Is Your Sugar Intake Hurting Your Fertility?

Sugar. One of those things that everyone hates to love.

And if you are thinking about getting pregnant or maybe struggling to get pregnant, you may be wondering if your sugar intake is a problem. In this article, I will tell you how sugar impacts your fertility and whether you need to eliminate it from your diet.

But first, do you have any idea how much sugar you eat in a day?

I recently read a study that looked at an average American's sugar intake. Wanna take a guess? [hint: I was BLOWN away]

According to this study -- an average American ate more than 17 tsp of sugar per day (or a little over 1/3 cup per day).

And put another way -- it is about 13% of all calories. I mean, that's crazy right? About 13% of calories are from a single ingredient... SUGAR!

Now, before we go any further -- I just want to put this out there. I am not totally anti-sugar. A little sugar is totally normal, delicious, and a welcomed part of any balanced diet. I am all about teaching normal moderation and including all foods. But 1/3 cup per day is a lot.

And the problem with sugar isn't just the fact that it is empty calories. While it is unfortunate that sugar doesn't come with a hefty dose of vitamins or minerals -- the bigger problem is the blood sugar roller coaster you step on when you eat this much refined carbohydrate.

Specifically for women who are trying to conceive, the ups and downs of blood sugar can be trouble. Even when the fluctuations of blood sugar are still within what is considered "normal" (aka: not diabetes).

So, what really happens when you eat a bunch of sugar.

The sugar you eat sets off a hormonal cascade. When your body senses the sugar coming in, your body releases insulin. Insulin is responsible for shuttling the blood sugar into your cells for processing and storage. So as blood sugar comes in, insulin goes up.

When someone eats lots of sugar, insulin levels are always high -- that insulin is trying to get that sugar processed in order to maintain normal blood sugar levels.

But what's interesting is that after a long time of high levels of insulin -- your body kind of starts to ignore it. Which means you make more and more insulin but your cells just don't react to it the same. The cells are less apt to take up the sugar. So your body makes more and more and more until the cells finally oblige and scoop up the sugar.

Here's a common analogy -- your neighbor knocks on your door. The first couple of times you answer and chat. But you have other things to do and eventually you start ignoring the knock because you are busy. The neighbor knocks louder and louder -- eventually you answer but only after the knocking became so loud and obnoxious you can't take it anymore.

In this analogy, the neighbor is insulin -- knocking so loud and obnoxiously in order to get the glucose into the cell.

This is called insulin resistance. Your body starts ignoring the insulin and as a result, you kick out more and more and more insulin in order to get the signal heard.

High sugar diets and your fertility.

Get this -- high sugar diets (and the blood sugar roller coaster + insulin resistance that follows) can impact egg quality, inflammation and hormone balance. All stuff we have to get in line prior to conception.

Let's dive in a little further into each of these.

Blood sugar and egg quality.

Dysregulated blood sugar impacts egg quality by disrupting hormonal signaling that is crucial to egg development. Blood sugar dysregulation also increases oxidative stress which is damaging to the egg cell's DNA and overall structure.

In a 2021 study, looked at women going through IVF and the impact of insulin resistance on their success. The study found that women with insulin resistance had lower numbers of mature eggs and blastocytes.

Blood sugar and inflammation.

Poorly regulated blood sugar promotes inflammation. And inflammation is known to poorly affect fertility by impacting egg and sperm health. Inflammation even impacts the health of the ovaries and uterus.

Aside from difficulty getting pregnant, inflammation caused by poorly regulated blood sugar can also lead to an increased risk of miscarriage and gestational hypertension (citation).

Blood sugar and hormone balance.

Chronically high blood sugar disrupts hormone balance. Specifically, high insulin levels promotes high levels of androgens, specifically testosterone. And elevated testosterone interferes with ovulation - resulting in anovulatory cycles or unpredictable ovulation.

This is the most common root cause of PCOS and the reason that women with this condition struggle with irregular and missing periods. Getting blood sugar and insulin levels regulated is a really powerful approach to managing PCOS and getting the menstrual cycle back on track.

Wanna spot check your sugar intake?

Are you wondering how your sugar intake stacks up? Here's a few things you can try to see where you're at:

1.) Try a 3 day food journal. Cronometer is a good free option. You might be surprised what you learn in a couple days tracking your food.

2.) Read the labels on your pantry staples. I mean, how often do you throw the same stuff in the cart without thinking about it. And how much of it has hidden sugar? Next time you are picking up staples, flip them over and see what the label says. FYI - 4 grams of "added sugar" = 1 tsp

3.) Get real with portions. Are there any things that you might be overestimating {in terms of portions}. Like, your 2 tsp of coffee creamer is more like 8 tsp... I hate measuring food because it makes eating become so mechanical. But if you feel like any of your portion estimations may be getting out of hand, using a measuring spoon for a few days might come in handy.

Here is the real secret to enjoying sugar.

Here's the good news. You don't need to eliminate sugar from your diet.

But, it would be wise to mindfully reduce how much sugar you are eating. And when you do eat sugar, pair it with protein and/or fat. When you mix something high in sugar with protein and/or fat, it slows down how quickly the sugar hits your blood stream and lessens the crazy roller coaster.

Looking for an example?

Choose a full-fat ice cream vs a light ice cream or frozen yogurt. The full-fat (and super delicious) ice cream naturally is rich in fats compared to the light ice cream or frozen yogurt which are quite low in fat.

I'd love to hear your favorite way to include fat and protein with your sweet tooth cravings. Let me know in the comments below!