I’m just off a river trip, playing in the rapids, mountain biking in shoulder-high brilliant wildflowers, and watching the full moon rise above camp. It all feels like life should always be like this: living outside in the summer, playing until the sun goes down, sleeping away from Wi-Fi, eating nuts and berries, hiding from bears, wondering about how old the rocks are that we are floating over and trying to keep that emerald green pool of water crystal clear in my mind forever. These days it takes commitment, lots of planning, know-how, packing, traveling, and map reading to get yourself into the wild spaces. This used to be common and how people got away. Now, it is rare. When you are way out in the wilderness, it is impossible not to connect the dots about how the gradual turning our backs away from nature has contributed to so many of our health-related issues.
Fertility is one of many examples of how turning our backs on nature has impacted our health. We now see many couples struggle with what should be easy fertility and natural conception. The exact culprit? No one wants to offer suggestions or confirm WHY this is happening, but there are teams of private equity firms working on this, venture capitalists working on faster technology, and the consolidation of many fertility clinics into BIG business. If we think of fertility as the tip of the iceberg in terms of the metric of a population’s health, we should be very concerned. No one wanted to know where conceiving naturally has gone wrong but rather just how to fix it, which is how our system works.
Patient:
“Why do I have recurrent GI issues?”
Conventional Answer:
Doctor Shrugs: “I don’t know but here is a drug to treat your symptom.”
Patient:
“Hey Doc, I can’t sleep.”
Conventional Answer:
Doctor Shrugs: “Here is a drug to help you sleep.”
Patient:
“Why can’t I conceive?”
Conventional Answer:
Doctor Shrugs: “It is called ‘unexplained infertility’, here are some high-tech costly options for producing a baby for you.”
All beings before 1978 were conceived inside a woman’s body. Today there are over 12 million people who started off in a laboratory, in glassware. On average, 4 babies are born using reproductive technology every three minutes. That happened in 45 years’ time which is a very short amount of time.
This is big business folks. It’s already a competitive landscape: the fertility sector is booming. IVF accounts are around 9% of live births in Denmark, the highest proportion for any country. Israel is politically and culturally more pro-baby than other rich countries -it covers the cost for any woman to have two babies.
In the US, there were nine states where insurers were required to provide some coverage for IVF treatment, now there are 14 states. Women are eager to have financial support and participate in online forums to share which employers offer coverage for high-tech reproductive assistance. “IVF tourism: means that women are traveling to other countries to obtain more reproductive support within their budgets such as the Czech Republic, Mexico, and Thailand and this type of travel is on the rise.
In most of the world, couples cannot afford to undergo IVF. A single cycle of this treatment can cost between 50% and 200% of people’s average annual income. Americans can expect to pay approximately $20,000 per IVF cycle which means it is simply out of reach for many couples.
The causes for infertility are numerous but here are a few basic explanations for the rise of infertility: toxin exposure, DNA damage from radiation (e.g. EMFs), nutrient depletion, stress, advanced maternal age, and hormonal imbalances. I cannot say that one is more important than the other and the “fix” includes addressing all of these factors.
I know from watching bodies heal for the last 25 years that removing some of the obstacles to fertility in the form of improving egg and sperm quality, regulating ovulation, managing stress, supporting healthy food choices, optimizing toxin avoidance and detoxification, and simply taking nutrients will alleviate the suffering of many infertile couples. We were made to reproduce, and now many of us can’t what has changed since 1978?
We have turned our backs on the natural order of life.
For a deeper look, check out my new book on detoxification before conception to give the best chances for natural fertility. Contact Holistica for guidance if you need direction, there are tests that can shed light on the obstacles to fertility and there is so much that can be done to address issues with conception. Buy the Pre-Conception Cleanse HERE
