In this episode, we are getting a little cheeky with the topic. Generally a high AMH is thought of as awesome for fertility outcomes. But, Is it really always a good thing? Let’s break it down.

AMH is a hormone and it is generally used as an indicator of how many eggs you have left in your reserves. Exceptionally high levels of this hormone have been traditionally thought of as a byproduct of amenorrhea or of PCOS. But in a new clinical study by Weill Cornell, they suggest that this hormone may be playing an active role in disorders of fertility like PCOS.

A high AMH is generally something over three. I’ve even seen it can go up to an AMH of 10, or 11. Doctors are often so excited about a high AMH because it would mean they would get tons of eggs out of their cycle. Now that's true, they often get a lot of eggs. I even had patients getting 30- 50 eggs out of their cycle, but the downside is that often very few of them make viable embryos.

In a recent study published in March in science advances, the investigators discovered that as the follicle grows, the egg that resides within it gradually matures, and in a normal reproductive cycle, that follicle ultimately undergoes ovulation to release an egg capable of being fertilized. However, in patients with PCOS, a hormonal disorder that impacts up to 10 percent of women, the ovaries contain numerous smaller follicles that produce AMH, but fail to progress to later stages and ovulate.

AMH is routinely measured in the clinic to give an indication of how many follicles a woman has in her ovaries. But what if the high AMH can have a negative influence on fertility and overall health. It requires further research but for the purposes of our discussion, there is a possibility that a high AMH is a biomarker of other reproductive and metabolic issues associated with complex hormonal disorders like PCOS.

But fear not, as this issue responds incredibly well to natural interventions. I have been able to help my patients with this by targeting the diet because a high AMH is often tied to insulin resistance. Whenever there is blood sugar and insulin imbalances, often it's correlated with inflammatory responses - aka. the enemy of egg quality. There are also supplements you can take in addition to a lifestyle change.

Tune into the episode to learn more about the pros and cons of high AMH and the lifestyle recos get you better fertility outcomes.