There are many factors that influence our hormonal balance and there are many things women can do to develop a healthy diet plan to aid in boosting their fertility.
It goes without saying that “you are what you eat”. This becomes even more important when trying to conceive (TTC). Many of the important hormones we need to produce in order for fertility to work well can become blocked when your body is short of particular vitamins. A well balanced diet can optimise your nutritional and hormonal levels helping your body prepare for conception, pregnancy and birth.
Firstly it is important to stress that smoking, drinking alcohol and taking recreational drugs all greatly reduce your general level of health as well as negatively affecting your fertility. It is also recommended cutting out sugar and caffeine from your diet while TTC.
Foods necessary for good fertility
Protein
Protein is found in animal products such as meat, eggs, diary products and fish, and in vegetable sources such as beans, lentils, peas, nuts brown rice, seeds, oatmeal, wheat germ and quinoa. To get good quality protein from vegetable sources it is best to combine legumes and grains such as beans and brown rice.
Many fertility experts believe that meat and dairy products now contain many toxins that will adversely affect fertility and recommend consuming little or no meat and diary as well as eating plenty of beans, rice, seeds and nuts in order to get the recommended levels of protein. If meat and dairy are to be eaten organic meat and dairy products are recommended.
Fats
There are two kinds of fats in foods, saturated and unsaturated. Saturated fats are found in meat and dairy products. They are thought to contribute to obesity, high cholesterol some cancers and heart disease. Having said this however it seems that there is some school of thought that argues that full fat dairy products have been connected to high levels of fertility, so this is a complicated area. Perhaps the best approach would to be aware of these fats and eat in moderation. Unsaturated fats are found in olive oil, oily fish, seeds and nuts. Omega- 6 and Omega-3 oils are considered very important for good health and essential for regulating a healthy hormonal balance.
Good sources of Omega 6 and 3 and other unsaturated fats can be found in oily fish, flaxseed oil, evening primrose oil and pumpkin seeds.
Vegetables and fruit
Eating a minimum of 5 servings of fruit and vegetables a day is essential to good health. Particular vegetables recommended to support fertility include, all leafy greens including spinach, kale and broccoli, as well as carrots, cauliflower, cabbage, red beets, peas and pumpkin. Fruits recommended include, grapefruit, grapes, oranges, lemons, blueberries apricots and avocado. It is also best to eat organic fruit and vegetables where possible.
Carbohydrates
Refined carbohydrates, found in most processed foods, including pasta, white bread and white rice should be avoided. Instead try to find the whole food equivalent such as brown rice, whole grain bread and whole grain pasta.
Water
Lastly water is very important in supporting the bodies healthy functioning and it is very important of drink two liters of filtered water per day ,avoiding sugary soft drinks as well as caffeinated and alcoholic drinks. You can also drink fresh fruit juices and herbal teas, but be careful of the high amounts of sugar in processed fruit juice.
As you can see a lot of this fertility diet is really just common sense. Eating sensibly avoiding fatty and processed foods and eating lost of organic and whole foods, will assist you in getting your body into its fertile best.
