Should you follow a detox protocol prior to getting pregnant?
It’s an excellent question. For at least the last 30 years, evidence from environmental health research has led to a growing acknowledgment among scientists and health professionals that environmental toxins play a role in the prevalence of many health conditions in the U.S.
Our children are facing an alarming increase in the rates of autism, ADHD, allergies, eczema, learning disabilities, obesity, autoimmune diseases, Type 2 diabetes, and cancer. In addition, their life expectancy has declined. Scientists estimate that around 30% of childhood asthma and 5% of childhood cancers are related to chemical exposures.
Let’s take a deeper look at whether you should follow a detox protocol prior to getting pregnant.
Body burden and our children’s health
Many health problems may begin due to toxic exposure during gestation.
From conception, our babies get more than our genes. They receive a continual toxic stream through maternal-fetal transfer. This includes the body burden of chemicals our bodies have accumulated throughout our lives, even those that we were exposed in utero. Pregnancy increases the mobilization of many stored chemicals and heavy metals like lead, which cross the placenta and are delivered to the baby.
We have evidence that a mother’s store of common fat-soluble environmental chemicals like dioxins and PCBs are released during pregnancy. These can expose the gestating baby to harm.
A very recent study found that pregnant women and their fetuses are being exposed to triclosan and its cousin, triclocarban, both endocrine disruptors, through the use of antibacterial soaps, toothpaste, and over 2,000 common consumer products. And a 2009 study by the Environmental Working Group found 232 toxic chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborns.
We need to take this seriously. Endocrine disruptors can influence how hormones function in our bodies. This can have a major impact on gestating babies, especially during the process of sexual development and differentiation. Research has shown that birth defects of the sexual organs of babies, especially boys, have increased dramatically in recent years. Every woman in the study had triclosan in their body, and half of the newborns tested were also exposed to triclosan.
Pregnancy can transform an inert accumulation of toxins within our bodies into a risk for our babies, even after the toxic exposure has ended. The accumulation can concentrate those chemicals in our babies when the exposure is continual. The consequences in development can be significant, and they may trigger a number of metabolic and genetic events that affect our children’s lives for many years.
You don’t want to put your child at risk from the very outset. There are steps you can follow to mitigate the toxic burden that is passed on to them. Should a preconception detox protocol be on your to-do list?
Environmental toxins & fertility
In addition to negative effects on our children, environmental toxins can alter the rates of fertility challenges that women and men face. At least 12% of women had difficulty conceiving in 2002, a 40% increase from 1982. Some research suggests that the trend has plateaued. However, the evidence is still being discussed and challenged in the scientific community. Scientists agree that environmental endocrine disruptors alter fertility rates. So, does that mean a detox program is beneficial to preventing fertility problems?
Should you do a detox before getting pregnant?
Concerns about the dangers of pre-pregnancy and prenatal exposure to the health of your future child are real. According to a 2006 article in the Maternal Child Health Journal, identifying blood levels of lead and exposures to toxic environmental chemicals should be part of medical preconception care. While they raise concerns about remote exposures (those that occurred years ago), they emphasize those exposures that occur in the 3-4 months prior to conception. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recently issued a statement asking obstetricians to inform pregnant women of ways to avoid potential toxic environmental exposures in light of recent scientific evidence.
However, doing a detox protocol prior to conception is different from avoiding toxic exposure during pregnancy. Does this make sense, or is it a fad?
Whether to perform prenatal testing for environmental toxins is not as clear. The testing performed by functional medicine doctors can be expensive, and there still is no clear correlation between the results of the tests and any impact it may have on the baby.
Even so, asking your doctor to test for heavy metals like mercury, lead, and arsenic may be a reasonable action. The results may indicate your overall toxic body burden and give you insights into whether you still face active exposure to heavy metals. If the answer is yes, you can proactively take measures to eliminate those exposures prior to getting pregnant. In addition, you can choose to use foods and supplements to support a natural detoxification process and retest. However, it’s important to note that these tests are indicators. Don’t get too stressed by them. The meaning of the levels in an otherwise healthy person is still being investigated.
In addition, it is unclear whether certain detox protocols may actually mobilize stored toxins into the bloodstream. If done within months prior to conception, it may make them more likely to enter the developing baby’s circulation during a vulnerable time. This timing is important to consider if you choose a detox program. It would be wiser to complete a program 6 months prior to getting pregnant, which gives your body 3 months to clear the toxins.
Another question is which detoxification methods are optimal. Different chemicals require different methods for elimination whether that is lead, mercury, or non-heavy metal toxins such as BPA, dioxins, or other endocrine disruptors.
If you have symptoms or conditions suggesting environmental toxicity, particularly symptoms of chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, or autoimmune conditions, or known toxin exposures, then working with a functional medicine physician is a good place to start for instructions on how to safely detoxify.
Keep in mind that making lifestyle and diet adjustments can be important natural detoxification supports. Herbs and nutritional supplements can help as well and significantly reduce the body burden and help you overcome toxin-related illnesses.
Commonly used and generally safe supplements that support natural detoxification include:
- Herbs such as green tea extract, curcumin from turmeric, broccoli extracts (including products including indole-3-carbinol, DIM, and sulforaphane), milk thistle, and artichoke extract.
- N-Acetyl cysteine and Glutathione (in the liposomal form) help to transform toxic forms of chemicals being eliminated by the liver into less toxic, more execrable forms
- Branched-chain amino acids to help bind and transport toxins from the body
- B-complex, bioflavonoids, and antioxidants such as those found in fresh berries, green vegetables, and most fresh vegetables, as well as in resveratrol, which also help to transform chemicals into less toxic forms and protect your cells against oxidative damage
The six-month preconception health plan
There are many things you can do prior to becoming pregnant to optimize your health and reduce your toxic body burden. You can use the 3 to 6 months prior to conception as a time to optimize your health, reduce toxic exposures, and body burden.
Detoxification protocols are not safe during pregnancy. And the supplements listed above should not be used during pregnancy. Discontinue use when you conceive.
Top suggestions for detox prior to conception
The obvious changes you need to make are quitting smoking, avoiding alcohol, and avoiding workplace exposures.
In addition, do the following:
- Avoid toxic cosmetics and body products
- Avoid toxic household cleaners and antibacterial household and body products
- Avoid flame retardant chemicals and plastic food containers
- Eat organic as much as possible, drink clean, filtered water, and eat only low mercury fish. Eat a plant-based diet, rich in leafy green vegetables (kale, collards, broccoli), good quality protein, healthy oils (olive oil, coconut oil), organic berries (fresh or frozen), nuts, seeds, and a small number of complex starches from whole grains.
- Take a prenatal vitamin that has methyl folate, which is the active form of vitamin B9, necessary for the healthy formation of your baby’s nervous system and important for supporting natural detoxification. In addition, take an Omega 3 fatty acid supplement, which is beneficial for the baby’s nervous system and which most of us enter pregnancy low in, and at least 2000 units of vitamin D daily, also commonly deficient in most of us and which helps to prevent gestational diabetes in mom. This helps lower oxidative stress on the baby. which also reduces oxidative stress on the baby.
- Support your body’s optimal detoxification and natural fertility with foods, herbs, and supplements (see above), discontinuing herbs and supplements at the time of conception unless they are proven safe and are appropriate to continue into pregnancy (i.e., vitamin D, folic acid, methylfolate, or a prenatal vitamin).
- Get to a healthy weight for your body
- Practice stress reduction
- Double-check the OTC medications you are on or use commonly. Even seemingly “safe” medications like Tylenol used during pregnancy have been associated with increased problems for babies including autism and ADD. Look for safe, effective alternatives.
While the issue of environmental toxicity and our pregnancies is a heavy burden to bear emotionally, you can decrease our chemical body burden with smart choices for your health and your baby’s health.