Interest in female health and wellbeing has risen in the last couple of years, with greater awareness around fertility, the perimenopause and our menstrual cycles, how they can impact us and how we can work with them to feel good throughout life. But if you thought you knew it all, think again. Our eggs are the next frontier in female health – and they matter more than you might think.
“Egg health is the most under-served area of health to date,” says Danielle Fox, co-founder of new fertility supplement brand, Ova, which focuses on giving female bodies what they need to nurture their eggs. “It isn’t just about fertility, but managing PCOS symptoms, endometriosis and cycle support. Obviously, when it comes to conception, egg health is crucial, but it also plays a big role in improving IVF outcomes, plus the science is showing that you can actually delay the onset of perimenopause by ensuring your egg health is optimal.” It’s a whole category of women’s health that hasn’t (yet) really been talked about – but should be.
While male sperm regenerates every three months or so, women are born with a finite amount of eggs – one to two million when we’re born, which dwindles to 400,000 when we hit puberty. While you can’t change the number of eggs you’re born with, you can change the quality. “Our team spent three years looking at egg quality and the science surrounding it,” says Fox. “We found that you can change it quite easily through making different lifestyle changes.”
Since recent research shows that the fertility rate in England and Wales has fallen to its lowest level since records began, and Fox proclaims we’re “in the middle of a fertility crisis – one in five of us have, or will struggle with, infertility”, it is high time we pay attention to this facet of our health. “Taking a functional, proactive approach much earlier on can pay dividends in the future,” says Fox. “Fertility isn’t a privilege, it’s a right for all.”
While supplements can be a great assistance, you can’t out-supplement a bad diet, so avoid drinking alcohol as a priority, and then adopt a Mediterranean-inspired diet, which has been widely shown to improve all elements of our health, eggs included. Think plenty of oily fish, beans and legumes, nuts and seeds, whole grains, vegetables and fruits, with little sugar and red meat. Taking regular exercise and managing stress are also great lifestyle habits to implement, as is getting enough sleep.
