1 in 6 people will experience infertility with 30% of infertility cases being associated with female factors, 30% associated with male factors, 30% being a combination of male and female factors and 10% being factored in for unknown causes. Statistics show infertility has been increasing over the years and the rate of ART (artificial reproductive treatment) use for successful pregnancy has as well.
When a couple is ready to conceive, they typically visit with their OBGYN to prepare, start tracking cycles, or simply stop preventing. Many women will think of being ‘healthier’, abstaining from alcohol, start taking a prenatal vitamin, etc. While all of these things are appropriate, what is failed to be a stopping point is truly analyzing the diet’s nutritional intake and diet, making changes and finding a vitamin supplementation routine that is optimal for each of them as individuals.
Through the beginning an fertility battle, a provider may give the recommendation ‘lose some weight’, ‘go keto’, ‘stop eating ____’, the list I have heard goes on and on. And while some of these recommendations have validity to them, these comments are not the full answer to the question, and more importantly they may not be timed appropriately for optimal egg quality, sperm quality, implantation, etc. The minute details of weight loss, adequate nutrient intake for different parts of the preconception and conception process, etc. are important for the couple and a future child’s overall genetic makeup.
Did you know sperm regenerates every 74 days?! While fertility is mainly focused on women, we forget that 50% of all fertility challenges have a male component to it. Additionally, conception in a male sense is more than just sperm count, we must consider motility, morphology, fragmentation, etc. and many of these factors are not tested unless a couple experiences several miscarriages, failed IVF rounds or infertility persists despite optimizing the woman’s health.
On the other hand, we want about 3 months to really optimize a woman’s egg quality and therefore any extreme weight loss that is occurring prior to trying to conceive should be leveled out prior to this time frame. Nutrients and dietary changes associated with insulin and hormones can greatly affect ovulation, especially in patient with PCOS, and there are other nutrients and dietary changes that can help optimize uterine lining and increase chances of implantation and maintaining a pregnancy.
The Nurses Health Study, looking at thousands of healthcare providers, concluded that a ‘fertility diet’ had a higher association with conception and pregnancy outcomes. The main diet trends noted were intake of whole grains, high fish intake, low saturated and trans fat intake and increased fruits and vegetables. While these things may sound ‘common’, the process of removing saturated and trans fats can be difficult, especially due to the hidden trans fats in several foods. There are also a multitude of micronutrients associated with reproductive health and optimizing diet quality through dietary changes, and utilization of supplements when indicated, (IN BOTH MEN AND WOMEN) can greatly increase odds of conception and pregnancy outcomes at a fraction of the price of fertility treatments.
Contact us today to work with our certificate trained fertility dietitian.
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Panth N, Gavarkovs A, Tamez M, Mattei J. The Influence of Diet on Fertility and the Implications for Public Health Nutrition in the United States. Front Public Health. 2018 Jul 31;6:211. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2018.00211. PMID: 30109221; PMCID: PMC6079277.
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