The Fertility Dietitian | Functional Fertility Info in your Ears

If you've been told that surgery is your only answer for endometriosis—or maybe you've already had excision surgery and you're still struggling to get pregnant—this episode is for you. Excision surgery can be one of the most valuable tools available for women with endometriosis when it's performed by a highly skilled surgeon. But surgery alone doesn't treat the underlying immune dysfunction, infla...

If you've been trying to conceive for months or even years and no one has talked to you about your immune system, this episode is for you. One of the biggest misconceptions in fertility is that autoimmune diseases only matter once they've been diagnosed. But the reality is that immune dysfunction often begins years before symptoms ever appear. During that time, chronic low-grade inflammation can q...

If you've been told your age is the reason you can't get pregnant, that your eggs are "too old," or that IVF is your only option, this episode is for you. Today, I'm sharing one of my favorite client success stories because it highlights what's possible when we stop accepting "everything looks normal" as an answer and start investigating the real barriers standing in the way of fertility. Sarah an...

If you've been trying to conceive for months or years, feel exhausted, and have been told your hormones are low, you may have been focusing on the wrong piece of the puzzle. Many women come to me with low testosterone, low metabolized cortisol, low energy, poor recovery, and low libido. They've tried supplements, changed their diet, and sometimes even pursued hormone replacement therapy, yet they...

Diet culture has spent decades teaching women that eating less is better, fat is something to avoid, carbs are the enemy, and weight loss should always be the goal. But when you're trying to conceive, those messages can work against your body in ways you may not realize. Fertility isn't about shrinking yourself—it's about creating an environment where your body feels safe, nourished, and supported...

If you've been diagnosed with PCOS—or what is now officially called PMOS—and you've been told IVF is your next step, this episode is for you. One of the biggest misconceptions in fertility care is that PMOS automatically means IVF. In reality, many women are never given a full explanation of what's actually driving their symptoms, irregular cycles, or fertility challenges before being referred str...

When couples are trying to conceive, most of the conversation becomes about hormones, ovulation timing, medications, and procedures. But one of the biggest pieces of the fertility puzzle often gets overlooked: the environment your eggs are developing in. Your eggs are constantly responding to inflammation, nutrient status, oxidative stress, mitochondrial function, blood sugar balance, immune signa...

Your egg quality is not as fixed as you've been led to believe. Yes, age matters—biology is real—but it is only one piece of the fertility picture. Your ovaries are constantly responding to your internal environment: blood sugar, inflammation, stress hormones, nutrient status, sleep, and even your gut health. And that means something powerful: the daily habits you think are "normal" may actually b...

If you are doing all of the right things but still not getting pregnant, this is a conversation you need to pay attention to. Blood sugar and insulin influence every step of the fertility process—from egg development and ovulation to implantation and early pregnancy. Yet this is one of the most overlooked fertility barriers I see because most women are either not tested properly or told their labs...

If I was trying to get pregnant, one of the first conversations I would have wouldn't be about ovulation tracking or another supplement—it would be about sperm. Because the sperm your partner has today reflects how he has been living over the last 70 to 90 days. And if you're only focusing on the female side, you're missing half of the equation. In this episode, I'm walking you through exactly wha...

A lot of couples are told their labs are "normal" and still find themselves stuck with unexplained infertility. But normal doesn't always mean optimal, especially when it comes to fertility. In this episode, we walk through the most common lab red flags she sees over and over again, why they matter, and what to do about them so you can stop guessing and start getting real answers. These lab marker...

If IVF has been suggested to you, or you have already been through it and it did not go the way you hoped, this episode is for you. Most IVF cycles do not fail randomly. They fail for predictable reasons, often because the foundation was never built before treatment started. IVF is not a magic fix. It is a tool, and tools only work as well as the environment they are used in. Brooke breaks down th...

When you spend years being told that IVF is your only option, it can feel like your body has stopped being on your side. In this episode, I sit down with Lisa to talk through her four-year fertility journey, the testing that changed everything, and how she and her husband were finally able to conceive naturally after getting more individualized support. What I love most about Lisa's story is that...

If you've been trying to get pregnant, you've probably heard a lot of "facts" that feel urgent, scary, or final—especially if you're over 35, have a low AMH, or have already been told IVF is your only option. These messages can make you feel like your body is failing you or that you're running out of time, when in reality, many of these narratives are outdated, misunderstood, or taken completely o...

If I could sit down with every woman trying to conceive, this is exactly where I would start: your gut. Before another supplement protocol, before assuming it's just your age, and before accepting that everything is "normal," we have to look deeper. Because your gut is not separate from your fertility—it is foundational to it. Inside your gut is a complex system influencing your hormones, immune f...

If you are over 35 and trying to conceive, you've probably been told that fertility declines with age. But the truth is that conversation is often incomplete. Age alone is not the whole story. What matters more is the environment your eggs and sperm are developing in—and that environment is shaped by inflammation, oxidative stress, nutrient status, metabolic health, sleep, and stress patterns.  Th...

Recurrent miscarriage carries a weight that is difficult to put into words. If you've experienced multiple losses — especially around the same point in pregnancy — it can leave you feeling confused, discouraged, and wondering what your body is doing wrong. But after years of working with fertility patients, I want you to hear this clearly: your body is not broken. When losses consistently happen a...

If you've noticed your sex drive feels quieter than it used to while trying to conceive, you are not broken — and you are not failing at fertility. Low libido is one of the most misunderstood experiences in the TTC journey, yet it's one of the most honest signals your body gives you. Desire isn't random. It's information. In this episode, we reframe libido as biofeedback . Your body only prioritiz...

If you've been told IVF is your "best option" after a few labs and a short conversation, this episode is for you. I want to say this clearly: IVF is an incredible medical technology. It has helped millions of families build their babies. But it should  almost never be the first step after an infertility —or "unexplained infertility"—diagnosis. It should be a tool of last resort, not a default. Wha...

If you've been trying to conceive for a while, chances are you've heard antioxidants mentioned a lot — for egg quality, sperm health, implantation, progesterone , and pretty much everything in between. And while antioxidants absolutely matter, they're not magic pills. They're tools. And how, when, and why we use them is what actually determines whether they move the needle for fertility. In this e...

If there's one thing I've learned after a decade working in fertility, it's this: the environment your egg and sperm are maturing in matters more than genetics . And yet for years, concerns about environmental toxins were brushed off as fear-based or overblown. Fast forward to now, and the science is finally catching up. Microplastics and the chemicals attached to them are showing up exactly where...

Coming off birth control can feel exciting, confusing, and honestly… a little overwhelming. Whether you're actively trying to conceive, planning for a baby in the next year, or just starting to think about fertility a few years down the road, what you do after birth control matters more than most women are ever told. Fertility doesn't start when you get a positive pregnancy test — it starts months...

Estrogen gets a bad rap in the fertility world. If you've ever been told you have " estrogen dominance ," you've probably been made to feel like estrogen is the problem — something to suppress, detox, or eliminate. But here's the truth: estrogen is essential for fertility, pregnancy, and long-term health. We don't want to get rid of estrogen. We want to help her stay balanced and working with your...

We talk a lot around here about gut health, hormones, blood sugar, inflammation, and nutrient status—all the big pillars that influence fertility. But today, we're backing things up literally to the mouth. Because here's something that still surprises a lot of couples: you cannot fully optimize fertility without paying attention to oral health. What's happening in your mouth does not stay in your...

If you haven't listened to Episode 27 on iron supplementation and fertility yet, I highly recommend starting there. In that episode, we broke down why blindly supplementing iron can actually backfire, why low iron on labs doesn't automatically mean iron deficiency, and why iron never works alone . Today's episode builds on that foundation and goes even deeper into what's really going on with iron...