus, cervix and placenta. As a result, chronic inflammation can impact female reproductive wellness in several ways, such as by:
- Damaging egg quality: Chronic inflammation disrupts the follicles where eggs mature within the ovaries, meaning eggs may be less suitable for fertilization.
- Disrupting hormonal balance: By disrupting the delicate hormonal balance, hormonal signals that are usually sent to regulate the menstrual cycle can become irregular or otherwise disrupted. This can cause irregular menstrual cycles and possible ovulation issues.
- Accelerating reproductive aging: Chronic stress is believed to have a similar effect on the ovaries as aging. Known as inflammaging, this can cause a woman's reproductive system to function as if it were older than it really is.
- Creating a hostile immune environment: Inflammation can cause enzymes and reactive oxygen species (ROS) to be released, causing oxidative stress. This creates a hostile environment that damages cells, making fertilization less likely while also interfering with early pregnancy maintenance.
Inflammation can also exacerbate conditions that affect reproductive health, such as endometriosis and polycystic ovary syndrome. These conditions can directly impair a woman's reproductive organs and ovulation.
How Inflammation Can Affect Male Reproductive Health
Although less discussed and perhaps less widely known, inflammation can affect male reproductive health, too. In particular, it can do this by:
- Impairing sperm production: Excessively high levels of cytokines can confuse hormonal and chemical signals that are key to healthy sperm production. Inflammation can also cause blockages in the ejaculatory duct, which hampers the sperm's movement.
- Damaging sperm DNA: Oxidative stress caused by chronic inflammation can fragment the genetic material in sperm cells and cause them to die prematurely in a process called apoptosis.
- Compromising accessory glands: By negatively affecting the accessory glands, chronic stress leads to less healthy seminal fluid, which is vital for sperm to successfully swim and survive.
Inflammatory conditions such as prostatitis, epididymitis and orchitis can also affect male reproductive health.
How Can You Reduce Inflammation?
Increased inflammation has been linked to several environmental factors, which means you may be able to reduce the level of inflammation by making lifestyle changes.
Diet
Your diet can affect how much inflammation you experience. Since diet is usually easy to control, cutting out inflammatory foods is a good way to reduce inflammation. Foods that are typically associated with inflammation include:
- Red meat
- Processed foods
- Deep-fried foods
- Foods made with white flour, such as pasta and bread
- Salty foods
- Foods high in trans fats
- Sweetened beverages, such as soda
- Commercial baked goods, such as cakes, pies and cookies
To further reduce or prevent inflammation, stick to foods found in an anti-inflammatory diet, which include those that are rich in vitamin C, omega-3 fatty acids and polyphenols. Foods rich in prebiotics and probiotics can help reduce inflammation, too. Foods commonly found in anti-inflammatory diets include nuts, berries and non-starchy vegetables like spinach and kale.
It's also well known that alcohol can cause inflammation by increasing oxidative stress, suppressing the immune system and causing leaky gut. By reducing your alcohol intake, you may be able to reduce inflammation, too.
You can get more of the vital vitamins and minerals you need to reduce inflammation through anti-inflammatory supplements for reproductive wellness, too.
Weight
Excess fat cells can lead to higher levels of inflammation in the body. This is because fat cells, or adipocytes, can release pro-inflammatory chemicals such as interleukin-6 (IL-6). Additional inflammatory cells called macrophages might also be released to target cells that have outgrown their blood supply and died.
To prevent your weight from leading to increased inflammation, aim for a healthy body mass index (BMI). Healthy eating and regular exercise are key factors in maintaining a healthy BMI.
Exercise
Other than helping you meet your weight goals, exercise can have other anti-inflammatory benefits. Exercise has been shown to reduce inflammatory markers such as IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), while also improving insulin sensitivity, which reduces metabolic stress.
To see the anti-inflammatory benefits, it's important to exercise regularly. Short bouts of exercise may temporarily increase inflammation, but over time, regular exercise will cause your body to adapt. Low-impact exercise, such as walking, cycling and swimming, can minimize initial inflammation.
Sleep
Research shows that inadequate sleep can lead to increased levels of IL-6 and TNF-α, and it can disrupt immune and metabolic regulation processes. This all leads to increased oxidative stress and decreased antioxidant defense, resulting in higher levels of inflammation.
To avoid this, get at least 7-8 hours of high-quality sleep every night.
Stress
Oxidative stress is often linked to real-life stressors, including challenging work environments and personal worries. These sources of stress can increase cortisol levels in your body. Normally, cortisol is an important chemical for regulating inflammation responses, but excessive levels of cortisol can throw off this regulation.
To prevent stress from increasing inflammation in your body, try to remove or limit causes of stress in your life. In some cases, stress management techniques such as therapy, yoga, meditation, and deep breathing exercises may help.
Science-Backed Anti-Inflammatory Supplements
There are plenty of changes you can make to reduce inflammation in your body. For those who believe inflammation may be affecting their reproductive health, these changes could make all the difference.
At Ovaterra, our Ovamune™ anti-inflammatory supplements are backed by scientific research to give you reliable support. Made with natural ingredients, our anti-inflammatory supplements for women and men alike are designed to work alongside a healthy diet to help reduce oxidative stress and regulate inflammation.
To find out more about our range of anti-inflammatory and fertility supplements, explore our shop today.
