Fertility Diet
It’s not a theory. What we eat affects our health. Food has the power to prevent disease, boost your immune system and promote mental agility.
The reproductive system is no exception: Nutrition affects fertility.
Cynthia Stadd, a nutrition specialist at the Berkeley Center for Reproductive Wellness and Women’s Health put it this way, “What you eat affects everything from your blood to your cells to your hormones (1) .”
Developing a fertility diet has been a long haul but before I wait another day I wanted to post the results of my research and experience. In the next few weeks, I’ll be adding the ‘why’ and all the research sources behind the results. Without further ado…
My Five Fertility Diet Principles
- promote healthy blood sugar levels
- promote a healthy digestive system (with regular, healthy bowel movements)
- exclude all toxins
- provide all the nutrients the body needs
- achieve/maintain healthy body weight
My Fertility Diet Guidelines
- Timing: eat meals at the same time each day and avoid long fasting periods
- Balance: balance protein, carbohydrates, and fat at every meal and snack
- grams of protein should be twice or at least equal to grams of carbs (here carbs are the total grams of carbs minus grams of fiber)
- grams of fat should be about half the grams of net carbs or protein
- Protein: focus on lean organic free range meats, toxin free fish, organic free range eggs and moderate amounts of nuts, beans and legumes (you may want to limit red meat which remains controversial in its role in infertility).
- Carbohydrates: focus on getting the majority of carbs from a variety of fresh organic vegetables (limit starchy vegetables such as potatoes, corn and peas).
- Fat: cook only with olive oil and organic butter and avoid all sources of trans fats (found in such items as french fries, donuts, crackers and many other processed and fast foods).
- Vegetables: eat a wide variety of fresh organic vegetables – raw and cooked – piling them high at each meal.
- Fruit: eat a moderate amount of fruit and eat only organic and only as part of a balanced meal or snack.
- Grains: limit grains. Eat only whole grains and avoid processed grains altogether such as white rice, bread and chips.
- Dairy: limit dairy. There’s no consensus on this one yet – so most experts recommend limiting until the verdict is out.
- Soy: avoid all non-fermented soy products (examples are soy milk, tofu, soy protein bars and soy protein shakes). Fermented soy products in small amounts are OK (examples are soy sauce, tamari and miso).
- Food Allergies: identify and avoid food intolerances. Common ones include dairy, eggs, nuts, seafood, shellfish, wheat, soy and/or gluten.
- Caffeine: avoid drinks and food with caffeine such as soft drinks, energy drinks, coffee, tea (yes, green tea also has caffeine), and chocolate.
- Sugar: avoid sugar and all products with added sugar such as fruit drinks, soft drinks, granola bars, ketchup, cereal, candy, cake, pasta sauces, etc. (it’s surprising everywhere sugar is hiding – read the label)
- Alcohol: avoid alcohol.
- Total Calories: consume the right amount of calories (along with exercise) to help bring your weight (or a better measure: BMI - body mass index) into what’s considered the healthy range BMI:18.5 – 25 (2).
My blogs on nutrition and fertility:
» 4 Fertility Diet Principles
» Vegetarian no more
» Digestive Health: A Fertility Diet Principle
» Find Out What You’re Eating
» Infertility Culprit: Gluten?
» Fertility Diet Has Taken Hold
» Letting Your Family Help You
For a full list of citations please visit the Sources Page.
