Fertility Diet: A Naturopathic Approach to Food, Supplements, and Lifestyle
It seems that nowadays, more and more people struggle with fertility issues. And while this problem is something many women and couples deal with in silence, I want to proverbially shout from the rooftops that you are more in control of your fertility than you think! First, remember that you are not alone, and that there are professionals who want to help you. And secondly, when it comes to your natural fertility, there are plenty of changes and adjustments you can make in your daily life to promote and boost your fertility. Let’s talk about a few.
What is the Fertility Diet?
The first route to boosting fertility naturally comes from your diet. What you ingest on a daily basis has a huge and direct effect on so many of your body’s regular functions, and fertility is no exception. And with countless dietary approaches out there, the diet that has by far received the most research and support when it comes to fertility, cardiovascular health, and diabetes is the Mediterranean diet.
Mediterranean Diet
Not just optimal for females, the Mediterranean diet can boost fertility in both men and women. But what does it entail? The Mediterranean diet is based on the diet of those living near or around the Mediterranean Sea. Its biggest components include the following:
Vegetables: Heavy in produce and specifically vegetables, the Mediterranean diet includes a large amount of vitamins and minerals from said vegetables. To my patients looking to increase fertility, I recommend 4–6 cups of vegetables daily.
Protein: Unsurprisingly, the protein prevalent in the Mediterranean diet is fish. Typically, the recommendation is about 3–4 servings of fish per day, specifically because it is so high in omega-3s. However, if you are wary of mercury or PCBs, you can use the Safe Seafood Guide provided by the Monterey Bay Aquarium to guide your choices. One of my personal fish favorites is sardines, which tend to be low in toxins and high in those omega-3s and calcium, both of which are great for fertility.
Grains: This includes healthy grains and starchy vegetables that are high in fiber. For fertility, I recommend 4–6 servings daily. And I generally recommend gluten-free options, when possible. But if you tolerate gluten, then feel free to include that instead.
Olive Oil: A mainstay of the Mediterranean menu, olive oil is a healthy fat that can be included in so many dishes and applications. It adds flavor while also providing important nutrients to the body.
Eggs: A very beneficial source of protein and good cholesterol, eggs are also a great source of choline and omega-3s. A few per day can go a long way in increasing the good cholesterol (HDL) in your body. In fact, having some cholesterol is really important. I have even seen low LDL being an issue with some of my female patients when trying to conceive. In general, it is important to ensure that cholesterol is robust enough because it is the building block of our hormones.
Nuts, Seeds, & Fruits: Each a big part of the Mediterranean diet, nuts, seeds, and fruits can add color and variety to your daily diet.
In general, I like to think about incorporating the whole rainbow when I employ the Mediterranean diet. And that includes a wide variety of produce, nuts, seeds, high-quality proteins, healthy grains, and healthy fats. And by doing so, you are ensuring that you get a high concentration of antioxidants as well as nutrients like folate and omega 3s, among so many others. And all of these positively contribute to enhanced fertility.
Foods that Help with Fertility
So let’s get a little more specific when it comes to fertility-enhancing foods.
Dark Leafy Greens
Because they are a source of folate and other nutrients like vitamin A, these leafy veggies can help you when it comes to your fertility. Additionally, this category can also include cruciferous vegetables like broccoli and Brussels sprouts, which are beneficial for detoxification and hormone balancing, both of which also boost fertility.
Antioxidant-Rich Foods
This category includes such foods as dark purple grapes and berries (among others), each important in making sure that our antioxidants are very, very high.
Nuts and Seeds
Specifically, anything that's going to be high in omega-3s is going to be great for fertility. Some of my favorites are walnuts, flaxseeds, hazelnuts, peanuts, and even pumpkin seeds (pepitas).
Foods that Inhibit Fertility
Now that you have an idea of some specific fertility-boosting foods, let’s get equally as specific when it comes to foods that may inhibit or impede fertility. It’s probably not a big surprise that a lot of the fertility-inhibiting foods are also those that may also cause other problems within the body.
One of the biggest problematic foods for fertility is going to be refined carbohydrates and sugars. This is because they both promote insulin resistance, which is very highly correlated with fertility issues. In fact, in my work with patients struggling with PCOS, many of them deal with insulin resistance. Many women in this scenario tend to eat what they think is a “healthy” breakfast, when it’s actually just sugary breakfast cereal made of refined carbohydrates. It’s just one of those so-called hidden refined carbs that can show up in our daily diets. And this is definitely not the best way to start your day, especially if you are trying to get pregnant. Most breakfast cereals are very high on the glycemic index, which can lead to a higher risk of ovulatory infertility. This means you’re not ovulating as frequently, and if you don’t ovulate, you cannot get pregnant.
Another culprit causing fertility problems is actually skim milk and low fat milk products in general. Consuming 2–3 servings per day has shown to also increase the risk of ovulatory infertility. So if you think about it, consuming a cold breakfast cereal with a serving of milk may not be your best fertility-boosting breakfast.
You also want to be careful when it comes to consuming excessive caffeine. Some caffeine can be beneficial, especially sources like green tea or coffee, which are high in antioxidants, which can really help with pregnancy and fertility. But remember, a little goes a long way. If you are having more than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day, you may want to cut back some, as too much can actually inhibit your chances of getting pregnant. Essentially hold off on the venti lattes or energy drinks. Just try to be mindful when it comes to your caffeine consumption.
The final fertility killer I’d like to mention is alcohol. Ideally, if you are trying to get pregnant, I would recommend no alcohol at all. But I realize that this may not be totally realistic for some. I like to counsel my patients to keep it to 3 drinks a week and maybe no more than 1 per event, or even one per night. But a good rule of thumb is to limit yourself to no more than 5 drinks per week. Exceeding this has shown to reduce fertility.
Fertility Supplements
As a naturopathic doctor, supplementation is a big part of what I do. Fertility can be greatly enhanced by taking the proper natural supplements as prescribed and recommended by a professional. And while a prenatal vitamin is a decent place to start for fertility (for some patients), fertility boosting supplementation goes far beyond that. In fact, in my practice, supplementation is a very, very individualized process. Nutrients can vary greatly from patient to patient.
Here are just some of the fertility-boosting supplements that are at the top of my list:
Methylated Folate: Important for DNA synthesis. At a minimum, I recommend 800 micrograms or even higher, depending on your needs.
Vitamin E: An antioxidant essential for endometrial thickness. If the endometrium is not thick enough, an egg cannot successfully implant.
Iodine: Considered a thyroid nutrient. It’s important for a developing fetus as the thyroid hormone is also involved with fetal brain development.
Selenium: A thyroid boosting nutrient. Can help maintain the follicular fluid surrounding the eggs.
Zinc: Another antioxidant nutrient.
DHA: DHA is essential for building up baby’s brain. Look for products that have at least 500 milligrams of DHA.
Probiotics: Look especially for women’s-formulated probiotics that contain lactobacillus reuteri and lactobacillus rhamnosus. Specifically when a woman does become pregnant, these probiotics can help prevent group B strep, a harmless bacterial infection in adults but dangerous for baby, and it can be passed to a newborn during birth. Probiotics are also effective for women trying to conceive because semen can disrupt vaginal flora. Building up healthy vaginal flora is more attainable via an appropriate probiotic supplement. Finally, these probiotics can also prevent UTIs and bacterial vaginosis when trying to get pregnant.
Vitamin D: When taking Vitamin D, it is very important that you know what your current levels are before you blindly take a Vitamin D supplement. The recommended Vitamin D blood levels for optimal fertility would be above 50. So if you test below 50, I would definitely recommend supplementing. And the amount would obviously depend on your starting level as well as the time of year. Ideally, you would be getting most or all of your Vitamin D from sun exposure. But if you rarely go outside or you live where it isn’t sunny or it is currently wintertime, you may need to supplement differently.
Iron: Iron is really important for fertility. But much like Vitamin D, you don’t want to supplement with iron unless you know for sure that your iron levels are suboptimal. This is usually determined by testing ferritin, or the marker for iron storage in the body. For fertility, the magic number seems to be around 50. So if your ferritin levels are around or above 50, you do not need to supplement. Otherwise, I am likely to prescribe a supplement or find dietary ways to modify or increase iron levels naturally.
NAC (N-Acetyl Cysteine): A strong antioxidant and a precursor for glutathione. It is very important for ovulation and egg quality, and is often a supplement I will prescribe to my female patients who do struggle with fertility, specifically when it’s associated with either age or PCOS.
CoQ10: Another strong antioxidant and very important for mitochondrial health. I don’t necessarily prescribe CoQ10 to everyone, but if a patient has poor ovarian reserve, it can be very helpful. Unfortunately, good quality CoQ10 is starting to become more and more expensive because most people need to take high dosages for it to do its job. That can sometimes make it a little cost prohibitive.
DHEA: Can improve ovarian function. Not necessarily for everyone, but worth considering for certain patients, especially those of a more advanced age.
Melatonin: Usually taken to help with sleep, melatonin can also be effective for fertility, as it is also an effective antioxidant. Like DHEA however, melatonin is not for everyone and would be considered only for certain patients.
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Boosting Fertility Naturally
When approaching fertility issues naturally, I always recommend that my patients start with a preconception plan, and to start doing so 3–6 months prior to trying to get pregnant. Additionally, you may want to start working now to apply some of the dietary recommendations mentioned on this page. But, your partner is not off the hook. Whoever is providing the sperm should also be following these recommendations. This is because of what’s called egg turnover and sperm turnover.
Another measure you may want to take involves detoxification, again 4–6 months prior to trying to get pregnant. This is all because of fat and how our fat stores toxins. And fat is very crucial when it comes to trying to get pregnant.
Another way to boost fertility naturally is by getting to know your body. Learn when you ovulate (via cervical mucus and ovulation predictor kits) and how long your cycles are. Chart them, if that helps. Take your basal body temperature to determine if you did in fact ovulate. Make a note of your changing cervical mucus. This methodology is known as the fertility awareness method. And when it comes to body awareness, also keep in mind that sperm actually lives for about 5 days within the female body, so timing intercourse accordingly before you ovulate is crucial. And if you learn that you are not ovulating, we can address that as well.
Prior to trying to get pregnant, you will also want to learn how to manage your stress. Stress can and does manifest physically, and this can cause problems like throwing off ovulation, impacting egg quality, and affecting hormones. Try to employ proper stress management techniques like meditation, therapy, or acupuncture to keep stress at bay. Another way to combat stress is to exercise.
Exercise is also really important for boosting fertility, though you will want to be careful because too much exercise can also cause anovulatory cycles. But when done moderately, exercise can help with stress and weight maintenance, and maintaining a healthy weight is essential.
Finally, getting adequate and restorative sleep is going to go a long way in helping enhance fertility. In addition to being important for ovulation, sleep is also the time when our bodies break down free radicals. Free radicals are responsible for increasing oxidative stress, which has an impact on egg quality and even our partner’s sperm quality. So quality sleep is a must for fertility.
Fertility itself is such an individualized journey, and when we look at the root causes of infertility, we are better able to address them, head-on.
To read more about how to boost men’s fertility, check out my article: It Takes Two to Tango
Book an Appointment
At Simplicity Health Associates in New York City, we help many patients who struggle with fertility by helping them to boost their fertility naturally.
Click here to book an appointment online or call (646) 470-8458. You can also email us here.
FAQs
When do I seek professional help with my fertility?
Generally speaking, if you're under the age of 35 and you've been trying to conceive for a year and you've been unsuccessful, or if you are over the age of 35 and have been trying for 6 months and have been unsuccessful, it's time to look into some professionals, both for you and your partner and to investigate what is going on.
What causes infertility?
Medically speaking, infertility is commonly caused by anovulation, or the inability of the female body to release an egg to be fertilized. But this is definitely a loaded question without a simple answer. And not all infertility has to do exclusively with the female; male-factor infertility is also common and challenging. Whether it’s genetics, a hormonal imbalance, a chronic condition, anatomical anomalies, or the all-too-frustrating diagnosis of “unexplained infertility,” infertility is not a simple condition with a simple answer. But there are luckily natural measures you can take—such as those mentioned above—that can increase your chances of success in conception.
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