Nutrition and Fertility: How to Choose the Best Diet to Improve Fertility?

The definition of Nutrition is:

1. The process of nourishing or being nourished, especially the process by which a living organism assimilates food and uses it for growth and for replacement of tissues.
2. The science or study that deals with food and nourishment, especially in humans.
3. A source of nourishment; food.

Nutrition is our body’s fuel; therefore, it is not optional that we provide our system with proper nutrients and good metabolism, if we are to enjoy health, balance and fertility. Our blood carries these vital nutrients to our organs, our tissues and our skin; therefore, the richer our blood’s nutrient base, the healthier we are. If we have either blood toxicity or deficient nutrition, our body and organ function will not be efficient. And fertility suffers!

Our liver and kidneys are the most important organ in pregnancy since they nourish pregnant women. The liver and kidney are the most nutrient-dense or energy-dense tissues in pregnancy and have to be supplemented.

What to do when trying to conceive? We must shift our perspective from short-term, taste-bud gratification to nutritional choices that provide preventative and long-term internal health and support. Below is an outline of good nutritional choices that can help you regulate your endocrine system, balancing hormones and stabilizing blood sugar, in ways that support you in trying to conceive.

When trying to conceive a child, bot man and woman need to start looking for the healthiest diet specifically targeted at conception tasks!

How Does Nutrition Affect Fertility?

Nutrition plays a significant role in fertility, influencing both male and female reproductive health. A balanced diet rich in essential nutrients can optimize fertility and increase the chances of conception. Here’s how nutrition affects fertility:

1. Healthy Weight Management: Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial for fertility. Both underweight and overweight individuals may face difficulties conceiving. Excess body fat can disrupt hormone levels, leading to irregular menstrual cycles and decreased ovulation in women, while obesity in men can lower sperm quality and testosterone levels. On the other hand, being underweight can also affect hormone production and interfere with reproductive function.
2. Essential Nutrients: Certain nutrients are essential for reproductive health. For women, folate, iron, calcium, and vitamin D are particularly important. Folate helps prevent neural tube defects in early pregnancy, while iron supports healthy blood flow to the reproductive organs. Calcium and vitamin D are vital for bone health, which is crucial during pregnancy. Men should ensure they consume enough zinc, selenium, vitamin C, and vitamin E, as these nutrients support sperm production and quality.
3. Antioxidants: Antioxidants like vitamins C and E, selenium, and beta-carotene help protect reproductive cells from damage caused by free radicals. Including foods rich in antioxidants, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds, can help improve fertility outcomes for both men and women.
4. Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fatty fish, flaxseeds, and walnuts, have been associated with improved fertility in both men and women. These essential fats help regulate hormone production, reduce inflammation, and support overall reproductive health.
5. Limiting Processed Foods and Trans Fats: Diets high in processed foods, refined sugars, and trans fats have been linked to reduced fertility in both men and women. These unhealthy foods can lead to insulin resistance, hormonal imbalances, and inflammation, all of which can impair fertility.
6. Hydration: Staying hydrated is essential for reproductive health. Dehydration can affect cervical mucus production in women, making it harder for sperm to reach the egg. Both men and women should aim to drink plenty of water throughout the day to support optimal fertility.

In conclusion, adopting a balanced diet rich in essential nutrients, antioxidants, and healthy fats can positively impact fertility outcomes for individuals trying to conceive. Making dietary changes to support reproductive health is an important step towards achieving pregnancy.

Can you Increase Fertility with Diet?

Yes, adopting a healthy diet can indeed increase fertility by providing the body with the essential nutrients it needs to support reproductive health.

Here’s how diet can help boost fertility:

1. Optimizing Hormone Levels: Certain nutrients play a crucial role in hormone regulation, which is essential for reproductive function. For example, zinc and vitamin B6 are important for balancing sex hormone levels in both men and women. By consuming foods rich in these nutrients, such as lean meats, poultry, fish, nuts, seeds, and whole grains, individuals can support hormonal balance and increase fertility.
2. Improving Egg Quality: In women, the quality of eggs plays a key role in fertility. Consuming a diet rich in antioxidants, such as vitamins C and E, beta-carotene, and selenium, can help protect eggs from oxidative damage and improve their quality. Foods like berries, citrus fruits, leafy greens, nuts, seeds, and seafood are excellent sources of antioxidants and can support egg health.
3. Enhancing Sperm Quality: For men, sperm quality is a critical factor in fertility. Certain nutrients, such as zinc, selenium, vitamin C, and omega-3 fatty acids, have been shown to improve sperm count, motility, and morphology. Including foods like oysters, pumpkin seeds, citrus fruits, bell peppers, fatty fish, and flaxseeds in the diet can help enhance sperm quality and increase fertility.
4. Supporting Reproductive Organs: Nutrients like folate, iron, and vitamin D are important for maintaining the health of the reproductive organs in both men and women. Folate, for instance, is essential for fetal development and can help prevent neural tube defects in early pregnancy. Iron supports healthy blood flow to the reproductive organs, while vitamin D plays a role in hormone production. Foods like leafy greens, beans, fortified cereals, eggs, and dairy products are good sources of these nutrients.
5. Reducing Inflammation: Chronic inflammation in the body can negatively impact fertility by disrupting hormone levels and impairing reproductive function. Consuming a diet rich in anti-inflammatory foods, such as fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, fatty fish, and olive oil, can help reduce inflammation and support fertility.

By adopting a balanced diet that includes a variety of nutrient-rich foods, individuals can optimize their fertility and increase their chances of conceiving. Additionally, maintaining a healthy weight, staying hydrated, and avoiding excessive alcohol and caffeine intake can further support reproductive health.

Can Nutrient Deficiency Cause Infertility?

Nutrient deficiency can contribute to infertility in both men and women. Several key nutrients are essential for reproductive health, and deficiencies in these nutrients can negatively impact fertility in various ways:

1. Hormone Imbalance: Many nutrients play a crucial role in hormone production and regulation. For example, vitamin D is involved in the synthesis of sex hormones, including testosterone and estrogen. Deficiency in vitamin D can lead to hormonal imbalances, which may affect ovulation in women and sperm production in men, ultimately reducing fertility.
2. Impaired Egg and Sperm Development: Nutrient deficiencies can impair the development and maturation of eggs and sperm. For instance, folate deficiency has been linked to poor egg quality and an increased risk of miscarriage in women. In men, deficiencies in nutrients like zinc and selenium can negatively impact sperm quality and motility, making it more difficult to achieve conception.
3. Disrupted Menstrual Cycles: Nutrient deficiencies can disrupt the menstrual cycle in women, leading to irregular ovulation or even anovulation (lack of ovulation). For example, iron deficiency anemia can cause heavy or irregular menstrual bleeding, which may affect fertility by disrupting the timing of ovulation and reducing the chances of conception.
4. Decreased Libido and Sexual Function: Some nutrients play a role in libido and sexual function, and deficiencies in these nutrients can lead to decreased libido and sexual dysfunction, which may impact fertility. For example, deficiencies in zinc and vitamin B12 have been associated with decreased libido and erectile dysfunction in men, while deficiencies in iron and vitamin B6 can lead to decreased libido in women.
5. Increased Risk of Pregnancy Complications: Nutrient deficiencies during pregnancy can increase the risk of pregnancy complications, such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and preterm birth. These complications can impact both maternal and fetal health and may affect fertility in subsequent pregnancies.

Overall, maintaining adequate nutrition is essential for optimizing reproductive health and fertility. Consuming a balanced diet rich in a variety of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, protein, and healthy fats, can help support fertility and increase the chances of conception. Additionally, addressing any underlying nutrient deficiencies through dietary changes or supplementation may be beneficial for individuals experiencing infertility.

Good Nutritional Choices

Invest some time in your health and design a way that you can incorporate these choices and shift your nutrition for the better. It is best to devise a long-term plan and incorporate new strategies one step at a time as your success will be higher and it will last. When there is a failure or poor choice made (as there will inevitably be!!), recognize this as more information on how to support better choices.

Now, that you are aware of your own limits as it relates to dietary decisions, you need to accept this and start creating your own plan to achieve your goals. By working with your body to be in charge of its own decisions, you have the option to make the best of your diet.

It’s not all or nothing; it’s trial and error while getting better every day. Resolve to not give up on yourself and to stay with your journey through the good times and the opportunities-to-learn times. Your inner fertile soil depends on it!

Nutrition Objectives

• Regulate the Endocrine System and balance hormones
• Optimize fertility
• Regulate cravings
• Nourish the blood
• Cleanse and feed the skin
• Stabilize blood sugar
• Reduce inflammation in the body and skin
• Improve metabolism
• Stabilize moods
• Increase energy
• Prevent chronic disease processes
• Stabilize and/or reverse aging

Traditional Chinese Medicine talks about five elements of healing. These elements are: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire. It is the Earth element that controls and regulates digestion. The organs of the Spleen and Stomach comprise the Earth element; it is this yin/yang system that receives nutrients from our food, transforms the food into blood nutrition and transports, via the blood, the available nutrition to our entire body.

This system thrives on regularity, is greatly burdened by overeating, is weakened by improper foods (most especially excess carbohydrates) and needs a balance of macronutrients to support healthy function in the body.

Macronutrients

Macronutrients include Proteins, Carbohydrates and Essential Fats. Our micronutrients or vitamins and minerals are then extracted from our intake of macronutrients.

The objective is to supply yourself with one macronutrient in each meal and snack. Ideally, your choice in each category will be a form of food that is in its most whole state (i.e. an apple vs. applesauce or a prepared meal of chicken and veggies vs. a pre-processed package meal of the same). This way the micronutrients you need to support your fertility success are available.

In this program you do not have to buy new foods at each and every meal. Instead, you might opt to save some money for each meal of the day, purchase less expensive food items and prepare one healthy snack. You can choose to eat more or less of several food groups at each meal. This allows you to mix foods based on your tastes, and you’re not restricted to only certain food groups or categories per day.

How to Choose the Best Diet to Improve Fertility

1. Familiarize yourself with the macronutrient groups and learn which foods are a protein, carbohydrate or an essential fat.
2. Become aware of choosing foods that are whole.
3. Write down ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks; post them on your refrigerator.
4. If you are overweight, learn how to boost metabolism and lose weight.
5. Strategize how you can create fast and easy ways to prepare your meals.

List of Macronutrients Examples

Foods to only eat in Moderation when trying to conceive:

• Dried fruit
• Popcorn
• Honey
• Potatoes

Foods to avoid when trying to conceive

** Nutrition is extremely beneficial in supporting fertility. This information is provided as a broad overview and solely for your consideration under professional supervision. (Our apologies for having to add this because of the litigious times we live in, but, to put this in the required legal language, this information is purely educational in nature and not meant as a substitute for medical care. My Fertility Success and its developers shall not be liable for any loss, injury, or damage allegedly arising from utilizing this information.)

Please be willing to be responsible for what you put in your mouth. Good nutrition is not about the magic supplement or food that is fertility friendly. Rather, good nutrition is about stabilizing your system based on everything you eat or don’t eat.

When we focus on nutrients then we forget about everything else. Just as not taking a vitamin may be the root of a bad condition, not taking the right nutrients can be a culprit. Remember to listen to your body, it’s always right. It can also be just as easily right for you.

References

The Natural Fertility Diet https://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-diet
How To Boost Metabolism? https://boost-metabolism.com/
Fertility Diet: Nutrition to Conceive Naturally https://www.mamanatural.com/fertility-diet/

LoraM

Lora M. is the director of Fertility Health Services in San Diego, California and is the author of the different books  and audio CD series. Lora’s work is marked by a ready warmth and deep empathy for all those she serves. People from all walks of life have benefited from her keen ability to help them connect with their deepest selves — and experience their fullest potential for health, happiness and wholeness.