Ep 342 The Hidden Reason Your Fertility May Be Declining—And How to Reverse It
Did you know your fertility could be declining due to something deeper than hormone levels or age? In this solo episode, I explore a powerful yet often overlooked aspect of reproductive health through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): Kidney Qi.
In TCM, the kidneys are not just responsible for filtering blood—they are the energetic source of your reproductive potential. I unpack how Kidney Jing (essence), Yin and Yang imbalances, and pre-heaven vs. post-heaven Qi all influence egg and sperm quality, libido, menstrual health, and even your nervous system. You’ll learn how to recognise the signs of weakened Kidney Qi and discover lifestyle, nutrition, and mindset shifts to nourish this vital essence naturally.
This episode is packed with practical tips and ancient wisdom to help you reverse the hidden energetic causes of declining fertility and move forward with more confidence and vitality.
Key Takeaways:
In Chinese medicine, fertility is rooted in Kidney Jing, the essence we inherit from our parents and support throughout life.
Signs of depleted Kidney Qi can include fatigue, night sweats, low libido, shortened cycles, delayed ovulation, and emotional anxiety.
Anti-aging and egg/sperm quality are closely tied to mitochondrial health, which reflects the state of your Kidney Qi.
Lifestyle factors like sleep, stress, nutrition, and warmth (especially around your lower back and feet) can significantly boost reproductive vitality.
Foods that nourish Kidney Jing include bone broth, goji berries, black sesame seeds, walnuts, seaweed, dark leafy greens, and cooked foods over raw.
Practices like acupuncture, meditation, and even visualisation can support Kidney Qi and overall reproductive wellness.
Disclaimer: The information shared on this podcast is for educational and informational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Please consult with your healthcare provider before making any changes to your health or fertility care.
For more information about Michelle, visit: www.michelleoravitz.com
Check out Michelle’s Latest Book: The Way of Fertility!
https://www.michelleoravitz.com/thewayoffertility
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Michelle: Episode number 342 of the Wholesome Fertility podcast. Welcome back to the Wholesome Fertility Podcast. I'm your host, Michelle Orbitz, and today we're diving into one of the most foundational and fascinating concept and traditional Chinese medicine when it comes to fertility, and that is kidney Q and egg quality.
Michelle: So in traditional Chinese medicine, the kidneys are considered the root of life, the source of our deepest energy called Jing or essence. And this Jing is what governs our ability to reproduce and to age gracefully and to maintain vitality. I. And this really is something that we see often being reflected in egg quality, which is closely tied to mitochondrial health.
Michelle: So today I'm going to be talking about egg quality as far as how it relates to kidney chi and how. It is impacted by [00:01:00] lifestyle, food, and even energetic practices that support and preserve your kidney chi. We'll talk about foods that can support both kidney chi and then in turn will support egg quality and how visualizations and nervous system regulation can also help that root energy that supports reproductive potential.
Michelle: So stick around to the end 'cause I'm gonna be also sharing a great resource on how you can implement certain tools. In order to balance out your nervous system and really optimize it for the best chances of conception.
Michelle: So traditional Chinese medicine views the kidneys as [00:02:00] being one of the most important organs when it comes to fertility health. Now I know that the kidneys in Western medicine are really organs that filter out your blood to produce urine, but in Chinese medicine it is looked at. As really the essence that we have, not just after we're born, but actually before we're born.
Michelle: So this is something that is considered pre heaven, qi, pre heaven, kidney chi and essence from the kidneys. So the kidneys and Chinese medicine really are. Central to puberty, and it really starts from there and holding the essence in our bodies that are going to be supporting reproductive health. Not only that, having that kidney chi, we also treat a lot of people who are going through menopause and supporting kidney chi because it really holds the essence of anti-aging.
Michelle: Because of that, it [00:03:00] is correlated. There's a bridge or a reflection in what we see in Western medicine as higher mitochondrial health when it comes to egg quality. And if you are on the fertility journey, I'm going to guess that you have looked into egg quality protocols and. Already aware of how important it is to have good quality, but also to have good sperm quality because both are really important when it comes to reproductive health.
Michelle: And both of those are impacted by kidney chi. So with kidney chi overall, one of the things that they look at is kidney yin and kidney yang. So those are really the two opposite aspects of. The yin and the yang that are actually housed in the kidneys. Most of the time women are really rich in kidney yin when they're born, and men are really rich with kidney yang, which is a little more fire and women have a little more cooling.
Michelle: I. And what you'll find is as women [00:04:00] age and they even go into menopause, they start to lose that cooling aspect, which is one of the reasons why they'll start to get hot flashes because the yin, which is the cooling aspect of the body and the kidneys isn't rich enough at that point. To cool the fire. So what happens is when it gets lower, the fire starts to rise up.
Michelle: It's not being held, and this is why people will have hot flashes and you'll find also that they'll have a lot of night sweats at night, which means that nighttime, which is a yin time, is not as strong because the body doesn't have as much guin at that time. So it's not able to contain that fire and people will start to sweat at night.
Michelle: So it's considered almost like a false heat, but it's not really heat because it's just a low yin, which is the low cooling aspect of the body. And similarly, a lot of men will start out with a lot of heat, but then they will end up losing that heat that could [00:05:00] kidney young, which is more of their general like.
Michelle: Body's preference because it is a more male dominant energy. And when that gets lower, they tend to get colder as they age, and they'll also have to urinate more frequently because the urine is the liquid and if the fire is lower, more liquid will accumulate, and then it can also end up being more edema, which happens often as people age.
Michelle: So in general, as people age, the yin and yang decline. Now that being said, if you are a woman that is still getting her menstrual cycle and is trying to conceive and is having night sweats, I don't want you to freak out when you're hearing about that as a kidney decline, because a lot of times we as practitioners can help that through herbs and through food.
Michelle: Support it so it doesn't mean that the game is over.
Michelle: So one of the biggest things that we look at really in Chinese medicine is the kidney jing. So it's [00:06:00] called the kidney jing, and it is considered essence, and it really is, if you think about sperm, that is kidney jing. And for a woman it's reserves. But more than that, really the essence of it and the quality is kidney jing.
Michelle: And we are born with a certain amount of kidney jing that we. Inherit from our parents. So that is called pre heaven, Jing. And after we're born, we can support that jing, although we are born with that Jing. So when a woman is told that she's going to be born with all the eggs she'll ever have, that's really the Jing and that's her storage.
Michelle: And that is something that we can support and nourish, although it's not as easy to accumulate as we age. So ultimately the quantity is something that we'll see often with a MH, but it's more important to have quality than quantity because ultimately when you have the quality, it doesn't really matter because you just need one egg, one good [00:07:00] egg, and one good sperm to make a healthy fertilized egg.
Michelle: So one of the things that we do see with egg quality is as women age, they will lose their amount of healthy mitochondria and mitochondria are the powerhouses of cells, and normal cells have about a couple of thousand mitochondria while egg cells have hundreds of thousands of mitochondria. And that is because.
Michelle: The energy that the egg needs in order to fertilize and to become an embryo is really, really high. And because of the fact that mitochondrial health lowers an A TP, which is energy units that are produced by the mitochondria, that also declines. That is one of the reasons why egg quality declines, and it can also impact healthy genetics in the egg as well as in the sperm.
Michelle: So when we talk about pre heaven chi or post heaven chi or kidney chi [00:08:00] before which we're born with, and then post, what we're really talking about are two aspects of the kidney energy and essence that we have in our lives, and one is one that we're inheriting. Basically the bank account that we inherit from our parents.
Michelle: And the other is really how we choose to live our life and are we having a healthy lifestyle? Because through eating right and doing well for our bodies, we can support healthier gene. So in that sense. We can feel a little more empowered because it's not just something that we have to rely based on genetics.
Michelle: It is something that is also within our hands. So of course, genetics are genetics and some of the things that we inherit we can't really control. What we can't control is how we choose to live our life and we can choose to eat healthier and to manage stress a little better and to do things really actively and get into habits that are supportive of our kidney chi.
Michelle: So [00:09:00] here are some signs that kidney chi is lower. So since kidneys are in the back, a lot of times it will manifest as lower back pain or knees that are weaker, or they tend to be a little more sensitive. And it can also manifest as ear ringing. Night sweats. Could be kidney in deficiency or water accumulation.
Michelle: Could be kidney yang deficiency. It can also manifest as low libido, fatigue, thin or absent cervical mucus shortened cycles, delayed ovulation, especially if it's short in the follicular phase. That could be a kidney yin deficiency, or if it's short in the luteal phase, it could be a kidney young deficiency.
Michelle: Some of the emotional aspects of it is since fear is really the emotion of the kidneys, in traditional Chinese medicine, people might have a little bit more anxiety or feel less grounded.
Michelle: So some of the things that people should consider doing, and this is both for men and for [00:10:00] women, is prioritizing sleep. So seven to nine hours of sleep consistently as much as possible every night. Is really key because in order to really restore that essence, we need to get the rest, because when we're getting into rest, we are able to restore and also our body is able to replenish itself and replenish the fluids and really support cervical mucus and also support sperm production.
Michelle: And this also supports the body's nervous system and also nervous system regulation. So rest is so key and it is so important and oftentimes is really a luxury. And it shouldn't be a luxury. It actually is a needed thing that all of us need in order to really support our bodies and support anti-aging 'cause ultimately egg quality.
Michelle: Really depends on anti-aging.
Michelle: Another thing to keep in mind is teeth. Teeth are actually an extension or expression of kidney Q. Also hair when I was talking about [00:11:00] before. So a lot of shedding can also be something that can also be impacted by kidney chi deficiency. So teeth health is really important as well. And we know that with Western medicine.
Michelle: They see that there is a correlation now between gum health or dental health and fertility health.
Michelle: So you also wanna have a well-balanced exercise. Not too much, not too little, so too much can really deplete your kidney chi. And too little is not gonna get the energy moving enough. So it's important to have both because good exercise, a good amount, but also generate more a TP and energy for the body.
Michelle: So things like meditation will also conserve our energy overall and then. This is really, really important is avoid walking around barefoot on cold tile. So make sure your feet are kept warm. Now, they don't have to be hot, but just make sure to protect the bottom of your feet from getting too [00:12:00] cold. And the reason why is because.
Michelle: Kidney one, which is the first point on the kidney channel, happens to be at the bottom of your feet. And that point can actually draw the cold into your kidney channels. So you don't want too much cold, and especially for women and also men 'cause they need their young energy as well. But for women that can get drawn into the womb and it's really important to keep the womb warm when it comes to fertility health.
Michelle: Another thing that's important besides just keeping the feet warm, is also your back. And this is really interesting because I had a friend that was from, I. Russia and her grandmother always told her, keep your kidneys warm. And not to have, not to go outside in the cold weather with her back exposed. But they also say not to do it with your belly exposed either, because that's your womb.
Michelle: So you wanna make sure that those areas in the body, the lower abdomen and your back are kept warm.
Michelle: So there are also foods that [00:13:00] you can eat that nourish jing and kidney chi So when it comes to really kidney jing, there are some foods that are considered rich and kidney jing Some of those are seeds, especially black sesame seeds. So if you think about seeds, what are they? They are potential for new life.
Michelle: They're potential for new growth. So they basically have everything that they need in order to sprout. So they have that potential in there, and then once they're activated, they're able to sprout into a new plant. So ultimately that is what egg cells do, and that is what sperm does.
Michelle: There're seeds in a human body,
Michelle: so black sesame seeds in particular are actually really beneficial for kidney chi, but they're also really great for building blood as well. And the same thing goes for bone broth. Bone broth also, because they're coming from bones of animals and you're cooking it for a long time. Those. Stem cells grow in bones, and so ultimately you're getting all the amino acids and the [00:14:00] collagen and lots of really, really healthy nutrients that can support fertility health overall.
Michelle: And then goji berries, they are super important too, and they can help not only your blood, but they're also really supportive for. Kidney chi and goji berries are actually considered one of the herbs in many of the formulas for Chinese herbs that is used and then also considered black beans, kidney beans, walnuts, seaweed, and dark leafy greens.
Michelle: And in regards to the nature of the food, it's important to have most of your food cooked. So in Chinese medicine, they really stress the importance of cooking food and making sure that it is not too cold in nature, which is what happens when we have raw food. It's very cold in nature, and that can also impact kidney gene.
Michelle: So a couple of other things that you can do is. Do some visualizations and visualizations are really [00:15:00] impactful. There's been studies on it, and it shows that your body really does respond. Sometimes people will think about a lemon and they'll salivate even though they don't really have a lemon in their mouth.
Michelle: Just the thought of it is causing something that's really considered involuntary, which shows that your body is really listening to your thoughts and paying attention to what you're visualizing. So you can visualize warm energy in your womb or warm energy in your kidneys, and a healthy light, and something that supports kind of like a good, healthy life-giving light that supports your ovaries as well.
Michelle: And overall nervous system support. So this is why sleep is so important and also why meditation is so important. It's important to be able to have a good, calm, nervous system because a calm nervous system does not expend too much energy. It works more efficiently, and this is really key for anti-aging.
Michelle: It'll also support hormonal balance and get you into a more growth state in your body, which [00:16:00] supports reproductive health.
Michelle: And then of course, you can always talk to your doctor because I always recommend talking to your doctor before taking any supplements. But look into coq 10, which is really supportive for egg quality and
Michelle: Omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants such as acai. These are all really beneficial to support egg and sperm quality.
Michelle: And lastly, I highly recommend going to an acupuncturist, working through acupuncture and Chinese herbs with a qualified practitioner because it really can benefit your kidney essence so much. I. As a matter of fact, there have been some studies that show that some of the young herbal formulas do increase mitochondrial health.
Michelle: So that's huge because that's ultimately what you wanna target when it comes to egg and sperm quality. I.
Michelle: So that concludes today's episode, and you can go into the episode notes and find a link to my ebook, and it is [00:17:00] called Calm With Two Ms. And in that ebook, it is a great resource on how to. Improve your vagal tone and support your nervous system regulation, and that is probably one of the most important and often missed aspects or tools that can support reproductive health.
Michelle: So I hope you enjoyed today's episode, and I will see you next time.