The Environmental Factors of Infertility

Starting a family is a goal of most couples, a way to express their love for one another. However, failure to conceive after 12 months of frequent intercourse without contraception, women under the age of 35 (6 months in women 35 years of age and older) are deemed infertile. The emotional pain felt by women experiencing infertility is comparable to the emotional pain felt by women facing cancer, HIV, and chronic pain. To make things even more intense, many fertility drugs bring on mood swings, further exasperating their delicate emotional balance. Infertility now affects over 7 million women in the United States alone and is increasing every year. There are a variety of causes that can produce infertility, each with its own treatment and each with its own chance of success. But sometimes, the appropriate evaluation is completed, and no cause has been found. These couples we say have “unexplained infertility.” Is the cause really unexplainable? I think not. There is an explanation for infertility and the Riordan Clinic can help in the investigation process.

The Riordan Clinic understands how miraculous the body is, for it is probably the most intelligent creation in all of nature. When given what it needs and when preventing its exposure to things that cause toxicity, the body wants to function properly and will eventually heal. However, when the body is deprived of essential nutrients and/or receives nutrients (or toxins) in excess, “disease” will set in. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary,  disease is defined as “an impairment of the normal state of the living animal or one of its parts that interrupts or modifies the performance of the vital functions, is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms, and is a response to environmental factors (as malnutrition, industrial hazards, or climate), to specific infective agents (as worms, bacteria, or viruses), to inherent defects of the organism (as genetic anomalies), or to combinations of these factors.” The dictionary even states that malnutrition is a cause of disease, yet this idea has been forgotten. In other words, being in a state of disease does not mean you have to have a medical diagnosis, but rather that your body is not “at ease,” resulting in what we call “symptoms.” Infertility is just another symptom of disease. The question is what disease is infertility a symptom of? It can be a symptom of ALL diseases. The real question is what is the cause of all these “diseases”?

Modern medicine does well investigating the causes of genetic and infective nature. However, as previously stated, the environmental factors are conveniently ignored. The cause of infertility is a combination of environmental factors which include malnutrition and toxicity. This realization is not a “NEW” discovery. For centuries mankind has known and understood that malnourishment can cause infertility. The question is what does malnutrition mean?

I am sure you first pictured something you see in National Geographic. However, malnutrition is a broad term, which refers to both undernutrition and overnutrition. Individuals are malnourished, or suffer from undernutrition, if their diet does not provide them with adequate calories, protein, or vitamins/minerals for maintenance and growth, or if they cannot fully utilize the food they eat due to illness. People are also malnourished, or suffer from overnutrition, if they consume too many calories and not enough nutrients to process these calories. For example, over consumption of carbohydrates can lead to several vitamin deficiencies, such as thiamine (vitamin B1). Many Americans, at least 1/3, are suffering from malnutrition.

Our poor diets are not the only thing that leads to malnutrition. Stress, competitive work environments, fast paced lifestyles, toxic exposures, prescription medications, etc., can lead to malnutrition. The more toxins to which you are exposed, the more your liver has to work, and the more your liver works, the more nutrients it will require. Over time, this can lead to severe deficiency. Most people will tell me, “but, I haven’t had any toxic exposures.” The sad realization is that there are toxins everywhere. Next time you grab the receipt from your grocery shopping, think about all the chemicals that are on that paper receipt that are now being absorbed into your skin. No, we can’t live in a bubble, but we can be aware and take precautions and practice REAL preventative health care.

An example of prescription medications playing a part in infertility is the actual birth control pill. Did you know that oral contraceptives deplete the levels of Folic Acid, B1, B2, B3, B6, B12, vitamin C, zinc, and selenium? If these levels get too low, your body cannot function properly and therefore cannot grow another healthy human being. Many other medications deplete nutrient levels, leading to malnutrition and possible infertility. Malnutrition is also the cause of disorders caused by hormone abnormalities such as Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), endometriosis, hypothyroidism, etc., all of which can lead to infertility.

The Riordan Clinic offers natural options to help increase fertility. Our onsite, state of the art laboratory measures most all nutrients, which can help pinpoint what deficiency or excess may be preventing the body from accepting pregnancy. People are spending an average of $10–25 K per in vitro attempt. In vitro fertilization (IVF) is the process by which an egg is fertilized outside of the body and then implanted into the uterus. The success rate for IVF on first attempt is only 30–35% for women under 35! The natural fertility treatment offered at the Riordan Clinic is an extensive process, but it is individualized and six months at our clinic is less than half the cost of one IVF treatment. Patients come to the Riordan Clinic from all over the world, so you do not have to be a Wichitan to receive this top-notch care. The Riordan Clinic cannot promise pregnancy; however, there have been many “infertile” women achieve pregnancy naturally at our clinic. If pregnancy is not achieved, the only side effect would be clearing up other health concerns and getting healthier! Now those are side effects I am certain you can handle.

The Riordan Clinic has been successfully “stimulating an epidemic of health” since 1975. By being active co-learners with our patients, we have discovered the cause of various chronic illnesses, even the most complicated of cases. Interestingly, the cause often is rather simple. We have given hope and life back to people, when they were told “there is no hope,” “nothing more can be done.” There is always hope and there is always a way. Someone anonymously once said, “When the experts say it cannot be done, fire the experts and do it!”