There are no guarantees when it comes to successfully conceiving a healthy baby, but there are steps you can take to make sure the very basis of your baby’s life, your genetic raw material, is as healthy as possible even before you conceive. It’s during the preconception period that your baby’s raw genetic material is being formed and influenced. On today’s Broken Brain Podcast, our host, Dhru, talks to Dr. Afrouz Demeri, a licensed board-certified Naturopathic Medical Doctor specializing in integrative, Functional Medicine for women. Dr. Afrouz finds the root cause for hormonal imbalances, thyroid disorders, stress, weight or digestive issues, fatigue, depression, and anxiety. As faculty of the University of California Irvine, she sees patients at the Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute or in her Ladera Ranch office in California. Dr. Afrouz has been featured in publications such as Women’s Health, Now Magazine, Weight Wise Expo, and Vitality. When she’s not helping patients find their own lifelong wellness, you can find her studying yoga, cooking for her family of four, or teaching—and dancing—at the local Zumba studio. In this episode, Dhru and Dr. Afrouz talk about all things fertility and how the 90-day period prior to conceiving a baby has the potential to change the genetic code of your baby. They discuss the toxins that can negatively affect your fertility and the overall health of your baby, as well as the importance of detoxing prior to conception. They also talk about how food is the most powerful form of medicine we can use to shift our epigenetics and how what we eat impacts overall egg and sperm quality, and the difference between a healthy diet and a fertility diet.&nbsp; In this episode, we dive into:-Dr. Afrouz’s personal fertility story and journey into medicine (1:41)-How Western medicine looks at miscarriages and what Dr. Afrouz learned in her naturopathic training (18:59)-The importance of looking at both egg quality and sperm quality (24:32)-How mold impacts your fertility and baby’s health (26:16)&nbsp;-Why a vegan diet is not optimal for fertility (43:23)-What Dr. Afrouz did differently during her second pregnancy (54:55)-What couples need to know about the health of sperm (1:00:30)-Dr. Afrouz’s new online course: Trimester Zero (1:27:58)-Why timeline matters when it comes to preparing your body for pregnancy (1:48:38)-Lab testing for fertility (1:49:52)-Eating for fertility (1:56:08)-What you can do today when it comes to air, water, and toxins for optimal health (2:02:19) For more on Dr. Afrouz Demeri, be sure to follow her on Instagram <a href="https://www.instagram.com/drdemeri/" target="_blank">@drdemeri</a>, and on Facebook <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AIMforWomen/?eid=ARDWBsiI3FIpYRvSWuKLha2kwdKqiFfTC7bMvbYqPFzVyx08dI3twevydvk9AtdYNQcKosVh2QwOw0zE&amp;timeline_context_item_type=intro_card_work&amp;timeline_context_item_source=560510719&amp;fref=tag" target="_blank">@aimforwomen</a>. Check out her website <a href="https://www.aimforwomen.com/" target="_blank">https://www.aimforwomen.com</a>. To learn more and register for her new course Trimester Zero visit <a href="https://www.trimesterzerocourse.com/" target="_blank">https://www.trimesterzerocourse.com</a>, and her Spring Whole Body Detox at 1440 visit <a href="https://bit.ly/2XbKPXS" target="_blank">https://1440.org</a>. Below are the air and water filtration systems that Dr. Afrouz recommends:&nbsp;-IQAir - <a href="https://www.iqair.com/" target="_blank">https://www.iqair.com</a>-PristineHydro - <a href="https://pristinehydro.com/" target="_blank">https://pristinehydro.com</a>

#81: Getting Ready for Baby: How to Optimize Your Health for Fertility and Beyond with Dr. Afrouz Demeri

Dhru Purohit, Dr. Mark Hyman