Nutrition for Fertility?

sheilatakesabow

Because I haven't seen this discussed on TB yet. . .

Any thoughts on the "fertility diet" that came out of the Harvard Nurses Health Study a few years back? There's a book, but here's an article that explains it.  Essentially, the study found that your chances for ovulatory infertility are reduced if you: 

1. Cut out trans fats.
2. Eat more unsaturated fats like olive oil.
3. Get more protein from vegetables and less from meat.
4. Pick whole grains over refined carbohydrates.
5. Get a serving or two of full-fat dairy daily.
6. Take a multivitamin that includes plenty of folic acid.
7. Get iron from fruits, vegetables and beans rather than meat.
8. View photos of Alexander Skarsgard twice a day.* 
9. Cut out soft drinks and get most of your liquid refreshment from water, with coffee or tea in moderation.
10. Maintain a healthy weight or lose weight if you need to.
11. Start exercising daily if you aren?t already, or pick up the pace if you do work out, unless you?re already skinny.

It also recommends having ice cream twice a week!  The no red meat or poultry prohibition is interesting:  I wonder if that effect was due to hormones in meat?  Since the data they used is from about a decade ago, when organic meat was not as prevalent, my own (totally non-scientific) suspicion would be that that might have something to do with it. 

Anyone try any of the above?   

https://www.newsweek.com/2007/12/01/fat-carbs-and-the-science-of-conception.html

* Ok, ok, it didn't really suggest that.

annerz22

This is good information, but I wouldn't say it was anything specific for fertility. This is just smart/healthy eating that everyone ,regardless of TTC or not, should follow.

 

sheilatakesabow

annerz22:

This is good information, but I wouldn't say it was anything specific for fertility. This is just smart/healthy eating that everyone regardless of TTC or not should follow.

 

Opinions will differ, but I'm not sure full fat dairy instead of lowfat dairy would be great advice for most people.  Ditto avoiding poultry.    Those are the two ways that this is different from my regular diet.   

annerz22

sheilatakesabow:

annerz22:

This is good information, but I wouldn't say it was anything specific for fertility. This is just smart/healthy eating that everyone regardless of TTC or not should follow.

 

Opinions will differ, but I'm not sure full fat dairy instead of lowfat dairy would be great advice for most people.  Ditto avoiding poultry.    Those are the two ways that this is different from my regular diet.   

This is actually very similar to the Mediterranean diet I should have said that in my original post The Med. diet is big on little meats and dairy should be full fat (in moderation) because there is more ''good stuff'' in it than in low-fat or fat free!

ChicagoLola

I've been reading this lately, just because I was curious and I need constant reminders to eat better! And yes, it's a lot of basic good eating advice. The full fat dairy thing is interesting - it has to do with hormones in dairy and the processing of food to make it nonfat. Really, in the end, I think it's all about moderation. They really stress that a serving of full fat dairy is small. 

PandaManda23

as requested.....I have come

stephlas8

tairairat:

 I looked into which foods supply you with folic acid because I want to keep the number of supplements I will need to take as low as possible.  I have a swallowing pills issue, it's embarrassing.  

 

What'd you find for folic acid foods? I have a TERRIBLE pill swallowing issues (right there with you being embarrassed- when I got my wisdom teeth out and when I had a lap to remove endometriosis I may or may not have had to get liquid codeine. Talk about embarrassing.)

 

lycih

stephlas8:

tairairat:

 I looked into which foods supply you with folic acid because I want to keep the number of supplements I will need to take as low as possible.  I have a swallowing pills issue, it's embarrassing.  

 

What'd you find for folic acid foods? I have a TERRIBLE pill swallowing issues (right there with you being embarrassed- when I got my wisdom teeth out and when I had a lap to remove endometriosis I may or may not have had to get liquid codeine. Talk about embarrassing.)

 

Dark leafy greens (spinach, kale, swiss chard, etc) are a good source of folic acid. 

lowkeysbride

That's interesting about the dairy... my doctor told me to try switching to almond milk or soy milk because the more dairy and milk you eat/drink, the tougher it makes the skin on the egg, thus making it harder for the sperm to penetrate.  I don't think that I could go completely meat or dairy free, but the theories are interesting! 

nd01

Regarding folic acid, I discovered randomly that Crispix cereal has 70% of DRV.  My husband loves it and so I was just looking at the box and saw that.  Also, I think Luna Bars have pretty good numbers on that too (when I was pregnant with my son, I couldn't stand eating meat so I ate a ton of these and they have protein, calcium and folic acid so it helped balance out my needs. 

Moose2000

I looked into this diet some time ago, and I recall at that time there was not really any solid statistical evidence that the diet directly impacted fertility. As PP have stated it's generally not a bad diet for any one in particular, eat good and exercise, but the impact on getting pregnant has not been conclusively identified with solid evidence. Even more so, the evidence did not support that someone with known infertility issues was able to conceive simply due to a change in diet habits. I'll have to go back and look it up again for more specifics.

Over all, I think if you are TTC then you would should be eating the proper diet and conducting a healthy level of exercise anyways (IMO). I see it as preparing my body to be the home where LO will grow for 9 months. And when it comes to food consumption, I think a lot of it is common sense and self-control.