Nutrition & Fertility

Much can be done nutritionally to improve your chances of conceiving and carrying a pregnancy to term. While there are many important factors when trying to conceive, adequate nutrition is especially important because the food you eat, when broken down, will form the building blocks for essential hormones such as oestrogen and progesterone. It will also provide the building blocks necessary for the development of your baby.

Nutrition for both the male and female partners in the relationship needs to be considered. For the female, it is important that she follow a diet that will keep her hormones balanced. If one hormone is out of balance, it can throw the other hormones out of balance. Excess oestrogen is often a problem in infertility but other hormones may be out of balance too. For example, eating sugar or sugar containing products cause a hormone called insulin to be released. Too much insulin however, can stimulate ovaries to produce excess testosterone. Insulin also decreases SHBG (sex hormone binding globulin) which increases free oestrogen. This can then in turn throw other female hormones out of balance. For example, too little lutenising hormone and ovulation may not occur; a drop in progesterone at the wrong time and fertilisation may not be successful.

So what is a hormone balancing diet?
A hormone balancing diet involves adhering to the following guidelines:

• Decrease sugar intake – cakes, biscuits, sweets, chocolate, fizzy drinks. Also watch out for hidden sugars in other processed foods. Read the ingredients on packets watching out for fructose, glucose and other disguised forms of sugar.



• Decrease the bad fats - Saturated fats - found in animal products such as meat, eggs and dairy products. Other sources of saturated fats include palm and coconut oil. -Transaturated and hydrogenated fats – found in crisps, biscuits, crackers, cakes, and fast foods. These are hard for the body to eliminate.



• Increase the good fats - Essential Fatty Acids – foods rich in these include oily fish (mackerel, salmon, sardines), avocado, olive oil, flaxseed oil, starflower oil, borage oil and walnut oil. Try adding a tablespoon of these oils to salads and salad dressings for example. Also rich in essential fatty acids are nuts and seeds and there is a certain amount in green leafy vegetables.



• Reduce alcohol intake – alcohol is high in sugar and calories and provides no nutrition. It is also not good for the liver and we want to promote a good functioning liver to help with balancing our hormones.



• Eat wholesome, chemical free, organic food as much as possible – this will mean less hormone exposure from meat and dairy and a reduced intake of pesticides sprayed on many of our fruit and vegetables. On a similar note, try to avoid drinking water from plastic bottles as chemicals can leech from the plastic into the water and act as hormone disrupters in the body.



• Eat a wide variety of fruit and vegetables – rich in vitamins, antioxidants and minerals. Aim for 7-9 portions a day. Try to include carrots, cabbage, pumpkins, broccoli, berries, avocado, citrus fruits and peppers. Eating a variety of these will mean you are getting a good selection of antioxidants Vitamin A, C, E selenium and zinc.



• Increase isoflavones – found in legumes, such as soya, lentils, chickpeas and beans. Isoflavones are a type of phytoestrogen which has an adaptogenic effect on oestrogen levels. This means that if oestrogen levels are low it helps balance them by increasing levels and decreasing them if levels are high. Phytoestrogens have also been found to increase SHBG. Oestrogen binds to SHBG so the more SHBG, the less active oestrogen there is in the body.



• Increase cruciferous vegetables – broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, brussel sprouts, bok choy and kale. These also increase SHBG, which will bind to excess oestrogens.



• Opt for complex carbohydrates - oats, brown rice, wholegrain bread, lentils, and beans. Avoid white flour and the products made from it. Complex carbohydrates will help balance blood sugar levels and in turn help balance hormones.



• Increase fibre and lignins (found in flaxseed) - any excess oestrogens in the body will bind to the fibre and lignins in the gut and be excreted.



• Balance your blood sugar levels – avoid leaving long gaps in between meals and always combine carbohydrates with some protein to avoid a peak in blood sugar levels.

Other considerations – dietary and lifestyle:

• Increase Turmeric - contains curcumin which helps with liver detox.



• Reduce Caffeine – caffeine reduces the absorption and utilization of minerals such as zinc. Even one cup of coffee a day has been found in some studies to increase the chance of miscarriage. (Wilcox, A et al. ‘Caffeinated Beverages and decreased Fertility’. Lancet Volume 2, 1998 pp1453-5.)



• Reduce Alcohol – - In males: can cause a decrease in sperm count, an increase in abnormal sperm and a lower proportion of motile sperm. It is estimated 40% of male infertility is due to drinking. - In females: causes nutrient deficiencies such as low zinc. An Israeli study in 1980 found that woman who drank 1-2 units per day, were twice as likely to miscarry. In another study, one drink per day was found to reduce the intelligence of the baby when school aged by approximately 7 IQ points.



• Reduce Smoking – strongly linked with bad sperm, ova and fetal health. Increases risk of miscarriage, a premature birth and cot death. Increases the chance of having a baby with learning difficulties, cleft palate, and behavioural problems. Worse still, this can be past down a generation so a female baby born to a smoker is at risk of having a miscarriage later in life.



• If you are overweight (BMI of 25 and over), try to reduce weight as excess fat on the body causes excess oestrogen to be produced. Ideally try to maintain a BMI of between 19 and 25 as a low BMI (under 19) can result in decreased ovulation. This also applies to males, as underweight males can have reduced prostatic fluid, which means less sperm and less motility.



• Don't wrap fatty/acidic foods in cling film as fatty or acidic foods, leech oestrogens more from cling film.



• A slice of lemon in a cup of warm water is a great way to start the day upon rising. It will kick start the liver and help with detox.



• Reduce exposure to ‘xenoestrogens’ found in paints, pesticides and cosmetics and soft plastics such as plastic bottled water as mentioned earlier.



• Although it is easier said than done, aim to keep stress levels low as possible as high stress has been identified as a factor in infertility.

Please note - it takes 4 months for a sperm to mature and 1 month for an egg to mature, therefore it is recommended that the above pre-conceptual support plan starts 4 months prior to attempting conception to allow you and your partner reach optimum nutrition levels.

Supplements for fertility
A high potency multivitamin and mineral supplement will contain most of the following. Check the label and take daily with food or as directed on the bottle.

Supplement	Female	Male
Zinc	30mg	30mg
B12	50mg	50mg
Vitamin C	1000mg	100mg
Vitamin E	300-400iu	300-400iu
Omega 3 (fish/flax oil)	1000mg	100mg
Manganese	5mg	5mg
Folic Acid*	400µg	---
Vitamin A	Up to 2500iu	---
Iron	If needed	---
Selenium	---	100µg
L-Arginine	---	1000mg
L-Carnitine	---	100mg

* Take together with co-dependant B12

 

Sample Menu plan:

	Day 1	Day 2	Day 3	Day 4
Breakfast	Porridge made with water/ soya/rice milk topped with blueberries /apple /linseeds	Scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast or rye bread 1-2 pieces of fruit	Natural yoghurt with crushed hemp/flaxseed/ pumpkin seed mix Piece of fruit	Stewed apples, small soya yoghurt and wholegrain toast
Snack	4 brazil nuts	Small soya yoghurt	2 Oatcakes + pumpkin seed butter	Vegetable juice (freshly juiced where possible)
Lunch	Leafy green salad with tofu	Omelette (organic, free range eggs) with green salad	3 bean salad, wholemeal pitta bread	Seafood and broccoli pancake
Snack	2 Oatcakes with hummus/cottage cheese	1-2 Pieces of fruit + 5 almonds	Carrot sticks with hummus dip	Piece of fruit + handful pumpkin/ sunflower seeds
Dinner	Brown rice, steamed vegetables + grilled lean chicken breast	Baked salmon, baked potatoes + roasted Mediterranean vegetables	Nut loaf with steamed green vegetables and Sweet potato	Stir fry with peppers, onions, garlic/ mangetout and Quorn chicken pieces

 

NOTE: The information in this article is only offered as a guide and isn’t a substitute for medical advice. Many thanks to Laura Holland for this page. For more information on nutrition, please contact Laura.Holland@Mac.com