NUTRITION TO SUPPORT FERTILITY

Even as a Nutritionist I was amazed to learn just how influential diet can be for women (and men) and fertility. Now before I go any further into this article I do need to point out that there are many reasons a couple may experience infertility, and although diet can play an important role regardless of the reason behind infertility, there are of course cases where a couple can have an incredibly healthy diet and still experience fertility issues. Keep reading to learn more about the best fertility diet when you’re planning to conceive.

If you’re thinking of trying to conceive it is best to begin focusing on your diet 6 months prior to planned conception. There are a few reasons for this;

1. Your body doesn’t like extremes/sudden change. Significant weight-loss can disrupt the menstrual cycle while excess weight-gain can affect the hormones that regulate ovulation and pregnancy so having a consistent diet for 6 months to maintain a healthy weight creates an optimal environment for conception to take place (women of a healthy weight have higher fertility rates than those who are underweight or overweight.)

2. The nutritional status of the mother at the time of conception is an important determinant of embryonic and fetal growth.  

3. What you eat today, can affect the quality of your sperm or eggs in the future. For example, the process of spermatogenesis takes 90 days so what a male eats today will influence his sperm quality and quantity in 90 days.

4. Speaking from experience, trimester one is not commonly a time a woman feels like improving her diet. As a vegetable lover prior to pregnancy, once week 6 hit I couldn’t bare to think about vegetables let alone cook one due to the nausea (and no amount of education in nutrition was helpful). As placental and fetal growth is most vulnerable to maternal nutrition status during preimplantation period and the period of rapid placental development (the first few weeks – of which you may not even have confirmation of your pregnancy yet), this highlights the importance ensuring the mothers nutritional status is optimal for months prior to conception.

So what do we know about which dietary patterns are helpful for fertility?

It’s important to remember that both the female and male play a role here. Firstly, lets look at females. Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health suggest that a well-balanced diet that includes fibre rich low-GI carbohydrates, monounsaturated fats (opposed to trans fats) and protein from predominantly plant sources (opposed to animal sources) may increase fertility. Furthermore, research shows that when 25 grams of animal protein was replaced with 25 grams of vegetable protein, it actually reduced the risk of ovulatory infertility by 50%. What's more is that protein from animal sources, primarily meat products, even during pregnancy, has been linked to an increased risk of overweight and obesity in children at 20 years of age. This is not to say to cut out all meat from your diet (meat does provide some essential nutrient - particular for pregnancy) but a good reminder that small amounts are best with plant foods making up majority of your diet. You can read more about why plant based doesn’t have to mean no animal products here.

It is also recommended to choose full fat dairy products over reduced fat varieties if you're choosing to consume dairy. Results from the Nurses' Health Study indicate that a daily serving of whole milk, and foods made with whole milk, such as full fat yogurts, kefir and cheeses, offer some protection against ovulatory infertility, while, unfortunately, skim milk and low fat milk were shown to do the opposite. Although this is what I personally recommend anyway it is in fact not in line with the current healthy eating guidelines which is interesting. Kefir in particular is a great option because of the live culture benefits for gut health too.

In terms of important key nutrients, in Australia, it is recommended that women take at least a 400μg dose of folate at least one month prior to conception and throughout the first trimester for the prevention of neural tube defects (NTDs). 150μg of iodine is recommended throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding is to prevent hypothyroidism in pregnancy and optimise brain and nervous system development in the foetus so it is a good idea to start this prior to conception. Other important nutrients are vitamin D (sunshine, sun exposed mushrooms, sardines, egg yolk), iron (red meat but also plant sources such as nuts, seeds, beans, tofu, lentils, dark green vegetables) and selenium (brazil nuts, oysters, tuna, wheat germ).

What about the males you might ask? Well firstly, healthy fats are important; sperm production is improved with diets rich in omega-3 fats (oily fish, walnuts, chia seeds and flax seeds) but reduced with diets rich in saturated and trans fats. Other important nutrients for the quality and quantity of sperm are vitamin D (sunshine, sun exposed mushrooms, sardines, egg yolk), selenium (brazil nuts, oysters, tuna, wheat germ), zinc (oysters and lean red meat as well as nuts, sesame seeds, beans and whole grains), folate (fruits and vegetables, particularly green leafy vegetables, and wholegrains).

Sperm also need to be protected once they are formed. They are easily damaged by free-radicals that circulate around the body and damage cells. Antioxidants are molecules that can protect against this damage by neutralising the free-radicals. Antioxidants include nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E and selenium and a large number of other compounds found in fruits, vegetables and whole grains. To limit free radical damage it’s also recommended to limit/avoid cigarettes, substance use, excessive alcohol consumption, pollutants, excess weight and infections.

So what changes did I make for the 6 months prior to planned conception?

My diet was already jam packed with vegetables so things I made sure of were choosing good quality full fat dairy products (I love kefir for it’s gut health benefits so consumed it almost daily), limiting animal protein and replacing with plant protein (I did include oily fish still), no to minimal alcohol and ensuring I took a good quality prenatal supplement.  

FERTILITY DIET SALAD

Serves 1

Wild salmon is a fantastic addition to this salad also for those who eat fish.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cubed sweet potato

1/2 cup mushrooms (leave these to sit out in the sun, gill side up) for 15 minutes to increase Vitamin D), finely diced

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 cup cooked lentils

4 x Brazil nuts

4 x walnuts

1 cup spinach (finely chopped)

1/2 tablespoon red onion, finely diced

1/4 cup herbs of choice (parsley and mint are yum)

Pomegranate arils (if in season)

Dressing: 1/3 cup kefir, 1 teaspoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180C. Bake the sweet potato for 30-40 minutes. Saute the mushrooms on low heat with the lemon juice, and some salt and pepper until for 5-7 minutes. Combine all of the salad ingredients and pour over the dressing.