Eating for Fertility
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
With so many fad diets out there, it’s hard to really know what we “should” be eating these days. This can be particularly true for women who are trying to get conceive and simply want to know how to best support their bodies. Today we’ll explore some of the basic do’s and don’ts, which can really benefit anybody, trying to get pregnant or not.
But if you are trying or thinking about it, choosing a nourishing, whole foods diet will help support optimal egg quality and balance hormone levels.
Let’s Start with Sugar
Now this is definitely a tricky one for a lot of people and sometimes inadvertently. But this is something you should know; sugar creates free radicals which cause inflammation and contribute to the hardening of the cells in your body, including your follicles (immature eggs).
Start to cut down on sugar by limiting your intake of processed sugars- high fructose corn syrup, cane sugar, alcohol drinks, and other “white” foods- white bread, white rice, and pasta. “White” foods break down into glucose when they are digested. Glucose provides needed energy to our cells, but it’s very important to avoid drastic spikes in our blood sugar levels throughout the day.
It’s important because roller coaster fluctuations in blood sugar will tax the adrenal glands which release sex hormones and this could negatively impact our fertility.
Get in the habit of reading labels at the grocery store. There are a lot of hidden sugars in foods you might not suspect such as pasta sauces, flavored yogurts, and nut butters.
How To Keep Your Blood Sugar Levels Stable
Eat breakfast every morning, preferably one heavy on healthy fats and protein, and light on carbs.
Try to limit carbohydrates in general. Let vegetables replace some of those processed grains. Try zucchini noodles with sauce instead of pasta. Instead of crackers or pita have carrots with your hummus, or try a cauliflower rice instead of a side of rice or potatoes. Got a hankering for a slice of pizza? They make cauliflower crust now which you can get at the grocery store and it’s actually really good!
Make sure snacks have a good source of protein or fat. Plain Greek yogurt provides 17 grams of protein per 6 ounces. Edamame has a whopping 31 grams per cup and nuts and seeds are great sources of protein. Don’t forget nut butters. Two tablespoons of peanut butter contain 7 grams, but again. Look for ones that are lower in sugar.
3 tips to keep in mind when shopping for food:
Clean it up: Pesticides and herbicides used on conventionally grown produce contain chemicals that interfere with our hormonal processes, including the development of eggs and ovulation.
If you’re eating meat, eggs and dairy, try to get grass fed/pastured sources where available, certified organic where they’re not.
Things to avoid: Stay away from polyunsaturated vegetable oils such as canola, corn, cottonseed, and grapeseed oil as well as chemical preservatives, food additives, artificial sweeteners and artificial colorings. These oils and chemicals cause inflammation in the body and put extra burden on the liver’s detoxification systems.
Get a little fatty: Increase your intake of healthy fats! These include avocado, coconut oil, nuts and seeds, grass fed butter, eggs from pastured chickens, and fish high in Omega 3 fatty acids such as salmon. These types of fats strengthen cell membranes and enhance nervous system function.
One last note
I don’t want you to feel like choosing your fertility diet is a chore or a stressful endeavor. Choosing what you eat should be an empowering way for you to take control of your fertility and a way for you to nourish and love your body.
No need to beat yourself up after having a couple margaritas when you’re out on the town with friends or when you had a piece of cake at the company office party. Being too rigid or feeling guilt about what you eat can be counterproductive. You can still follow these guidelines and eat in a way that brings you and your body joy.
If you have specific health concerns, or have struggled to get pregnant or maintain a pregnancy in the past, seek out a fertility acupuncturist specialist who can make specific food and herb recommendations based on your Chinese Medicine pattern, and enhance your fertility with acupuncture as well!
If you’re interested in learning a little more about diet from an Eastern medical perspective here are links to some posts I wrote in 2017. These are each a glance into different foods for different body types. Again, you can receive more detailed nutritional and lifestyle advice to help you attain your health goals when you book an appointment with an acupuncturist, but these are fun and helpful articles to look at.
Eating for your body type: Dry
Eating for your body type: Damp