System Biology

The core issue for women with Energy PFPs is increasing their energy reserves to improve their fertility health. We all experience fluctuations in energy levels, but Energy PFP women are generally much less energetic than most of their friends and colleagues.

The tiredness may be relatively recent or something they’ve had since childhood, and while we all know muscles need energy to power them, it’s just as crucial for the growth of eggs, follicles and the womb lining. Being pregnant also takes a lot of energy as the body has significant immune and structural changes to make, as well as nourishing the growing child, and low energy can make pregnancy more challenging.

The constitution we inherited from our parents is the basis for our energy levels, but as we age, this basic constitution is affected by our diet, lifestyle and life events, which combine to determine the energy reserves currently available for fertility. There are two variations to the Energy PFP, which relate to how and when energy reserves become low, and we’re calling these “Constitutional” and “Gut”.

“Constitutional Energy”

Our constitutional health is primarily the genetic packages we inherited from our parents, with the genes on our chromosomes determining much about us. We all have genetic traits that affect our metabolism, blood function and energy levels.

However, genes aren’t 100% stable, and their behaviour (and structure) changes in response to age, diet and the environment:

• Genetic robustness determines our health at birth, how quickly we age, and our changing fertility levels
• Genetic variations affect our blood, including how efficiently it carries oxygen and responds to immune threats and clots
• Our genetics aren’t “set” or constant, and different genes are “expressed” throughout our lives; for instance, the genes for puberty aren’t expressed until teens
• Triggers of gene expression include hormones, weight, diet, exercise and chemicals
• Some babies get extra or fewer chromosomes than they should, which causes major genetic problems like Down’s or Turner’s syndrome
• DNA fragmentation is less extreme and routinely occurs in eggs and sperm when bits of DNA are broken off chromosomes. The genes in eggs and sperm are vulnerable on their single rather than a double helix. They must join at fertilisation to make normal cells, with a baby’s health relying on how well they join and repair DNA damage
• The health and age of parents at conception affect DNA fragmentation rates and repair
• Modern living is full of new chemicals, and many are “endocrine-disrupting chemicals” (EDC) that alter hormones, disrupt egg production and increase miscarriage rates

“Gut Energy”

Gut Energy covers most of the other ways we become tired, with weak digestion being the usual cause, although overwork, trauma and stress are other factors. The classic signs of gut Energy are cravings for sweet or stodgy food and energy dips around mealtimes.

Blood sugar levels are central to this, and the release of insulin and glucagon from the pancreas controls them. The pancreas also releases many of the enzymes that digest food. The pancreas is a crucial organ for digestion and blood sugar control, and poor pancreatic function causes hypoglycaemia and Type II diabetes.

Gut Energy isn’t the same as diabetes, but we’ll use diabetes to illustrate the point. Diabetes has become so widespread (and generally well controlled) that we’ve almost forgotten its seriousness. Without medication, some of the symptoms are:

In the US, 34.2 million people had diabetes in 2018 (10.4% of the population) . Of those, 90% of cases are diet-related (Type II), as Type I is an auto-immune condition. The US spent $327 billion on diabetes care that year, but despite this, 50% of people with diabetes die prematurely.

The gut has close relationships to:

1. Obtaining energy from the diet
2. Immune balance
3. Hormone levels
4. Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) balance
5. Inflammation
6. Brain health and mood

Energy PFP and Female Fertility

Energy is crucial for the healthy balance of the immune and nervous systems. Without a reliable energy supply, cells and organs can’t function fully, affecting general health and fertility. Fluctuating or low energy supply creates hormonal imbalances and inflammation that lower female fertility and sexual vitality. Two of the most common fertility women experience (PCOS and luteal phase deficiency) often involve high insulin levels due to poor pancreatic function.

Women with Energy PFPs should focus on supporting their digestive and constitutional health to improve DNA integrity and the chances of a healthy pregnancy. Each cycle involves the recruitment of a “batch” of eggs from the ovarian reserve:

• It usually takes 13 months for them to reach the ovulation stage
• Very few complete the whole journey as they grow
• Fewer and fewer reach the final stage as women age
• This reflects lower energy reserves and more oxidative stress damage to eggs
• High FSH levels and damage to eggs can be reduced with focused changes

Herbal combinations are 3x more successful than IVF for unexplained infertility.

Morefertile and Energy PFP Women

The morefertile member package has PFP extensions with personalised advice on:

1. Diet
2. Healing the gut
3. Lifestyle and Exercise
4. Weight
5. Coping with stress
6. Appropriate tests and treatments

They also have the most up-to-date research for specific conditions and access to cutting-edge functional medicine tests and personalised herbal combinations. The morefertile approach:

• Informs and empowers you with focused changes to raise fertility
• Uncovers and addresses hidden problems
• Raises general and fertility health
• Speeds up natural conception times
• Improves IVF success rates
• Increases resilience and lowers stress levels