Who Knew? What you eat (and do) 4-6 months before conceiving a baby can affect your pregnancy, your baby, and your grandchildren? As a Grandmother and Mother of 4 adult children, I am deeply passionate about helping you conceive and deliver the healthiest baby possible. 

In my lifetime, I’ve witnessed a dramatic and frightening increase in autism, autoimmune disease and cancers…developing in younger people than in my generation. What has changed? Our genes have not changed, it takes thousands of years to change a gene. Our diets and lifestyles have changed, which affects the genetic expression. This is called epigenetics.

Here are two brown mice with identical genes. Both mice were kept in the same environment and fed the same food. The Mother of the healthier brown mouse was given supplementation prior to pregnancy, during, and while nursing.

Nutrients will give you a genetic advantage!

If you are healthy, it takes 3-4 months to prepare a couple for optimal conception.  It takes optimal nutrition to provide the optimal blueprint for your egg and sperm. 

Also, when the egg and sperm come together, you have the second opportunity to rewrite genetic expression. Epigenetics is so important for all stages of rapid growth, from preconception to fetal development and puberty. Eggs and sperm take 4 months to mature prior to conception. This time is vital!

It takes optimal nutrition, stress reduction and exercise to provide the optimal blueprint for your egg and sperm. For healthy couples, it takes 3-4 months to prepare you for optimal conception. 

If you need to heal or detoxify the body, you must start earlier. For many, this can be 6 months to 2 years prior to conception.  In 2005, a study spearheaded by the Environmental Working Group found over 200 known toxins in the umbilical cord blood of newborn babies. Clean up the body and diet prior to getting pregnant. Functional testing and health coaching is a perfect gift for newly engaged couples.

Nutrition is not just what you eat, it’s what is absorbed and then assimilated into the cells.

Many things can interfere with this. Together we will look at your micronutrient status, food sensitivities, gastrointestinal health, hormone balance, stress levels (both hidden toxic burden and external stressors), exercise, and emotional considerations. Of course, nutrition is the foundation and once we get the results from testing, we can co-create an optimal diet and lifestyle plan for your unique bodies.  

Contact me if you are ready to commit to a transformational 3-6-month program for you and your future family.  

If you are considering pregnancy, are pregnant or just had a baby, Beloved Yoga Studio is having a Prenatal & Postnatal Wellness Forum  at their Reston, Va studio next Saturday from 12-5pm. 

Carpe Diem,

Lisa

About Lisa Jackson, RN, CHC, RYT-500, AFMC

Lisa is an author, functional nutrition and functional medicine trained health coach, yoga teacher, and retired Registered Nurse with the mission to "Inspire, Educate and Empower" individuals and corporations to achieve optimal health.

Lisa's book, Savvy Secrets: Eat, Think & Thrive is a self-health book offering her Seven Steps to Optimal Health.

When she is not coaching, or speaking, you can find Lisa joyfully sharing Carpe Diem Dance or playing with her two grandchildren. She is the mother of four adult children and believes, "Optimal health should not be a secret."