#163 | 5 Signs You’re Fertility Is Low in Zinc—And How It’s Quietly Hurting Egg and Sperm Quality

Think you’re doing everything for your fertility? You might just be missing one tiny—but powerful—nutrient.

If you’ve been trying to conceive without success, zinc deficiency might be the hidden factor no one has told you about.

In this episode, you'll...

-Understand exactly how zinc fuels ovulation, hormone balance, and embryo health.

-Recognize the subtle signs of zinc deficiency that may be affecting both partners.

-Learn the best zinc-rich foods and easy strategies to naturally restore optimal levels.

Hit play now to uncover how one small but mighty mineral can help reignite your fertility and bring you closer to your dream of growing your family.

👉🏽Take the Ultimate Fertility Blueprint Quiz HERE⚡

🔔Follow and connect with me on Instagram @the_wellness_pharmacist

👉🏽Book Your Free Fertility Strategy Session Here

Finally Get Pregnant Naturally is your go-to TTC podcast for holistic fertility support to help you get pregnant naturally by addressing the root cause of unexplained infertility, secondary infertility, and recurrent miscarriage. Hosted by Dr. Katie Wood, a pharmacist and holistic fertility practitioner, this show offers natural fertility solutions for those on a fertility journey struggling to conceive, navigating miscarriage, or dealing with endometriosis, PCOS, low sperm count, or failed IUI or failed IVF. Whether you're trying to conceive, increase egg quality, optimizing sperm health, or healing after a miscarriage, each episode delivers practical guidance to support your fertility journey. Learn how to improve fertility, balance hormones, regulate your fertile window, and conceive naturally through root cause healing, emotional wellness, and mind-body tools—because true fertility starts from within.

DISCLAIMER: By listening to this podcast, you agree not to use it as medical advice to treat any medical condition in either yourself or others. This podcast offers information to help the listener cooperate with physicians, mental health professionals or other healthcare providers in a mutual quest for optimal well-being. We advise listeners to carefully review and understand the ideas presented, and to consult your own physician for any medical issues that you may be having. Under no circumstances shall Pharm to Wellness LLC, any guests or contributors to the Finally Get Pregnant Naturally podcast, or any employees, associates, or affiliates of Pharm to Wellness LLC be responsible for damages arising from the use of the podcast. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
In this, get pregnant now.
Quickie, we're going to discuss asmall but mighty mineral that acts
like a spark plug for your hormones,egg quality and sperm quality.
Welcome to the finally GetPregnant Naturally Podcast.
The podcast helping women identifythe real reasons you haven't
conceived or stayed pregnant, soyou and your partner can finally

(00:22):
grow the family of your dreams.
I'm your host, Dr.
Katie Wood.
Let's dive in, shall we?
By the end of this episode, you'llknow why zinc is essential for
both male and female fertility, thetelltale signs of zinc deficiency and
simple ways to boost zinc naturally.
So why does zinc matterso much for fertility?

(00:46):
Zinc plays a vital role in manyenzymatic reactions in our body, and
many of those are directly related.
To reproductive health.
So for women, zinc actually helpswith egg development and ovulation.
Zinc is required for healthy follicledevelopment and the release of the egg.

(01:09):
And when it comes to progesteroneproduction, zinc supports the
corpus lium, which maintains theuterine lining for implantation and.
For immune modulation as well.
So it's very crucial for preventingautoimmune related fertility issues
and supporting early pregnancy.

(01:30):
So if you haven't listened to it yet,last Tuesday's episode, we talked
about autoimmunity and fertility.
So definitely go back and give thatone a listen, if you wanna learn more.
And for men, zinc is equallyimportant because it's actually
concentrated in the prostate and it'sessential for a healthy sperm count.

(01:52):
Motility and morphology and low zinclevels have been linked with poor
semen quality and DNA fragmentation.
So you can think of zinc asa mighty mineral that ensures
your reproductive systems arerunning smoothly on both sides.

(02:16):
So let's talk about what arecauses of zinc deficiency.
So it's actually surprisinglycommon and it's pretty overlooked
infertility testing as well.
So some common causes include.
Chronic stress, of course, right?
Stress just utilizes so much of ournutrient stores and our minerals,

(02:39):
and it uses up zinc pretty rapidly.
If you were on oral contraceptivesor birth control, this can
deplete zinc over time, and thenalso having poor gut health.
Or low stomach acid.
This can actually reduce theabsorption of zinc that either you're

(03:01):
getting in your diet or supplements.
So I can see this often with peoplewho do follow a healthy lifestyle,
but they do have some gut issuesgoing on, or low stomach acid, so
they're just not absorbing whatthey're eating or what they're taking.
And then of course when we're talkingabout vegetarian or vegan diets,

(03:23):
because zinc from plant foodswill be less bioavailable.
So some ways you could maybe exploreto see if you are zinc deficient, if
you frequently get sick, if you haveacne or white spots on your nails.
If you experience slow woundhealing or irregular cycles, these

(03:44):
could all be pretty subtle signsthat your zinc stores are low.
And of course if you wanna explorethat further with your provider or
a fertility practitioner like myselfwho could order testing for you.
And then food sources of zinc.
So obviously food is medicine.

(04:05):
We always wanna go a food firstroute before supplementing.
So the best dietary sources include.
Oysters, which are actually by farthe richest source and just a few
can meet your daily needs and oystersironically, are an aphrodisiac as well.

(04:26):
Grass fed beef, lamb and chicken,pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds.
Then also things like lentils,chickpeas, and cashews.
But these can contain phytates and itcan actually reduce zinc absorption.
So soaking or sproutingthese can help prevent that.

(04:47):
So let's recap and I'm going to leaveyou with a fertility action step as well.
So we learned today that zinc is actuallya powerhouse nutrient for fertility.
It supports ovulation, egg and spermquality, and also early pregnancy health.
Stress, gut issues and birth controlcan all deplete your zinc stores.

(05:10):
And you wanna focus on zinc richfoods like oysters, red meat,
pumpkin seeds, or consider a balancedsupplement to restore optimal levels.
So your fertility actionstep is adding one zinc rich
food to your meals this week.
Or you can double check to seeif your prenatal contains zinc.

(05:34):
So that would be for bothyou and your male partner.
And just remember that supporting zincis one of the fastest ways to boost your
body's natural fertility foundation.
So I wanna thank you so much forlistening with me here today.
I hope you have a fantastic rest of yourday, and I'll see you on our next episode

(05:57):
released every Tuesday or Thursday.
Are you ready to finally discover why youhaven't been able to get or stay pregnant?
The Ultimate Fertility Blueprint is aquick, insightful quiz designed to reveal
your overall capacity to conceive and helpyou discover potential root causes and
areas to address to improve your fertilityso you can finally get and stay pregnant.

(06:23):
You will find the link in theshow notes as a quick reminder and
disclaimer, this podcast is foreducational purposes only and is
not a substitute for medical advice.
Always consult your doctor orhealthcare provider before starting
any new supplement or protocol,especially if you're actively trying
to conceive or undergoing treatment.