TTC & Fertility Diets Thread

adirat · December 2016

Hi all! Since many of us have been talking about adopting healthier diets, fertility-focused diets, and even autoimmune/PCOS/endometriosis diets, I thought it could be useful for us to have a thread to discuss. I would really like to learn from all of you, plus it will be nice to have a place to discuss and support each other. Plus we'll be less likely to end up like this:

cartoons comics birthday happy birthday bobs burgers linda belcher

cartoons comics birthday happy birthday bobs burgers linda belcher

Here are a couple questions to get us started. Please add other things that are useful and weigh in as time goes on whether this should be a weekly thread, etc.

1. What diet are you considering?

2. Why are you thinking about it -- fertility generally, extant diagnosis, other?

3. When will you start OR how is it going so far if you've already started?

adirat · December 2016

I'll start!

1. I have been avoiding soy per a suggestion from my endocrinologist. I was considering doing an anti-inflammatory endometriosis diet a friend had success with: https://www.endo-resolved.com/diet.html However, now that my pelvic MRI indicated that I don't have severe endometriosis (stage 3 or 4 would show up on an MRI), I'm reconsidering. I have an appointment with my endocrinologist the first week of January so I'm going to talk with her about an autoimmune protocol diet and see what she thinks.

2. My main concern is TTC, now that I seem not to have severe endometriosis. I have low progesterone and a short LP, so I'd like something that could support that. Avoiding soy has gotten me up to 9 day LP so maybe I can get it even longer.

3. I am seeing my doctor the first week of January and will talk to her about what she recommends then and make a decision. I'll probably start toward the end of January since I have some travel coming up and I want to make sure I have all the details and meal plan before I start -- otherwise I will get super discouraged.

MrsM00re87 · December 2016

1) mainly I've been trying to stick to an organic, dairy free, free roam raised cattle. I've been told to stay away from dairy, as it exacerbates PCOS by my naturopath.

2) stick to this diet mainly for fertility purposes and I feel better eating this way. So it's a win win.

3) so far it's been going well. Mainly if I'm cooking I stick to those dietary recommendations, but I do sway out, but I usually feel crampy. So it reminds to get back to my organic eating.

spiderlover25 · December 2016

I like this thread!
1. Whole30!
2. Fertility and overall health including a metabolism reset. I have done it before and i always feel amazing when I'm eating well. I also have a few friends who were struggling with TTC and the diet helped them so I figure it can't hurt!
3. DH and I will both do it starting January 2. We got 3 weeks into it last month but then my parents came to visit and we went out for a date night and drank. It's an all or nothing diet so we decided to wait until after the holidays to restart.

izza2 · December 2016

1. Whole30
2. General weight loss, but honestly after the holidays I also need a whole body reset. I'd love to start the new year off on a great foot.
3. First day of next month/year.

Marley629 · December 2016

1. What diet are you considering? Gluten and dairy free

2. Why are you thinking about it -- fertility generally, extant diagnosis, other?
two reasons: preparing for Ivf and want to be as healthy as possible to help egg quality, and also to reduce inflammation in my body as my sed rate & crp levels are very high and no doctor has been able to solve it

3. When will you start OR how is it going so far if you've already started?
I started a month ago. I'm down almost 13 pounds (would be more if the holidays didn't get in way) but more importantly I feel amazing and have more energy than I've had in a few years.

BertieMeetsGertie · December 2016

When we started TTC, I started to have spotting up to 4 days before AF starts. My u/s was normal, so now I'm going to try cutting out all soy. We also started doing blue apron at that time, so I'm stopping that for a few months as well.

1) cutting out soy and stopping blue apron
2) TTC in general and losing weight
3) in January

Becky012016 · December 2016

@bertiemeetsgertie; & @adirat; what are some of your sources for cutting out/limiting soy and its effects on LP length? I don't eat much of it but I do spot 3 days before every period so I'm thinking about cutting it out completely after seeing you guys have positive experiences with it.

1. Whole foods; limiting sugar; increasing fresh fruits and veggies

2. TTC and general health

3. The holidays have really posed a challenge for me and apparently I have zero willpower. I plan to start this week and really get into it after the first.

adirat · December 2016

@Becky012016 My endocrinologist told me to try eliminating soy. I see her for a thyroid problem (predating ttc) and she told me that soy mimics estrogen in your body. I had 8dpo bloodwork showing low progesterone, as well as a short LP, both of which can be caused by too much estrogen -- hence my doctor suggested eliminating soy to see if that was contributing to the problem. She also suggested avoiding BPA and phthalates, which also mimic estrogen. To be honest, beyond a cursory google search and NIH database check, I didn't research this extensively, so I don't have cites handy though I know there are some on Pubmed. My LP has gone from 8 days to 9 since doing it. No idea if soy is the reason but I'm sticking with it. 9 is still short but moving in the right direction.

Becky012016 · December 2016

Thanks, @adirat! I'll have to get to library to check some of the databases they subscribe to and try researching that way.

icecubeinthedesert · December 2016

@Becky012016 and @adirat soy contains genistein, which is a phytoestrogen. It can bind to the estrogen receptors and mimic estrogen. (This is a great source of information: https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://bcerp.org/COTCpubs/BCERC.FactSheet_Phytoestrogen_Genistein.pdf&ved=0ahUKEwjb75e8zpPRAhXB6YMKHSc7BMoQFggiMAE&usg=AFQjCNFsz2GgNs76tik6NSgsCNfTpv7vPA&sig2=U1-XIcqfA0lzt3wCCC8bQg) Soy is the primary source of this compound, but it is found in some other things (including coffee, though about 100 times lower in concentration per serving than soy beans: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20131840)

BertieMeetsGertie · December 2016

@Becky012016 I do what @adirat tells me because she's smart!

adirat · December 2016

@Bertiemeetsgertie Hahaha thanks my friend!

Basically the way I look at it is, there's literally no risk to it (unlike, for instance, medication) so why not try it out?

jess0211 · December 2016

@spiderlover25 @izza2 talk to me about Whole30. Is there a book or guide of sorts?

spiderlover25 · December 2016

@jess0211 Yes! The book is called "It starts with food" The diet is meant to be a metabolism reset and to heal your gut. It is not really a weight loss diet, although that can definitely be a side effect depending on your diet before. I did it last January and lost 15 pounds in 30 days and kept it off. The basis of the diet is no dairy, legumes, soy, gluten, alcohol or sugar. It sounds hard but honestly, once you get started it isn't bad. The idea is to only eat whole foods for 30 days to clean out your system and to learn what foods you may be sensitive to. The book goes into detail about how and why foods affect different aspects of your health and I highly recommend it even if you don't do the diet.

adirat · December 2016

@spiderlover25 My library doesn't have that but does have this:

The whole30 : the 30-day guide to total health and food freedom / Melissa Hartwig and Dallas Hartwig with Chef Richard Bradford; photography by Alexandra Grablewski.

Looks like the same authors. Is this the same thing?

lund · December 2016

1. What diet are you considering? Just a clean diet, which for me means very limited processed foods, limited dairy, limited grain. I managed to maintain this diet for about 8 months prior to TTC and I feel SO much better when I'm eating "clean".

2. Why are you thinking about it -- fertility generally, extant diagnosis, other? Weight loss, health, general TTC. It seems to lower general inflammation in my body, and I've gained some weight since stopping it. And, eating more fruits, veggies, and less processed junk can't be bad for fertility.

3. When will you start OR how is it going so far if you've already started? Likely the 1st or 2nd week of January. I better start soon because I'm running out of clothes that still fit...

libgirl1981 · December 2016

Hey, @adirat, @spiderlover25, I have It Starts With Food, and I've looked at The Whole 30 book - you'd get the basis of the diet with the Whole 30 book. It Starts with Food is a bit more comprehensive and goes into more detail, but it would definitely get you going with the diet. Good luck!

adirat · December 2016

@libgirl1981 Thanks! I'm going to wait to talk to my doctor before making a decision, but you guys are selling me on Whole 30

libgirl1981 · December 2016

@adirat, i've read the book, and love the concept, but have yet to put it into practice. *ashamed face* need to get into that ASAP. I'd like a diet slightly healthier than pizza, ice cream, cake, and sandwiches. But giving up dairy is SUPER hard for me. Sugar's slightly better, but dairy is the killer.

adirat · December 2016

@libgirl1981 I've been interested in diets like this and trying an autoimmune/allergy diet, but what scares me the most is eggs. @antoto was telling me about success she'd had on the autoimmune diet and I am so lost thinking about breakfast without eggs. So I hear you! But I'm on cycle 8 without BFP so... getting desperate.

libgirl1981 · December 2016

@adirat FX! Keep me posted if you get started with it! I'm hoping to do a 1 week trial next week and see how it goes.

spiderlover25 · December 2016

@adirat yes that book is the same authors and would give you the guidelines. You can also use pinterest and google to get the "rules" of the diet. I am just big into the "why" so I needed to read the book. Eggs are totally acceptable and encouraged on whole30! I still eat eggs almost every day for breakfast since doing the diet for the first time last January.

@libgirl1981 If you want to try, I would encourage you to commit to 30 days. The first week or so leaves you feeling kinda sluggish and sometimes with a headache from sugar withdrawl. It's week 2-3 where you will really start to notice changes. It's not a diet for everyone but it's only 30 days!

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