Speaker 1By listening to the Conscious Fertility Podcast, you agree to not use this podcast as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. Consult your own physician or healthcare provider for any medical issues that you may be having. This entire disclaimer also applies to any guests or contributors to the podcast. Welcome to Conscious Fertility, the show that listens to all of your fertility questions so that you can move from fear and suffering to peace of mind and joy. My name is Lorne Brown. I'm a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and a clinical hypnotherapist. I'm on a mission to explore all the paths to peak fertility and joyful living. It's time to learn how to be and receive so that you can create life on purpose. Welcome to the Conscious Fertility Podcast. Today, I'm doing a solo episode where I'm going to share a talk about tools, techniques, ideas for unlocking your fertility potential, basically a roadmap to a healthy conception. Those, hopefully, if you've been listening, you know who I am. For those that are listening for the first time, my name is Lorne Brown. I'm a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. I'm also a clinical hypnotherapist and the clinical director of AccuBalance Wellness Center and also the host of the Conscious Fertility Podcast. Now, I often share that the model that we do at AccuBalance that we really were some of the trailblazers, in Vancouver, where we really brought together integrative fertility care and patient-centered care. I think back to a time where I was chairing the Integrated Fertility Symposium, and we had this panel. So this is where the integrative idea comes from that brought it to my mind, actually, is at this panel, it's integrative, as in there was a reproductive urologist on the panel, there was a reproductive endocrinologist and infertility doctor, there were naturopathic doctors and Chinese medicine doctors on this panel. And Dr. Paul Magarelli, who's the REI, reproductive endocrinologist, had said that we help people get pregnant better and faster. And when he said this, he pointed to the naturopath and Chinese medicine doctors for the getting pregnant better part. And then he pointed to himself and the reproductive urologist when he said getting you pregnant faster. And this is really that integrative approach, because the getting pregnant better, he was talking about epigenetics, where what you are doing, the female and the male in the months, almost 100 days, so that's like three and a half cycles, 14 weeks, leading up to conception, whether that's natural or through IUI or IVF, what you're doing then, and then throughout the woman's pregnancy, impacts the health blueprint of the child. And so that was the getting pregnant better part, helping improve egg and sperm quality. Dr. Paul Magarelli: Yeah, that's a really good point. And I think it's really important for embryo quality and uterine receptivity. And the faster part is because when you put egg and sperm together in an IVF and grow them out to blastocysts, which takes on average five days, and place that into the uterus, that's getting them pregnant faster. And if you do genetic screening, then you can reduce the chance of putting in very abnormal embryos that won't implant or that would miscarry. So that's the faster part. And so our focus, what we focus on, and our focus as well, those that are trying or wanting to grow their family, is healthy baby. And we're less concerned whether that happens in the bedroom or in the lab, as long as the goal is healthy baby. And after this, healthy mom. And if there's a father in this, then healthy male partner. But regardless, we want healthy parents, healthy baby. And that healthy baby comes from healthy egg, plus healthy sperm, plus healthy environment. And as I just mentioned, that recruitment for the follicles that contain the eggs is about a one-year process. And it seems like the last hundred days is when that follicle goes through a lot of maturation, a lot of growth, and is really impacted by its environment, the cellular environment in which it grows in. And so this is why preconception care is important, because the growth of the eggs and that ovarian follicle in humans, anyhow, is a good hundred days, three to four-month process from that resting follicle stage up until ovulation, or if you're doing IVF, into a retrieval. And so our goal is, can we make that cellular environment, that ovarian environment optimal, or for the man, the testicular environment optimal, so we get the sperm at its peak fertility potential, the egg at its peak fertility potential at the time of conception. And a nice way to kind of share this, a metaphor of how we do this, comes from a Chinese medicine saying, nourish the soil before you plant the seed. And if you can, pause for a moment and think of a time when you've had a plant or outside garden where you've neglected that plant, and it looks a little worse for wear. And instead of tossing it in for composting and recycling, you add more water to this dried out soil. So you water it, you may add some fertilizer, pull some weeds. If it's an indoor plant, you may change how much sunlight it gets where you place it on the counter. And oftentimes that plant that looked like it was finished ends up regaining its vigor and going on to give off fruits and flowers. Now, this plant always had the potential, and I'm checking with you that's listening, actually, have you had that experience or you can imagine that experience where you've done this with a plant? And that plant always had the potential to give off fruits and flowers, but because the soil was suboptimal, the plant couldn't reach its peak potential to give off fruits and flowers. Now note, we did not do any donor roots for the plant, right? All we did is we improved the environment, the soil by adding water, by adding fertilizer, by removing weeds, making sure it's getting the adequate amount of sunlight. And this metaphor goes for your eggs and sperm cells as well. And the soil here is your cellular environment. And so we're doing what we can to improve the soil, the cellular environment, so your egg, his sperm can reach its peak fertility potential and give off fruits and flowers, and in this case, And so when we think of things that can affect the environment, the soil for the, which the egg and sperm grow in, there's hormonal imbalances, there's inflammation, infections, you know, infections, think of insects in the soil. So we have infections, the acidity versus the alkalinity of the soil and cellular environment. The microbiome, there is a soil microbiome. And we also have a gut microbiome, a vaginal microbiome, a uterine microbiome. There is microbiome on our skin. So the microbiome, toxicity and endocrine disruptors can affect the soil, your cellular environment, poor blood flow, digestive troubles, oxidative stress, nutritional deficiencies, the inability to self-regulate. So we think about your immune system here and your emotional resilience as well, and mitochondria health. And so what I'd like to do is kind of go through some of the ones that I think are the main contributors that we see daily in our practice and share some of the things. That you can do to optimize your soil. And so we're going to talk about mitochondrial defects, poor blood flow, hormonal imbalances, nutritional deficiencies, inflammation, oxidative stress, chronic stress, and the gut and uterine microbiome. And I'll share with you that the approach is a very comprehensive, integrative approach. It's not like do one thing and that's going to solve everything. I will share that with you because people come to our practice often like I must and want to have. Your low level laser therapy after reading our blogs and learning about it, thinking that it's a magic bullet. And I'll share with you that an IVF magic bullet, none of them are, unfortunately, none of them are. However, there is a multidisciplinary, integrative approach. And when you do this, it really can nourish your soil. It really can support your cellular environment, which can improve your overall health and well-being on a cellular level. You're made up of trillions of cells, which also leads to. Helping you reach your peak fertility potential and the things that we're going to talk about our diet, lifestyle, eliciting a calm and relaxed state, having community. These are all things that are important that people often neglect because they're simple. You don't have to really pay for them as an extra for them. You're going to eat so you can just choose to eat differently lifestyle. We're talking about adequate rest, movement, exercise, and deep, sufficient sleep. And then the other things that we do in our practice will be acupuncture and electrical acupuncture. Low-level laser therapy and laser acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, supplements, nutritional, IV therapy, and naturopathic functional medicine testing. And that is really our comprehensive approach that we recommend for the people that contact us or see us to help reach their peak fertility potential. And I'll give you an example of this this approach. She came to me at age 40 after an unsuccessful IVF. She was told because of her age and what they saw in the IVF. Her cycle was canceled, that she had a low response. When she came to me, she also shared that she had very bad PMS and menstrual pain. She was always cold, felt fatigue, was overweight, and struggled with constipation. So we worked with her for almost three and a half months. There's that hundred days, right? And during that hundred days, her PMS diminished to the fact, to the point where that cycle, she didn't, her last cycle, she didn't even know her period was coming. Her menstrual pain went from like a nine to a ten. 9 out of 10 to a 1 out of 10 no longer requiring any anti-inflammatory or pain medication. she warmed up so she wasn't experiencing cold she had more energy she wasn't struggling with fatigue or constipation anymore and she lost without counting calories i think it was over 15 to 20 pounds in that period of time and her clinic really pushed her into doing another ivf sooner than later because her last she's 40 and the one that she did three and a half months ago she had a low response to that to the medication we were encouraging her to give another month or two and even try naturally because we saw such a change in her soil right all those symptoms had gone away because of the age and the pressure she went forward we supported her in that and her ivf was a totally different outcome as she conceived twins when they did the they transferred to and and she ended up having twins as well birthing those twins so let's go through then the issues with the soil and so the first one i want to talk about is inflammation and chronic systemic inflammation can lead to accelerations of biological aging and that leads to premature degenerative diseases and i believe premature fertility decline and there's a term coined inflammation and that's that chronic systemic inflammation leading to accelerated biological aging so they called inflammation and in that story i just shared with you with a woman that was 40 that had a poor response to her ivf her pms menstrual pain constipation cold fatigue all went away so she had a chronological age of 40 but biologically her body's responding much older say call it 46 and our goal was can we help her become biologically 40 again because she was chronologically 40 but maybe she was behaving like biologically 46 and through the diet through lifestyle changes through chinese herbal medicine and acupuncture and supplements she was able to see a shift in her cellular environment known as better health and that's where we believe we're having a shift on the biological level and that's that idea of lowering that inflammation so reducing that inflammation so we can get to a healthier biological age i want to clarify when i say slow down accelerated biological aging or even reversing it because a lot of diseases out there are often considered age related but i think more and more they're they're saying they're more lifestyle related and in this case what i wanted to clarify is some people say oh i'm 40 can you make me i'm 40 chronologically can you make me biologically 20. i believe that we can make you biologically as young as your chronological age so if you're 40 and you're biologically behaving 46 we can get you to biological 40 which women in their 40s can conceive but if you come at chronologically 50 the best we can do is biologically 50 and that is beyond the reproductive span for most people both from a western medicine understanding and chinese medicine understanding so i hope i i kind of clarified that part about how we slow down or even reverse accelerated biological aging there was a paper published in reproductive biology and endocrinology back in 2000 and the conclusion or they quoted that biological and chronological ovarian age are not always equivalent furthermore biological age is more important than chronological age in predicting the outcome of art so things like ivf and again what they're saying here is not all 40 year olds are equal and so how old are how old of a 40 year old 40 year old are you um so that's key but again from when i point to that it doesn't mean that you're 40 and you can behave like a 20 chrono biological so i just wanted to clarify that part age does matter but biological age is also important and we want your biological age to equal your chronological age not be more advanced so what do we do to cool this inflammation what do we do to regulate this inflammation so what do we do to regulate inflammation because it's really a regulating process inflammation is necessary for health and healing and for ovulation and implantation but when we have chronic systemic inflammation we have it out of control and it leads to poor health and also fertility decline so what can you do to regulate inflammation because i'm not suggesting you take like anti-inflammatories which will reduce inflammation because those are contraindicated if you're around ovulation or around implantation so we're going to talk a little bit more about how to regulate inflammation so we're looking for more natural tools that help you regulate inflammation and there's a fertility diet i'll let you know that you can download a copy of that off of accubalance so contact us at accubalance.ca it has a nice fertility diet the theory and i think about 21 days of recipes lifestyle will impact your inflammation so you exercise um sleep rest all those things can impact inflammation stress can lead to chronic systemic inflammation so developing a meditative practice is a good way to regulate your inflammation so we're looking for more natural tools to help you regulate inflammation so developing a meditative practice and other tools to help you reduce um stress we will test we'll use functional medicine testing to look for triggers for inflammation some of the therapies we'll use is low-level laser therapy it's excellent for regulating inflammation and that's why it's been known to be used for pain its ability to help regulate inflammation and i think it's one of the main mechanisms why it's been shown to help optimize fertility is its ability to regulate inflammation there's acupuncture again can help regulate inflammation then there's certain supplements chinese herbal medicine and nutritional iv therapy and this is where we come back to that multi disciplinary approach that comprehensive approach to help regulate inflammation again why well chronic systemic inflammation can lead to many diseases including premature fertility decline and our approach is to look at um because of that chronic systemic inflammation by the way leads to accelerated biological aging premature degenerative diseases and premature fertility decline so again diet lifestyle i'm listing that relaxation response so stress reduction and then low-level laser therapy acupuncture supplements chinese herbs and nutritional iv therapy so the mitochondria are often considered the batteries of the cells this is where you get your cellular energy from creating the cellular energy these mitochondria and when it comes to fertility this is what we believe is the issue as we age older eggs and older sperm leads to less pregnancy rates and higher risk of miscarriages and birth defects because a lot of energy is required for that embryo to divide and so think of it while it's in your fallopian tube coming to the uterus or while it's in the ivf lab growing out to a blastocyst to that day five that requires a lot of energy and the mitochondria of the embryo comes from the female egg and also it requires a lot of energy for implantation and so this is why we want to have good mitochondrial health and you know you would think of um of tissues in our bodies and organs which would have the the largest concentration of mitochondria and you would guess the heart because the heart has to pump all the time right from once you're alive ongoing and surprisingly the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the heart has to pump all the time right for months you're alive ongoing and surprisingly the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart the highest concentration of mitochondria or not is not in the middle of the heart but in the ovaries and again but in the ovaries and again but in the ovaries and again makes sense then because this is where we're makes sense then because this is where we're makes sense then because this is where we're going to create life from so again that going to create life from so again that going to create life from so again that mitochondria from the mitochondria from the mitochondria from the the eggs are transferred to the embryo the eggs are transferred to the embryo the eggs are transferred to the embryo and it's important to have good and it's important to have good and it's important to have good mitochondrial health because we need that mitochondrial health because we need that mitochondrial health because we need that for cellular energy to lead to that for cellular energy to lead to that for cellular energy to lead to that embryo dividing as it grows and for that embryo dividing as it grows and for that embryo dividing as it grows and for that energy you needed for implantation so energy you needed for implantation so energy you needed for implantation so what can you do to improve your what can you do to improve your what can you do to improve your mitochondrial function well again the mitochondrial function well again the mitochondrial function well again the fertility diet that we have available on fertility diet that we have available on fertility diet that we have available on acubalance.ca contact us for that because acubalance.ca contact us for that because acubalance.ca contact us for that because it's more about the things that are not it's more about the things that are not it's more about the things that are not good for you that can really impact your good for you that can really impact your good for you that can really impact your mitochondria so we want to bring those mitochondria so we want to bring those mitochondria so we want to bring those out of your diet and then there are out of your diet and then there are out of your diet and then there are obviously certain nutrients that can obviously certain nutrients that can obviously certain nutrients that can support mitochondrial health again support mitochondrial health again support mitochondrial health again going back to lifestyle exercise sleep going back to lifestyle exercise sleep going back to lifestyle exercise sleep rest stress reduction so going back to rest stress reduction so going back to rest stress reduction so going back to the meditative practice acupuncture is an the meditative practice acupuncture is an the meditative practice acupuncture is an excellent tool for reducing stress as excellent tool for reducing stress as well meditation yin yoga well meditation yin yoga well meditation yin yoga walks in nature there's many things walks in nature there's many things walks in nature there's many things guided meditation many things you can do guided meditation many things you can do guided meditation many things you can do to support you with stress reduction to support you with stress reduction to support you with stress reduction there's some naturopathic functional there's some naturopathic functional there's some naturopathic functional medicine testing we do as well at our medicine testing we do as well at our medicine testing we do as well at our practice to look at your mitochondrial practice to look at your mitochondrial practice to look at your mitochondrial health and then some of the other health and then some of the other health and then some of the other interventions that we like that are interventions that we like that are interventions that we like that are fairly non-invasive fairly non-invasive fairly non-invasive to help support mitochondrial function to help support mitochondrial function to help support mitochondrial function those batteries of your cells is low those batteries of your cells is low those batteries of your cells is low level laser therapy so again low level level laser therapy so again low level level laser therapy so again low level laser therapy one of the main mechanisms laser therapy one of the main mechanisms laser therapy one of the main mechanisms why it helps with injuries and in this why it helps with injuries and in this why it helps with injuries and in this case with fertility is its ability to case with fertility is its ability to case with fertility is its ability to support mitochondrial function improve support mitochondrial function improve support mitochondrial function improve it and i think of it as you remember our it and i think of it as you remember our it and i think of it as you remember our plant analogy plant analogy plant analogy when it comes to laser therapy it's when it comes to laser therapy it's when it comes to laser therapy it's like the sunlight so plants take the sun like the sunlight so plants take the sun like the sunlight so plants take the sun and convert that energy through and convert that energy through and convert that energy through photosynthesis for the plant and our photosynthesis for the plant and our photosynthesis for the plant and our cells absorb these photons red and cells absorb these photons red and cells absorb these photons red and infrared light from the low-level laser infrared light from the low-level laser infrared light from the low-level laser therapy and converts that into energy therapy and converts that into energy therapy and converts that into energy atp that's the cellular energy in the atp that's the cellular energy in the atp that's the cellular energy in the mitochondria mitochondria mitochondria and so that's part of the excitement and so that's part of the excitement and so that's part of the excitement around low-level laser therapy when it around low-level laser therapy when it around low-level laser therapy when it comes to fertility and other comes to fertility and other comes to fertility and other conditions like injuries you're probably conditions like injuries you're probably conditions like injuries you're probably familiar with the supplements like familiar with the supplements like familiar with the supplements like coenzyme q10 and there's other coenzyme q10 and there's other coenzyme q10 and there's other supplements that's the most well-known supplements that's the most well-known supplements that's the most well-known one when it comes to fertility but one when it comes to fertility but one when it comes to fertility but there are other supplements as well there are other supplements as well there are other supplements as well that we recommend to support your that we recommend to support your that we recommend to support your mitochondrial function mitochondrial function mitochondrial function chinese herbs have been shown to improve chinese herbs have been shown to improve chinese herbs have been shown to improve atp and that's the cellular energy energy atp and that's the cellular energy energy atp and that's the cellular energy energy production production production and that has been shown in some mouse and that has been shown in some mouse and that has been shown in some mouse studies where they've given certain studies where they've given certain studies where they've given certain herbs interesting enough the herbs that herbs interesting enough the herbs that herbs interesting enough the herbs that we would call we would call we would call yang yang and uh and chi tonics are the yang yang and uh and chi tonics are the yang yang and uh and chi tonics are the ones that seem to have the most ones that seem to have the most ones that seem to have the most impact in these mouse models of improving impact in these mouse models of improving impact in these mouse models of improving atp which is interesting from a chinese atp which is interesting from a chinese atp which is interesting from a chinese medicine model because often people kind medicine model because often people kind medicine model because often people kind of think of chi as energy and then also also nutritional IVs we'll do in our clinic to support mitochondrial function. So as we go through all the things that can impact soil, we talked about inflammation, we talked about mitochondrial health, you're starting to see that there's this integrative multidisciplinary approach to support the soil, which then supports or reverses these insults to the cells. And again, you're going to see the pattern that it's pretty much the same thing we do. It's a common thing that we do this multidisciplinary holistic approach, because when we do this, we're seeing so many things, so many factors change on the level of the cell, on the level of the soil. The gut microbiome can impact your overall health and fertility. Your gut microbiome is responsible for a variety of crucial functions in the body, particularly due to its communication with the immune and neuroendocrine systems. So for those that have been going through reproductive treatments, you're probably starting to hear or listen to a lot of these things. So if you're going through reproductive treatments, you're probably starting to hear or listen to a lot of these things. So if you're going through a lot of these things, you're probably starting to hear or listen to a lot of these things. When you talk to your practitioners or reproductive endocrinologists, IVF doctors, how important immune regulation and your neuroendocrine system is when it comes to getting good egg and sperm health and uterine receptivity. And these beneficial bacteria aid, so we're talking about the gut microbiome here, they aid in the digestion of your food, they help your body absorb nutrients, especially those B vitamins and minerals, they help regulate blood sugar and fat storage and also keep a healthy metabolism. So thank you for joining us today. We're going to talk about the gut microbiome here, they help regulate blood sugar and fat storage and also keep a healthy metabolism. So thank you for joining us today. We're going to talk about the gut microbiome here, they help regulate blood sugar and fat storage and also keep a healthy metabolism. So thank you for joining us today. Diabetes, mental health, depression, anxiety, anxiety, and even autism spectrum disorder has been linked to the gut microbiome, autoimmune diseases, allergies, obesity, and dementia and Alzheimer's disease, and even Parkinson's. We'll talk a little bit later about laser, low-level laser therapy with respect to Parkinson's. And now in reproductive medicine, they're looking at the uterine microbiome and how it could possibly impact implantation failure. And from the acupuncture approach, where we integrate Chinese medicine and naturopathic medicine, we realize that these systems, we believe, communicate with each other. And so if you have a gut microbiome issue, this can affect other microbiomes in the body. And so we want to address the gut microbiome as an important one. It's one of the easier ones to address, to get to address, and as well as the vaginal and uterine environment, since we now know that the vaginal and uterine environment can impact the gut microbiome. And we're looking at the gut microbiome, how it impacts your soil, your cellular, on a cellular level, which we think can impact embryo quality from the egg and sperm. So what do we do for the microbiome? How do we heal it? It starts actually, you know, from birth, where you breastfed, where it was a C-section versus a vaginal birth, that can start to impact the microbiome, because the baby gets some of that immunity and microbiome through the vaginal microbiome of the mother when it's being birthed. Stress can impact your microbiome. Your diet, certain pharmaceuticals you're taking, where you were born, because you get your microbiome from your born, and just different life cycles of age all impact your microbiome. So we address it through diet again. So there's the fertility diet, another call to download that free diet from AccuBounce, just contact us. Lifestyle, so exercise, sleep, rest. We talked about how stress can affect your microbiome. So again, finding ways to elicit the relaxation response. We do use the gut microbiome, so we know what bugs are there or not there that can impact your overall health. And then our treatments, low-level laser therapy, supplements, Chinese herbs, nutritional IV therapy, all to support the gut microbiome. Giving another shout out to the low-level laser therapy that I really enjoy using in my practice. There was a study done out of Australia, and they used it for Parkinson's, because they believe there's a link between the gut microbiome and the inflammation related to the poor gut microbiome. And so they used it for Parkinson's, and they used it for the gut microbiome in Parkinson's. So they did low-level laser therapy over the gut microbiome and over the brainstem, and they showed an improvement in symptoms with Parkinson's. And they did do some DNA gene sequencing of the microbiome before and after, and they were able to objectively see a change in the microbiome from low-level laser therapy. What about oxidative stress? What is oxidative stress? Well, it's damaging to both sperm and egg cells. It's kind of like the body rusts. It's in the uterus. It's in the uterus. And it's inevitable. By living, by breathing and eating, you're going to create this oxidative stress. But too much of it can be damaging. And as we age, we tend to lose our ability to deal with oxidative stress. So as we age, we definitely want to do other things to lower how much oxidative stress we create in our body, and also to find ways to clean up the oxidative stress. And there's some study done where they discussed how in the mid-30s, women experienced a decline in fertility, coupled to a prone to cancer, and a decline in fertility. And there was an unannounced increase in the risk of aneuploidy, so those are abnormal embryos, an increase in miscarriage and birth defects. And they're saying although the cause is complex, there is a causative relationship between the age-related decline and oocyte quality, so in egg quality, and oxidative stress is now being well-established. And so we're looking for ways to support the body's ability to repair from this oxidative damage, and also to clean it up. And so a lot of you are probably aware of antioxidant therapy, right? So there's diet, so eating a lot of green leafy vegetables. Again, lifestyle can contribute to oxidative stress, so movement, exercise, deep, adequate sleep, and finding time for rest. Stress reduction, because again, stress can increase oxidative stress. We can test for oxidative stress, so talk to your naturopathic physician at your clinic, or if you're coming to AccuBalance, talk to us, because we can test to see what your oxidative stress looks like. And then what are some of the treatments? Well, diet, as we mentioned, antioxidant therapy, Chinese herbal medicine. They're herbs and spices, so they're naturally full of antioxidants. Nutritional IV therapy, low-level laser therapy. Starting to hear this, now you see why we brought this into AccuBalance and recommend it, is it addresses so many of the issues we see in our soil on a cellular level. And so yes, low-level laser therapy has been shown to help lower oxidative stress in the body as well. And you've heard a couple of times of the benefit of Chinese herbs. Here's another case of that, as well as nutritional IV therapy. Again, it's a multidisciplinary, comprehensive, holistic approach. There is no one thing. We do many things, and it starts with diet, lifestyle, and stress reduction. And then we can add on other things like low-level laser therapy, also known as photobiomodulation, acupuncture, herbs, supplements, and nutritional IV therapy. Let's talk about blood flow. So this one, it's a little bit more complex, but it's a little bit more complex. This one, when it comes to the soil, this is the water. If the soil dries out, then the plant starts to wither and dry. And so we need to have blood flow to our reproductive organs. They bring the nutrients and the oxygen and the hormones. And if you're going through medicated cycles, the drugs to your follicles to help with that follicular genesis, the growth of the follicles. And if you can imagine, just think of taking your finger. Now, I invite you to do this now. You wrap an elastic tightly around the end of your index finger, or you can squeeze it with your hand. And if you do this, you're going to have a lot of blood flow. And if you do this, you're going to have a lot of blood flow. And if you do this for close to a minute, maybe 30 seconds, even less, it will start to turn purple and hurt. And that's because it has a lack of blood flow. So if you just release it, the color returns and the pain disappears. And so we want to bring blood flow to the reproductive system, more blood to the ovaries. Again, the hormones, nutrients, oxygens, the drugs, and more blood flow to the uterus, then hopefully it will support its growth and the necessary nutrients for uterine receptivity as well. And as we age, unfortunately, there is a decline noted in blood flow to the reproductive system. So if we are in our mid to late 30s or into even our 40s, it's important to do things that can support blood flow. And so again, talking about movement, exercise, rest, sleep, meditation, so stress reduction, because stress can negatively impact the blood flow. When you're under stress and you're in that alarm state, the blood is diverted from your reproductive system and from digestion. So it can go to your heart, lungs, and major muscles so you can fight or flight. So stress reduction is a really nice way to help support blood flow by increasing that parasympathetic response. Acupuncture has been shown to increase blood flow. There's been research on this. When you do it twice a week for a minimum of four weeks, they were showing that how that increased blood flow to the reproductive system. So that's one of the more common reasons why IVF clinics in their early days I would recommend women go for acupuncture to bring more blood flow to the reproductive system. As we said, more blood to the ovaries, nutrients, oxygen, hormones, IVF drugs, as well as more blood to the uterus if you're doing that frozen transfer to support uterine receptivity. Low-level laser therapy, I'm talking about it again, and this is kind of where they believe in the mid-90s why it may have helped some of the women in their small study that they did that I'll talk about later. But in that study, they did low-level laser therapy where it improved live birth rates for women going through IVF cycles. And they did some thermophotography in their study, and they show the images in the study. You can see the woman in a bikini standing front and back, and most of the color is green and blue with a little bit of orange or red. The orange or red is showing good circulation. And after one treatment, there was incredible improvement in circulation, and by the fifth treatment of low-level laser therapy, head-to-toe, you can see the circulation. And I'll talk about that study a little bit more when I directly talk about low-level laser therapy. But again, another reason why we like LLT, also known as photobiomodulation, is that low-level laser therapy helps improve mitochondria function, helps regulate inflammation, can lower oxidative stress, and here we're learning about how it increases blood flow. This is why it's a popular adjuvant. It's a good adjunct that people add to their acupuncture treatments in our practice because of this mechanism. And then there are certain supplements that can help. Think about certain spices. A lot of people know about turmeric now, and Chinese herbal medicine, also. There are formulas that we use, and if you've taken Chinese herbs and you've had really bad menstrual pain and clotting and thick blood, but very painful periods, we would call that blood stasis, so poor microcirculation, and you probably noticed over a three-month period that you've taken those herbs, that your menstrual pain diminished greatly or has totally disappeared, and that's that improving blood circulation aspect of that formula that you would have taken. Other reasons for the soil to be out of balance, and in this case, the cellular environment, we're thinking about hormonal imbalances. So think about if you have premenstrual symptoms. So do you get really irritable or sad around your cycle? Do you have breast distension, acne, premenstrual acne? Do you feel bloating? Some people describe that they feel like they're five to six months pregnant. Cramps before your period, insomnia, night sweats before your period, all the sleep disturbance, that's a sign in Chinese medicine that the hormonal, there's some hormonal imbalances. Your cycles are irregular, irregular ovulation or, you know, they're kind of come at 23 days, come at 40 days or 50 days. You know, they don't come on a regular period, ovulation disorders. And if you're having like heavy bleeding or spotting throughout your cycle, that could also indicate some hormonal imbalances. And, you know, your medical doctor often will say, you know, your PMS, your clots, your pain, heavy flow, that's normal. Well, normal doesn't mean healthy. So in Chinese medicine, healthy menstrual cycle, just so you can compare to your own cycle, it's regular. And so there is the textbook 28 days of your cycle, but regular is really key. So if you have your cycle all the time at 26 days, that's considered a healthier cycle than if it comes sometimes at 24, sometimes at 32, sometimes at 28, we do want regularity and the range. If you're asking from a Chinese medicine perspective, a healthy length is between 26 and 35 days. If your cycle is shorter than 26 days on a regular basis, then that is considered an imbalance. It's not a healthy cycle that we'd want to see if we could correct. If your cycle comes regularly more than 35 days, that's also considered a delayed cycle. We'd want to see if we could adjust that. The key, though, is regularity. So if you always have a 34 day cycle, that is a healthy cycle. I mean, again, you're bleeding. Talking from a healthy perspective should be average flow. It shouldn't feel pathological that you're going to bleed out and you need iron infusions. You're so exhausted after a bleed. Shouldn't be really light either, like you're hardly bleeding. We want average flow and the flow should be on average three to seven days. If it's shorter than three days or more than seven days. We also think of that as not the most healthy cycle and see if we can adjust that, and these are indications that there could be some underlying subtle or not so subtle hormonal imbalances. How do we regulate hormones diet? Here we go again, right? The building blocks, your hormones. What do you eat, the nutrients that you're getting into your system, the minerals, the vitamins, the essential fatty acids, lifestyle. So movement, exercise, adequate rest, deep, sufficient sleep, stress reduction. Because again, those chronic stress hormones that impact inflammation in your body, these chronic stress hormones, you're getting the cortisol, epinephrine, all this stuff that's being released from your adrenals, short term, great, long term, not so great to the cells and to the health, and it can lead to blood sugar, dysregulation and other hormonal imbalances. And then what do we do to regulate hormones? Acupuncture, Chinese herbs, supplements, nutritional IV therapy. So again, seeing this multidisciplinary, holistic, holistic approach is kind of the way we like to do this. Let's talk a little bit about acupuncture. Acupuncture has become really popular when it comes to reproductive health. There was a recent study that came out in July of 2023. It was a meta analysis looking at over forty seven hundred women. And in this, they shared that those going through IVF cycles, having acupuncture had an increased implantation rate by 28 percent, had an increased IVF clinical pregnancy rate by thirty three percent. And here's the most important one. Increased live birth rates by thirty three percent and a decreased risk of biochemical pregnancy by fifty one percent. That biochemical pregnancy is when you get the positive blood test. But we don't make it to the heartbeat on the ultrasound. So it just shows up chemically on your urine test or on the blood. But we don't get to the heartbeat. So that would be your chemical pregnancy and it was reduced by fifty one percent. So the thing I want to share about acupuncture is timing and dosage matters. What I see has become very popular is the transfer day acupuncture. That's what this research was kind of about on transfer day. That's what that was discussing. But in the research, they showed that if people came for a series of treatments leading up to the transfer day, that's where you get your best results. And that's what we've seen in our practice. Olive did a chart review, Olive Fertility in Vancouver, where we're integrative and go on site for transfer day acupuncture. We also showed when they looked at two years of frozen embryo transfers that were genetically screened, so putting back euploid embryos, normal chromosomal embryos, the patients that had transfer day acubalance on site had a higher pregnancy rate and lower miscarriage rate. And then when we looked at the data a little bit more, this was just a chart review, wasn't like a big study. They showed that those that did seven or more treatments leading up to transfer day plus had acupuncture on transfer day, had even a higher pregnancy rate, lower miscarriage rate. Most of the research is showing that the benefit is having a series of treatments leading up, well, just a series of treatments. Let me put it this way. You know, it's like if you're going to exercise, train for a marathon, you train once a week versus twice a week, you're going to get different results. So for those that are in school or teachers or have ever been to school, if you're looking to get a really good grade, which we want on our embryos, you're looking for a good grade on your paper, on your on your exam, you could study, you could just show up for the exam and write and study the night before. That's like transfer day acupuncture cram the night before. Or you can study for 100 days leading up to the exam. And if you study once a week versus twice a week versus three times a week during those 100 days, you know you're going to have different results. You're going to get a better grade the more you study. And so acupuncture has dosage impact as well. Dosage matters when it comes to reproductive health, most of the research we see for male factor and most of the research we see when it looks at endometriosis, when it looks at PCOS, even looking at IVF, it's twice a week. So that's the dosage you're going to really want to look at, especially if you're over thirty five, especially if you have a condition like PCOS or endometriosis or you've had already unsuccessful cycles, then really consider going twice a week versus once a week and giving yourself time leading up to it. So if you're going to go through an IVF cycle, that's that hundred days before the retrieval so we can support the soil, so help you reach your peak fertility potential, egg and sperm at the time of retrieval. So those hundred days is the time we can do that. That's the preconception care. If you're doing a frozen embryo transfer, then twice a week, starting with the esterase, so that would allow and that's usually three weeks of esterase to build your line, even if it's a natural cycle on the first day of your bleed. Twice a week and that hopefully will get you six treatments leading up to your transfer day and then have the acupuncture on site before and after transfer. That would be what I would recommend. So if you're looking for that, if you're doing acupuncture, talk to your practitioner and maybe increase it to twice a week and do it a series of treatments leading up to transfer or retrieval rather than just on transfer day. To give you one more metaphor to just kind of make sense of this. It's kind of like, you know, when we look at earthquakes on the Richter scale, I mean, you go from like a six to a seven, it's not a factor of one. It's like a factor of ten from a six to seven. and so when you do acupuncture once to twice a week it's like has an exponential impact and if you go from two to three like when people have really thin linings and implantation issues often in my practice they'll get the laser therapy they'll get acupuncture and herbal medicine but the acupuncture laser is being done three times a week why like the magnitude on the richter scale from a one to two to three is not just a factor of one or two it's exponential and so that's also think of that when you're looking at the dosaging and again if you have conditions like endometriosis polycystic ovarian syndrome you're in your 40s then two or more treatments a week for a series of treatment to get that momentum going is probably what would be recommended to see a difference um briefly i just want to talk about again about reversing your biological age and then we'll talk about a few more things and wrap up here there was um a naturopathic doctor by the name of cara fitzgerald published a book based on her research called younger you which made me really think about reproductive health because we want to be as biologically young as possible and in her study she showed just in eight weeks with diet and lifestyle alone they were able to reverse the biological age and they saw a significant decrease in triglycerides a drop in total cholesterol and in the bad cholesterol ldl weight loss and those that needed to lose weight they saw a lowering of inflammation improved energy and mood resolution of skin issues less joint pain fewer headaches improve gastrointestinal health and they even looked at some of the methylation markers and they saw an improvement in methylation markers which they measured by levels of homocysteine b12 and folate and this was without any supplementation i share this with you because we're talking often about the approaches of this multidisciplinary holistic approach which is an appropriate diet and an appropriate lifestyle right we talk about that so sleep rest movement and stress reduction so what was their intervention so to get the positive influences for reversing the biological age the markers i just shared with you in just eight weeks was having the right diet they said so again call out for you to go to acubalance.ca contact us for the acubalance fertility diet because that is the right diet for for regulating inflammation and lowering blood sugar relaxation cuddling meditation so those are tools and techniques to help elicit the relaxation response to help elicit parasympathetic nervous system which is important for reproduction sleep movement and good gut bugs so i'm going to say that again diet relaxation cuddling or meditation sleep movement so there's the diet lifestyle and then addressing the the microbiome having good gut bugs can reverse your biological age and then we talked about what do we do for good gut bugs as well the low level laser therapy certain supplements nutritional iv so there are other ways that we can support that but those things that are very simple that are available to you diet relaxation sleep movement and the gut microbiome this is something i invite you to focus on and to implement to improving your life so to maximize egg and sperm quality so they can reach at the time of ovulation so conception or at the time of egg retrieval when you um bring the sperm together in an ivf setting is we're looking to improve mitochondrial health we're looking to improve blood flow to the reproductive system we want to have hormonal balance we want to improve nutritional deficiencies think of the soil again right regulate inflammation reduce your response to stress and lower oxidative stress and improve the gut muter microbiome we do this with diet and lifestyle lifestyle is very important we do this with diet and lifestyle lifestyle is very important movement sleep rest eliciting the calm and relaxed states of the body having community um and then we also at our clinic use acupuncture low-level laser therapy chinese herbs supplements nutritional iv therapy and we like to do functional medicine testing above and beyond conventional testing to see where these imbalances are so we can choose how we want to dress them so putting this back into action i want to share another story of a woman that came to me after her ivf cycle where she had seven embryos tested which is an amazing number of embryos to get tested so she was able to grow seven embryos to day five she's age 40 and all seven came back abnormal which was devastating for her her profile her symptoms age 40 she was kind of described herself as somebody that was highly inflamed and so basically in that sympathetic dominance a nervous system she had skin issues she had body pain a lot of neck and shoulder tensions and struggled with headaches she had insomnia she couldn't lose this mid abdominal weight she struggled with anxiety and had cold hands and feet really cold hands and feet she was needle phobic as well so our focus was on diet and low-level laser therapy and laser acupuncture and my conscious fertility program that i do the conscious work belief change work as well as herbs and supplements she did have some acupuncture but it was minimal acupuncture because of her severe needle phobia and so the focus was on the conscious work and on diet lifestyle and low-level laser therapy and we worked with her for six months and she had good improvement in all the the weight she lost her weight her mood improved her hands and feet warmed up she saw reduction in headaches great reduction headaches and shoulder tension and her sleep improved and so again there's that chronologically 40 but biologically overly inflamed and probably much older biologically than 40. and she came to this place with the conscious work where she when she first came she was desperate to have this baby like she was in panic she was looking at places to go around the world to try these experimental ivf techniques and after our six months of treatment she developed so much resilience and confidence in herself and i remember she saying that i want this baby but i'm now okay if i don't have this baby there was a shift that happened for her and she was able to conceive at 41 naturally her baby now remember she did ivf all seven embryos were tested all said abnormal she conceived her baby naturally after six months of the interventions that we did and she saw a shift in her soil her health improved quality of life improved and then shortly after the birth of her of her baby within a few months she conceived baby number two naturally but unfortunately that miscarried and she came back to our practice she wanted to tune up so we did laser therapy again some herbal medicine and we just reviewed the tools that i teach in the conscious work that i do usually over five to ten sessions so we just did a a review and she started using those tools again um at home the conscious work and um what some of my patients nicknamed the baby manifestation technique but it's really just conscious work and she was able to conceive at age 42 and a half baby number two naturally so somebody who went through ivf all embryos tested abnormal became chronologically older but i believe biologically younger and was able to conceive both baby one and two baby one at 41 and baby two at 42 and a half naturally what about men does sperm matter absolutely one of my podcast on the conscious on the conscious fertility podcast i'm dr paul turek who's a reproductive urologist i'm shared some data how the male sperm can impact unexplained infertility poor embryo development and miscarriages so often when the women is over 35 they'll blame the female even if they can't find anything if she's under 35 then they start to think about the man i think regardless we should think about the man it takes two to make a baby and so if you're work struggling with unexplained fertility or in the lab you're seeing poor embryo development those first five days or you're getting pregnant miscarrying then even though the semen analysis may look normal there may be some other underlying issues that are not being picked up by the semen analysis that are contributing to your infertility and miscarriages and this is me talking um or sharing some of the points from the podcast from dr paul turek so it does take sperm to make a baby still and i'll share a story the gentleman that came to me he was 37 his wife was 31 and they had done an ivf ixi so and the sperm was so poor because his count was 7 million they did ixi which is where they inject the sperm into the egg and they had three nice embryos on day three but they slowed down and none of them grew to day five now just to share when she came as a couple they both came she's 31 she had constipation was freezing cold terrible menstrual pain reminding me of the story i shared with you earlier about the woman with twins at age 40 but she's 31 because she's 31 they looked at her age and said you're fine in chinese medicine if you're freezing cold if you have constipation menstrual pain that is not the optimal environment to create the peak fertility potential or uterine receptivity we do you know you cannot plant the seed in the winter into frozen soil right and so from a chinese medicine concept if somebody's always cold that is a poor prognosis for fertility so we want to warm you up with acupuncture moxa herbal medicine dietary therapy so she got treated as well by the way she had herbal and acupuncture treatments and supplements and then obviously him his count was seven million and in the ivf clinic referred him to us because they did what they could do which was ixi and it didn't work so we changed his diet we changed his lifestyle he came twice a week for acupuncture for about six to eight weeks regularly we gave him chinese herbs and supplements after about six weeks we reduced his acupuncture to once a week continuing on the supplements and the herbs four months later he did a semen analysis and his count was 25 million for 7 million to 25 million and the love that the reproductive endocrinologist at the ivf clinic over at olive said the following to him when you came to us ixi ivf was warranted your account was 7 million your semen analysis now shows your account is 25 million so from this you probably can conceive naturally so why don't you try three more months naturally if that doesn't work we can do another ivf and they did conceive within that three month window naturally they come back to my practice two years later because they're trying to conceive baby number two and his semen analysis was poor again and so we went back to the diet because he went back to all his old habits so we changed his diet his lifestyle we did the supplements chinese herbs and just a few acupuncture sessions and uh we never got to do a second semen analysis because they conceived baby number two naturally if you stick around now i'm going to just talk a little bit more about low-level laser therapy and then i'll talk also at the end about the conscious work i do so low-level laser therapy way way back when used to be called cold laser therapy um the scientific term is photo by modulation so that's how it'll be kind of um described in research now is photo by modulation photo photons bio your body modulation so having these changes in the body using photons light therapy and low-level laser therapy still the more common name i learned about low-level laser therapy fertility from two fronts one was back in 2009 where they did or 2008 a study was done using laser acupuncture on transfer day acupuncture and transfer day sham laser so it was a fake laser and a control group and the laser group had a 15 increase in implantation on transfer day when it was done on transfer day over the sham laser over acupuncture and over the control group so we introduced laser acupuncture and transfer day 2008-2009 after this abstract was released what really got me interested was its effect on improving embryo quality so not transfer dates remember on transfer day the embryo is in the lab so we can only help with uterine receptivity we can only help with implantation when we do a treatment on transfer day or when we're doing treatment leading up to a frozen embryo transfer which i mentioned earlier twice a week for at least three weeks leading up to your transfer and if you again have endometriosis pcus or other imbalances or repeated failures then you probably want to start even sooner than that but back to this research i want to share what got me more excited is this study by dr ashuro who's a medical doctor and pain specialist in japan in the mid 90s retrieving women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s retrieving women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s women going into the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s the retrieval so this is impacting in the mid 90s the egg quality therefore the egg quality therefore the egg quality therefore um supporting embryo quality and this um supporting embryo quality and this um supporting embryo quality and this is where i think your naturopathic is where i think your naturopathic is where i think your naturopathic physicians your chinese medicine doctors physicians your chinese medicine doctors physicians your chinese medicine doctors this is where i think the strength of the this is where i think the strength of the this is where i think the strength of the medicine is leading up to conception medicine is leading up to conception medicine is leading up to conception naturally or leading up to an ivf naturally or leading up to an ivf naturally or leading up to an ivf retrieval when we still have a chance to retrieval when we still have a chance to retrieval when we still have a chance to impact the soil which will impact impact the soil which will impact impact the soil which will impact you reaching your peak fertility you reaching your peak fertility you reaching your peak fertility potential and what had happened is he potential and what had happened is he potential and what had happened is he discovered this by accident and so he's discovered this by accident and so he's discovered this by accident and so he's treating a woman in her early 50s for treating a woman in her early 50s for treating a woman in her early 50s for back pain who was a menopause back pain who was a menopause back pain who was a menopause and he's treating her and he's treating her and he's treating her and over a series of treatments her back and over a series of treatments her back and over a series of treatments her back pain is resolved pain is resolved pain is resolved but she comes back upset because she but she comes back upset because she but she comes back upset because she starts to have a menstrual bleed again starts to have a menstrual bleed again starts to have a menstrual bleed again on a monthly basis for about five days on a monthly basis for about five days on a monthly basis for about five days every month for a series of months and every month for a series of months and every month for a series of months and he dismissed it thinking it's not what he dismissed it thinking it's not what he dismissed it thinking it's not what he did he did he did and because you're in menopause and and because you're in menopause and and because you're in menopause and you're starting to bleed we need to make you're starting to bleed we need to make you're starting to bleed we need to make sure there's nothing serious going on so sure there's nothing serious going on so sure there's nothing serious going on so he sent her to the gynecology department he sent her to the gynecology department he sent her to the gynecology department it happened a second time another woman it happened a second time another woman it happened a second time another woman came in for back pain who was a menopause came in for back pain who was a menopause came in for back pain who was a menopause and her cycle returned so and her cycle returned so and her cycle returned so he thought about it and said you know he thought about it and said you know he thought about it and said you know since the laser therapy increases blood since the laser therapy increases blood flow head to toe everywhere so you know flow head to toe everywhere so you know flow head to toe everywhere so you know he was doing this because he wants the he was doing this because he wants the he was doing this because he wants the blood flow to go to the lower back and blood flow to go to the lower back and blood flow to go to the lower back and he wants to regulate inflammation in he wants to regulate inflammation in he wants to regulate inflammation in that area and he wants to improve the that area and he wants to improve the that area and he wants to improve the mitochondrial function to help the back mitochondrial function to help the back mitochondrial function to help the back heal that's the idea why he used low heal that's the idea why he used low heal that's the idea why he used low level laser therapy for back pain level laser therapy for back pain level laser therapy for back pain he realized the blood goes everywhere so he realized the blood goes everywhere so he realized the blood goes everywhere so maybe he's helping rejuvenate the maybe he's helping rejuvenate the maybe he's helping rejuvenate the ovaries the fertility because the blood ovaries the fertility because the blood ovaries the fertility because the blood also goes to the ovaries and he thought also goes to the ovaries and he thought also goes to the ovaries and he thought maybe we're bringing more blood flow to maybe we're bringing more blood flow to maybe we're bringing more blood flow to the ovaries and this is why we're the ovaries and this is why we're the ovaries and this is why we're improving this is why their cycles came improving this is why their cycles came improving this is why their cycles came back and so they did a study a pilot back and so they did a study a pilot back and so they did a study a pilot study study study of about 74 women the english of about 74 women the english of about 74 women the english translation of the study is severe translation of the study is severe translation of the study is severe infertility because they had struggled infertility because they had struggled infertility because they had struggled with infertility for many years they had with infertility for many years they had with infertility for many years they had multiple art cycles and multiple art cycles and multiple art cycles and they put them through the laser therapy they put them through the laser therapy they put them through the laser therapy sessions and they had over 23 sessions and they had over 23 sessions and they had over 23 got pregnant and of that of those that got pregnant and of that of those that got pregnant and of that of those that got pregnant 68 had a live birth got pregnant 68 had a live birth got pregnant 68 had a live birth by birth which was impressive for that by birth which was impressive for that by birth which was impressive for that demographic so they expanded the study demographic so they expanded the study demographic so they expanded the study to 701 women similar 23 got pregnant to 701 women similar 23 got pregnant to 701 women similar 23 got pregnant and about 50 live birth rate for that and about 50 live birth rate for that and about 50 live birth rate for that demographic so that's kind of what got demographic so that's kind of what got demographic so that's kind of what got low-level laser therapy no now known as low-level laser therapy no now known as low-level laser therapy no now known as photobiomodulation for fertility started photobiomodulation for fertility started photobiomodulation for fertility started it was in the 90s in 2018 a it was in the 90s in 2018 a it was in the 90s in 2018 a manufacturer of lasers the paramedics manufacturer of lasers the paramedics manufacturer of lasers the paramedics group that has a giga laser published group that has a giga laser published group that has a giga laser published clinical data of eight clinics where clinical data of eight clinics where clinical data of eight clinics where women were coming three times a week women were coming three times a week women were coming three times a week remember we talked about dosage so they remember we talked about dosage so they remember we talked about dosage so they came three times a week for the two came three times a week for the two came three times a week for the two weeks leading up to ovulation so they weeks leading up to ovulation so they weeks leading up to ovulation so they got six treatments a cycle three times got six treatments a cycle three times got six treatments a cycle three times a week leading up to ovulation and they a week leading up to ovulation and they a week leading up to ovulation and they did this for three cycles so that's on did this for three cycles so that's on did this for three cycles so that's on average 18 sessions and they just showed average 18 sessions and they just showed average 18 sessions and they just showed some pretty impressive success rates some pretty impressive success rates some pretty impressive success rates from the clinical results this wasn't a from the clinical results this wasn't a from the clinical results this wasn't a study this was just self-reporting from study this was just self-reporting from study this was just self-reporting from clinics we have that giga laser by the clinics we have that giga laser by the way at accubounce among many other laser way at accubounce among many other laser way at accubounce among many other laser systems i love my lasers and so i i get systems i love my lasers and so i i get systems i love my lasers and so i i get lots of them sent to me to try to do lots of them sent to me to try to do lots of them sent to me to try to do studies with and so we do have that studies with and so we do have that studies with and so we do have that giga laser at accubalance and so the giga laser at accubalance and so the giga laser at accubalance and so the mechanism behind low-level laser therapy mechanism behind low-level laser therapy mechanism behind low-level laser therapy and again dosage matters when we treat and again dosage matters when we treat and again dosage matters when we treat people for pain injuries pre and post people for pain injuries pre and post people for pain injuries pre and post surgery again it's two to three surgery again it's two to three surgery again it's two to three treatments a week for two to three weeks treatments a week for two to three weeks treatments a week for two to three weeks to get the momentum going and then we to get the momentum going and then we to get the momentum going and then we can pull it back depending on what your can pull it back depending on what your can pull it back depending on what your reproductive issues are and your reproductive issues are and your reproductive issues are and your diagnosis i don't know how long that diagnosis i don't know how long that diagnosis i don't know how long that would be until i would see you but on would be until i would see you but on would be until i would see you but on average most people will do two or three average most people will do two or three average most people will do two or three a week for at least three weeks to get a week for at least three weeks to get a week for at least three weeks to get things started and the mechanism behind things started and the mechanism behind things started and the mechanism behind laser for fertility low-level laser laser for fertility low-level laser laser for fertility low-level laser theory has been shown to improve theory has been shown to improve theory has been shown to improve mitochondrial activity in atp mitochondrial activity in atp mitochondrial activity in atp production so that's that cellular production so that's that cellular production so that's that cellular energy that's important going back to energy that's important going back to energy that's important going back to our soil analogy plant absorbs the our soil analogy plant absorbs the our soil analogy plant absorbs the sunlight turns into photosynthesis into sunlight turns into photosynthesis into sunlight turns into photosynthesis into energy our goal is can we get can we energy our goal is can we get can we energy our goal is can we get can we improve the mitochondrial function of improve the mitochondrial function of improve the mitochondrial function of the follicles right because the follicles right because the follicles right because that egg that becomes the embryo that egg that becomes the embryo that egg that becomes the embryo is going to be needed for energy to for is going to be needed for energy to for is going to be needed for energy to for division for embryo division and for division for embryo division and for division for embryo division and for implantation and the follicle this is implantation and the follicle this is implantation and the follicle this is the baby house it's what's going to the baby house it's what's going to the baby house it's what's going to support the eggs development and that's support the eggs development and that's support the eggs development and that's what's nurturing it nourishing it over what's nurturing it nourishing it over what's nurturing it nourishing it over those hundred days right and so we those hundred days right and so we those hundred days right and so we really want to improve follicular health really want to improve follicular health really want to improve follicular health low-level laser therapy has been shown low-level laser therapy has been shown low-level laser therapy has been shown to increase blood flow this is what dr to increase blood flow this is what dr to increase blood flow this is what dr shiro believed was the reason why he shiro believed was the reason why he shiro believed was the reason why he those women came out of menopause and those women came out of menopause and those women came out of menopause and why they saw a good result for that why they saw a good result for that why they saw a good result for that demographic where they had a 50 demographic where they had a 50 demographic where they had a 50 live birth rate is because he believed live birth rate is because he believed live birth rate is because he believed it was the blood flow to the ovaries it was the blood flow to the ovaries it was the blood flow to the ovaries i think it's the other mechanism also i think it's the other mechanism also i think it's the other mechanism also that's really important is that it that's really important is that it that's really important is that it regulates inflammation because chronic regulates inflammation because chronic regulates inflammation because chronic systemic inflammation known as systemic inflammation known as systemic inflammation known as inflammation leads to accelerated inflammation leads to accelerated inflammation leads to accelerated biological aging biological aging biological aging which leads to premature degenerative which leads to premature degenerative which leads to premature degenerative diseases and i believe fertility decline diseases and i believe fertility decline diseases and i believe fertility decline the other mechanism is the gut microbiome the other mechanism is the gut microbiome the other mechanism is the gut microbiome which is why i think which is why i think which is why i think the giga laser did so well is because it the giga laser did so well is because it the giga laser did so well is because it covers such a large area it's a big covers such a large area it's a big covers such a large area it's a big surface area this laser surface area this laser surface area this laser and so it's not only over the ovaries and so it's not only over the ovaries and so it's not only over the ovaries but it was over the gut and so i think but it was over the gut and so i think but it was over the gut and so i think that giga laser helped the gut that giga laser helped the gut that giga laser helped the gut microbiome which helps regulate microbiome which helps regulate microbiome which helps regulate inflammation and also we're doing that inflammation and also we're doing that inflammation and also we're doing that increasing the blood flow and so increasing the blood flow and so increasing the blood flow and so mechanisms improve mitochondria i'm just mechanisms improve mitochondria i'm just mechanisms improve mitochondria i'm just going to review them and then there's going to review them and then there's going to review them and then there's more i haven't finished increased blood more i haven't finished increased blood more i haven't finished increased blood flow regulate inflammation can improve flow regulate inflammation can improve flow regulate inflammation can improve the gut microbiome it's been shown to the gut microbiome it's been shown to the gut microbiome it's been shown to engage the parasympathetic nervous system engage the parasympathetic nervous system engage the parasympathetic nervous system which is your rest and digest and breed which is your rest and digest and breed which is your rest and digest and breed and feed nervous system emphasis here on and feed nervous system emphasis here on and feed nervous system emphasis here on breed it helps reduce oxidative stress breed it helps reduce oxidative stress breed it helps reduce oxidative stress it's been shown to soften scar tissue so it's been shown to soften scar tissue so it's been shown to soften scar tissue so i think if people have had c-sections i think if people have had c-sections i think if people have had c-sections or abdominal surgeries or uterine or abdominal surgeries or uterine or abdominal surgeries or uterine surgeries so potentially maybe it's surgeries so potentially maybe it's surgeries so potentially maybe it's helping that way because it can soften helping that way because it can soften helping that way because it can soften scar tissue we often use it in our scar tissue we often use it in our scar tissue we often use it in our clinic for people that have discomfort clinic for people that have discomfort clinic for people that have discomfort around their c-section or any other around their c-section or any other around their c-section or any other surgeries that they've had and seen surgeries that they've had and seen surgeries that they've had and seen improvement there and it's now being improvement there and it's now being improvement there and it's now being used it's still new the data is still used it's still new the data is still used it's still new the data is still coming out for but for brain health and coming out for but for brain health and coming out for but for brain health and mood and so to me it just has so many mood and so to me it just has so many mood and so to me it just has so many mechanisms to improve overall health and mechanisms to improve overall health and mechanisms to improve overall health and when we improve overall health we get when we improve overall health we get when we improve overall health we get to that idea that dr paul magarelli said to that idea that dr paul magarelli said to that idea that dr paul magarelli said at the very beginning of this talk at the very beginning of this talk at the at the fertility conference that at the at the fertility conference that at the at the fertility conference that we help people get pregnant better the we help people get pregnant better the we help people get pregnant better the ivf helps people get pregnant faster and ivf helps people get pregnant faster and ivf helps people get pregnant faster and so low-level laser therapy has so many so low-level laser therapy has so many so low-level laser therapy has so many mechanisms to improve the soil the mechanisms to improve the soil the mechanisms to improve the soil the cellular environment which can help you cellular environment which can help you cellular environment which can help you get pregnant better get pregnant better get pregnant better not all lasers are created equally i not all lasers are created equally i not all lasers are created equally i think a lot of people are using lasers think a lot of people are using lasers think a lot of people are using lasers at home and in their practices quality at home and in their practices quality at home and in their practices quality of laser does matter power matters of laser does matter power matters of laser does matter power matters wavelength matters i not confident yet wavelength matters i not confident yet wavelength matters i not confident yet that the home systems are enough however that the home systems are enough however that the home systems are enough however i do consult people that want access to i do consult people that want access to i do consult people that want access to photobiomodulation and they're nowhere photobiomodulation and they're nowhere photobiomodulation and they're nowhere near vancouver and they don't have near vancouver and they don't have near vancouver and they don't have anybody in the area so they do buy home anybody in the area so they do buy home anybody in the area so they do buy home systems and i consult them on systems and i consult them on systems and i consult them on or coach them i don't really consult or coach them i don't really consult or coach them i don't really consult coach them on how they can use it coach them on how they can use it coach them on how they can use it realistically i think the clinical lasers realistically i think the clinical lasers realistically i think the clinical lasers are still if you have a good quality are still if you have a good quality are still if you have a good quality one like we have in our clinic i think one like we have in our clinic i think one like we have in our clinic i think they're necessary still and then these they're necessary still and then these they're necessary still and then these home systems can be in between home systems can be in between home systems can be in between treatments and and after you have a treatments and and after you have a treatments and and after you have a series of series of series of that 100 days treatment it can be the that 100 days treatment it can be the that 100 days treatment it can be the maintenance if you're not pregnant maintenance if you're not pregnant maintenance if you're not pregnant already so i do see a place for these already so i do see a place for these already so i do see a place for these home systems i just think they could be home systems i just think they could be home systems i just think they could be used in between your professional additional treatments, and maybe after three months of treatment to continue on. But I don't know, nobody's done research on it. So I don't know if the home systems are enough, but I get why people want them because they want to do everything they can, and maybe they will be the thing that puts you over the edge to have a baby. There is some treatment skill, where are you putting it, you know? And so are you addressing the parasympathetic system? Are you addressing the gut microbiome? Are you addressing the area around the ovaries? Are you addressing the nerve roots that come out to innervate the uterus and the ovary? So in our practice, we're doing a lot of that. I had the good fortune to travel to Toronto and Australia to get somebody to connect me with a clinic in Japan, and really see what other people were doing with their laser for fertility, and came up with our protocol at Acubounce, and then got to talk to Dr. Nakamura in Japan. Funny story is that I wanted to find Oshiro, so I read a letter, put it through Google Translate, and sent it out to all the clinics in Japan I could find with Oshiro's name on it. I didn't hear back from anybody, but I also put on social media, I'm looking for a translator that speaks Japanese, and I found an acupuncturist that speaks Japanese that lived in California, and he connected me with a clinic with Dr. Nakamura, and his clinic, on a side note, my colleague and translator said that the Google Translate wasn't very good, and there's a way to speak in Japan for respect, and he wasn't surprised that my letter didn't get any responses, so thank you, Google Translate. But going back to this story, Nakamura, back, this was pre-COVID, he had 10 years of data where people did the acupuncture and laser, so he's an acupuncturist in an IVF clinic, so they did acupuncture and the level laser therapy for three to six months. They showed a doubling of blastocyst rate, so they did some IVFs, and then they, no success, then they would do a series of laser treatments, and then they would see a doubling of how many embryos would grow to day five, and our approach was really similar, so I felt really happy and confident to know that the protocol and approach we came up with here at Acubelts already had 10 years of clinical data in Japan that was doubling blastocysts. So how we incorporate the low-level laser therapy for fertility, whether you're trying to conceive naturally or through IUIs or IVFs, I recommend 100 days of preconception, so while you're going through these IVF cycles, I'd recommend that at least twice a week, the laser and acupuncture leading up to conception retrieval for at least three to six cycles. Keep trying while you're doing this, by the way, but give it three to six cycles to see if it makes the shift. If you're going through an IVF, then twice a week during the stimulation phase, so while you're stimming to grow those follicles, and then we do treatments post-retrieval, because laser, low-level laser therapy has been shown to be, help with recovery, reduce pain and swelling, when you do a series of treatments before and after surgery. And so if you're doing the treatments before retrieval, that's the stim phase twice a week, there's your treatments before surgery, because a retrieval is surgery, and then a day or two after retrieval, ideally the next day, I'd like to do another treatment just to help with the blood flow, the swelling, the edema, so we can get ready for a future transfer. And so just accelerate that healing, so post-retrieval, and if you're doing a frozen embryo, transfer, three weeks leading up to the frozen embryo transfer, so usually when you start esterase, or if you're doing a natural cycle, when you start your bleed, as I said earlier, if you have PCOS, if you have endometriosis, if you have a history of already implantation failure or unsuccessful IVF cycles, then you may want to start more than three months, more than three weeks before your frozen embryo transfer, because again, we're not just going to use laser, we want to look at diet, supplements, lifestyle, herbs, acupuncture, IV therapy, we want to see what we can do to shift your terrain to make it more receptive for, more unireceptive, and then what's really popular is we go on site at Olive for the day of transfer, and that treatment's before and after transfer on site at Olive, you do need to contact AccuBalance to schedule that, it's not scheduled through Olive, it's scheduled through AccuBalance, and people that have PCOS, endometriosis, male factor, egg quality, these are the people that we're usually introducing low-level, laser therapy for. Wanted to mention the diet and the mind-body work, just to remind you that we have the AccuBalance fertility diet available to you, you just got to contact us at AccuBalance to get a copy. The AccuBalance diet, and many diets out there, the reason they may look different, but they all can help, is if they lower inflammation, if they lower oxidative damage, if they can regulate blood sugar and provide adequate nutrition to the cells, they're going to be helpful. And so it's more about what you take away, from your diet often, than what you're putting into your diet, because a lot of the things can insult your soil. And again, that's available from AccuBalance.ca. Contact us, or see us at the clinic to find out the supplements we use, and then you're here listening to the Conscious Fertility Podcast, your issues are in your tissues, and our goal here is, when your body's in alarm, it's using up resources to fight or flight, and that means these resources, this energy is not available, for healing, creativity, and reproduction. And when we can elicit the relaxation response, and take your body out of alarm and into safety, then we free up these resources for healing, creativity, and reproduction. And so, I invite you to continue to listen to the Conscious Fertility Podcast, and I do conscious work online through telehealth. And also, if you come to my clinic, I combine the acupuncture laser with the conscious work in my sessions as well. You just got to contact the clinic to learn more about it. Dr. Andy Roark: Thank you so much for joining me today, and thank you so much for joining me today. I really appreciate it, and thank you so much for joining me today, and thank you for joining me today, and thank you so much for joining me today. And to just put this into context, where I think this baby manifestation conscious work is so important, is one is, it gives you that peace of mind, the emotional resilience, which we all need in life anyhow, and especially when you're on a fertility journey. This woman came to me, age 35, diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency. Her antral follicle count, they said they found nothing, no eggs when they did the antral follicle count, her FSH was over 40, her AMH was kind of undetectable, under 0.1, and she wasn't ovulating, evident by a series of progesterone tests over several weeks and months, there was no change in progesterone levels. So, her diagnosis was premature ovarian insufficiency. We did conscious work with her, that was, I think, the main modality. We did low-level laser therapy twice a week with acupuncture. We did do herbs and supplements, so again, comprehensive, multidisciplinary, holistic approach. The conscious work, you could just see the shift in her week by week, and she was able to go back into her, if you listen to some of the podcasts, you talk about inner child or younger self. She did a lot of work on her younger self. She was so great taking these tools and doing them at home. I'm the facilitator. Some people come and just have me facilitate once a week, but it's meant that I teach, facilitate these tools, and then you go and do them daily in your life, and she did this. And she had that transformation in her life, and she was convinced she was going to have this baby. She knew it. IVF, she wasn't open to IVF or donor eggs. This was it. It had to happen this way. And we treated her for nine months. So she came in for the conscious work. She did the acupuncture, laser, herbs, and supplements, and her cycles came back. And then her clinic put her on letrozole. It didn't work, and it started messing up her cycle again. So I requested in this case, we've done well so far. Can we have three months with no medications? Let's just continue. And after nine months of treatment, she conceived and had a baby girl. And so this is that complimentary, multidisciplinary, holistic approach. You don't need a referral to come see us at AccuBalance. So contact AccuBalance and schedule your appointments. You can do a discovery call there. And then there's other amazing clinics around the country, around the world that you can find. Sometimes I know who they are as well, so you can ask if we know. And remember, nourish the soil before you plant the seed. And I wish you the best of luck on your path to pregnancy and growing your family.
Speaker 2If you're looking for support to grow your family, contact AccuBalance Wellness Center. At AccuBalance, they help you reach your peak fertility potential through their integrative approach using low-level laser therapy, fertility acupuncture, and naturopathic medicine. Download the AccuBalance Fertility Diet and Dr. Brown's video for mastering manifestation and clearing subconscious blocks. Go to accubalance.ca, that's A-C-U balance dot C-A.
Speaker 1Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Conscious Fertility, the show that helps you receive life on purpose. Please take a moment to subscribe to the show and join the community of women and men on their path to peak fertility and choosing to live consciously on purpose. I would love to continue this conversation with you, so please direct message me on Instagram @laurenbrownofficial. That's Instagram @laurenbrownofficial. Or you can visit my websites, laurenbrown.com and accubalance.ca. Until the next episode, stay curious and for a few moments, bring your awareness to your heart center, and breathe.
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