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Your Fertile Years - What You Need to Know to Make Informed Choices by Professor Joyce Harper
Your Fertile Years - What You Need to Know to Make Informed Choices by Professor Joyce Harper

Your Fertile Years

When Joyce was in her twenties she started working in the field of fertility and she often had conversations with friends about their bodies and their fertility.  At this time she read ‘Ourbody, ourselves’ and felt it was a book that every woman should read…

Buy a copy of Your Fertile Years here

Your Joyful Years

In Your Joyful Years, Professor Joyce Harper provides an empowering, evidence-based guide to thriving beyond 50. Moving past the menopause, this book reframes later life as a vibrant new beginning—a time to rediscover purpose and prioritise self-care. Combining 40 years of scientific expertise with the candid wisdom of 50 inspiring women, Professor Harper offers a reassuring roadmap to health, happiness, and living authentically. This is the essential second book in her life-stage trilogy, proving that your best years are still to come.

Buy a copy of Your Joyful Years here
Professor Audrey Gaskins
Season 4 / Episode 13 – 17 June

Professor Audrey Gaskins: Trying to Conceive: Diet, Supplements and Lifestyle – What Really Matters?

In this podcast Professor Joyce Harper will be interviewing guests to discuss all things health related and debunking some of the many myths around our health.

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Audrey Gaskins is associate professor of epidemiology at the Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. She is an environmental and reproductive epidemiologist who goal is to conduct research that can better enable people to achieve healthy pregnancies, babies and families. 

Her research looks at how environmental, dietary and lifestyle factors experienced through the lifecourse influence reproductive health in men and women. A key aim of Audreys work is to elucidate the biological mechanisms through which diet and environmental exposures influence fertility, strengthening causal inference in observational research.

In this episode, Joyce is joined by Professor Audrey Gaskins, a leading reproductive epidemiologist, to explore what really matters when trying to conceive. Together they unpack the evidence behind diet, lifestyle and fertility, moving beyond myths and quick fixes to focus on what the science actually shows. Audrey explains how nutrition influences key biological processes such as inflammation, oxidative stress and hormone function, and highlights the benefits of a Mediterranean-style diet rich in whole foods, seafood, fruits and vegetables. The conversation also covers the role of supplements, emphasising that folic acid is essential and while simple, affordable prenatal vitamins can be beneficial for women, there is little evidence to support expensive or heavily marketed fertility products, particularly for men. 

They also tackle some of the biggest areas of confusion in fertility, including ultra-processed foods, alcohol and caffeine, exercise, weight, and environmental exposures such as plastics and vaping. Audrey brings clarity to common misconceptions, from viral fertility “rituals” to influencer-driven misinformation, stressing the importance of evidence-based advice over social media trends. The episode reinforces that there is no magic solution, good fertility health comes from consistent, manageable lifestyle habits, alongside realistic expectations and informed decision-making. This is a reassuring and practical discussion for anyone trying to conceive, whether at the start of their journey or undergoing fertility treatment. 

 

Professor Joyce Harper

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