Why We Need a Pre-Pregnancy Detox (for Both Men & Women)
Key Points:
- Neurodevelopmental disorders in children are becoming increasingly common. Research suggests that the rise in these disorders is linked to an increase in environmental toxicity.
- Detoxifying from environmental toxins can help improve the health of egg and sperm, giving children the best possible chance for a healthy start in life.
- Supplementing with a blend of phospholipids, essential fatty acids, vitamins, and other vital nutrients can support the detoxification process, enhance cellular health, and help optimize pregnancy and fetal neurodevelopment.
Considering having a child but want to make sure your body is ready for the journey? You’re on the right track. Most parents-to-be aren’t considering their cellular health pre-pregnancy, but they absolutely should be. To ensure a healthy pregnancy for both mom and baby, it’s important for both men and women to undergo a period of detoxification and cellular restoration before getting pregnant.
Detoxifying your body before pregnancy and supporting your cellular and mitochondrial health directly affects the health of your baby. Let’s talk about a pre-pregnancy detox and how to set up our children for the healthiest start to life possible.
Table of Contents:
- Why Men and Women Should Detox Before Pregnancy
- Getting the Basics in Place
- BodyBio Protocol for Pre-Pregnancy Detox and Cellular Support
Why Men and Women Should Detox Before Pregnancy
We are living in a more toxic world than ever before, and the results are clearly showing up in our struggles with fertility, the rise in neurodevelopmental conditions, skyrocketing autoimmunity rates, and more. More and more children are diagnosed with conditions like ADHD, autism, and other behavioral and mental health disorders every year, not to mention autoimmune disorders, allergies, and so on.
There’s no question at this point that the development of these conditions is directly related to environmental toxins in our food, water, and air. We need to be concerned about exposure to these toxins and chemicals not only after babies are born, but before and during pregnancy as well.
Limiting toxic exposure and improving detoxification are two of the biggest levers we have to influence health outcomes in ourselves and our children. If we can ensure that we’re starting conception with as few toxins as possible, supporting robust detox pathways, and providing all the nutrients necessary for the foundations of life, we can set up our babies for the healthiest beginning to life possible.
Environmental Toxicity and its Effects on Health and Neurodevelopment
Approximately 10–15% of infants born in the USA today are impacted by neurodevelopmental disorders, which include impairments in the growth and development of the brain, leading to disabilities in learning, memory, and emotion.
According to a 2014 paper written by Dr. Amy Kalkbrenner, an environmental epidemiologist, “...some environmental exposures showed associations with autism, especially traffic-related air pollutants, some metals, and several pesticides, with suggestive trends for some volatile organic compounds (e.g., methylene chloride, trichloroethylene, and styrene) and phthalates.”
Environmental contaminants can provoke immune responses that affect brain development, particularly by altering microglial function (immune cells of the brain) and cytokine production. This disruption is linked to an increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders.
Excess reactive oxygen species (ROS) from environmental toxins can interact with and damage organelles like mitochondria and macromolecules, such as DNA, RNA, lipids, and proteins within our cells, disrupting brain function and neurodevelopment.
In short, the impact of environmental toxins on neurodevelopment and cellular health is huge and only becoming more profound. It’s why we need to take action for our health and our children’s health before, during, and after pregnancy.
Mitochondrial Health from Mother to Child
Did you know mitochondrial health is genetically passed directly from the mother to the baby?
Mitochondrial DNA, inherited exclusively from the mother, dictates the energy capacity of every cell in the embryo. Mitochondria are responsible for producing the energy necessary for egg maturation, fertilization, and early embryonic development.
The maternal environment before conception, including mitochondrial health, can significantly influence the development and health of the offspring. Good mitochondrial function in the mother is linked to improved reproductive outcomes and reduced risks of developmental disorders in children.
Fortunately, improving mitochondrial health results from the same practices as improving your cellular health, so let’s dig into the protocol.
Importance of Detox for Male Fertility
Did you know? Detox is important for moms-to-be, but it’s equally important for men too. An overburden of environmental toxins can have a huge impact on sperm quality and can impact fertility outcomes.
Want to learn more? Check out our full blog post on how diet, nutrition, and environmental toxins influence male fertility.
Getting the Basics in Place
First, we have to cover the basics of diet and lifestyle for both women and men. This includes:
- Eating organic, whole foods and limiting processed foods as much as possible.
- Drinking filtered water.
- Utilizing an air filtration system in your home if living in an area with poor air quality.
- Avoiding plastics, like plastic containers, plastic water bottles, etc.
- Using “clean” personal care products and household cleaning products.
This is the threshold to start reducing environmental toxins in your body and your home. Depending on your lifestyle and sensitivities, you may also want to look into EMF protection, movement practices, and other detoxification methods such as lymphatic massage/drainage, infrared sauna, and dry brushing. But consider the list above as your non-negotiables.
BodyBio Protocol for Pre-Pregnancy Detox and Cellular Support
Or, as we like to call it, the roadmap to healthy babies. Here’s what we and BodyBio practitioners around the globe recommend.
Step 1: PC and Balance Oil
Once you have your non-toxic diet and lifestyle basics in place, you can kick off the first month of the protocol with BodyBio PC and Balance Oil. These supplements provide phospholipids and essential fatty acids to help rebuild cellular and mitochondrial membranes, improving structural integrity and cellular function. This is the foundation for your cellular health.
As an added bonus, PC also helps to detoxify the cell by encapsulating fat-soluble toxins into tiny fat droplets. These droplets are then escorted into the digestive system and eliminated from the body.
Step 2: Liposomal Glutathione
After the first month, continue with BodyBio PC and Balance Oil and add in Liposomal Glutathione. In addition to PC, glutathione supports detoxification by boosting the liver’s ability to eliminate toxins. Glutathione is also the most powerful antioxidant in the body, working to lower oxidative stress.
Step 3: Butyrate and TUDCA
After starting glutathione, layer in the chemical chaperones: butyrate and TUDCA.
Chemical chaperones promote proper protein folding, and in doing so, help to significantly lower oxidative stress in the cell, specifically in the mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum.
They also enhance bile acid pathways and gut function to further support cellular detoxification. Plus, it never hurts to get a little extra digestive support.
Important: Once you conceive, it’s important to stop taking both butyrate and TUDCA. Since these products affect protein folding, our team recommends discontinuing them during pregnancy as a precaution to avoid any potential changes in protein structure during this crucial developmental stage.
Step 4: Vitamin B+, E-Lyte, and liquid minerals
In month three, continue with PC, Balance Oil, Glutathione, Butyrate, and TUDCA. Add B vitamins, E-Lyte, and trace minerals as needed to enhance mitochondrial function and optimize cellular metabolism pathways.
Couples should start implementing this protocol (alongside a healthy diet and lifestyle) at least 3 months before trying to conceive.
Why the three-month timeline? It takes roughly 100 days for an oocyte (egg) to mature and 70-90 days for sperm to develop, which is why a 3-month timeframe is suggested for both women and men. However, if you know you have a high toxic burden or simply want to go the extra mile, you can extend the protocol for longer before conception.
Protect Future Generations from Environmental Toxicity
Our children’s health starts well before pregnancy or even conception—it starts with their parents’ health and toxic burden. It falls to us to make sure that the toxic environment we live in has the lowest impact on the next generation that it can and that our kids develop strong cellular resilience from the very beginning. Fortunately, we have the tools to accomplish this and improve fertility for both men and women as well as pregnancy outcomes.
Get started with your pre-pregnancy detox today!
Learn more:
- What is Phosphatidylcholine and How Can it Benefit Your Health?
- 12 Essential Pregnancy Supplements for Healthy Moms and Babies
- Improve Mitochondrial Function & Health: Supplements, Diet, & Habits
References
Frye, R.E., Cakir, J., Rose, S. et al. Prenatal air pollution influences neurodevelopment and behavior in autism spectrum disorder by modulating mitochondrial physiology. Mol Psychiatry 26, 1561–1577 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-020-00885-2
Kalkbrenner, A. E., Schmidt, R. J., & Penlesky, A. C. (2014). Environmental chemical exposures and autism spectrum disorders: a review of the epidemiological evidence. Current problems in pediatric and adolescent health care, 44(10), 277–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2014.06.001
Kirillova, A., Smitz, J. E. J., Sukhikh, G. T., & Mazunin, I. (2021). The Role of Mitochondria in Oocyte Maturation. Cells, 10(9), 2484. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10092484
Park, C. B., & Larsson, N. G. (2011). Mitochondrial DNA mutations in disease and aging. The Journal of cell biology, 193(5), 809–818. https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.201010024
Rock, K. D., & Patisaul, H. B. (2018). Environmental Mechanisms of Neurodevelopmental Toxicity. Current environmental health reports, 5(1), 145–157. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-018-0185-0
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