You are what you eat.
What you put into you body has a huge effect on the functioning
of your systems….yes, even your reproductive system. A well
balanced, nutritious diet is essential for the formation of an
embryo in your body, and for its further development for 9 months.
Take this into consideration every time you sit down for a snack
or meal, as it is one of the easiest things you can do to ensure
your own health and that of your baby-to-be. Try to add more nutritional
value to your food so that you are using every opportunity you
can to boost your body’s reproductive wellness and fertility
potential.
Have fun with this dietary modification process!
This is my favorite part. There are actually some really exciting,
yummy foods that you can incorporate into your diet to aid
in your fertility. Remember, you are trying to nourish your
system, so
this is more about adding things rather than taking things
out. Caviar (the egg that can help you produce an egg and very
luxurious),
any type of nut or seed (walnuts, black sesame seeds and almonds
are especially good and make a great snack), butter (that’s
right…throw away the margarine and start spreading the real
thing), eggs including the yolk (I know, and to think you have
been separating them out for all these years years), olive oil
(get out the Italian cookbook and go to work), oysters, clams,
lobster, and crayfish ( Did someone say seafood buffet?), dark
chocolate….in moderation of course ( Who doesn’t
like this idea?...lots of beneficial antioxidants).
Eat organic foods and hormone free meats whenever possible.
Foods and meats treated with pesticides, chemicals and hormones
contain estrogen-like substances, which when ingested will
occupy estrogen
receptor sites in your body and have negative effects on organ
and endocrine systems (hormones…which directly effect pregnancy).
Food is healthiest when it is closest to its source, so try to
eat as much locally grown, fresh, non processed food as possible.
(For example, fresh green beans from your local farmer’s
market are much more beneficial to you than canned, or frozen…even
if you did get them at Trader Joe’s). This way you will be
taking advantage of the foods maximum nutritional benefits. As
foods are processed, they loose nutritional value. When trying
to get pregnant, and maintaining pregnancy, we need as much nutrition
as possible, so don’t skimp when it comes making healthy
choices.
Eat alkaline rather than acidic foods.
The reproductive system needs to have the right PH in order to support
conception and implantation, as an environment that is too acidic
can be hostile to sperm. What we eat has a direct effect on this
PH. Foods which make the system more alkaline are noncitrus fruits,
vegetables, sprouts and cereal grasses (wheatgrass, barley grass),
and herbs like black cohosh and valerian root. Chewing food thoroughly
and refraining from drinking liquids with your meal can also have
an alkalizing effect. Allow your foods to be digested by your saliva,
rather than just washing it down with a drink.
Include lots of essential fatty acids in your diet.
They are very important in the ovulation process. A great supplement
is Barlean’s organic oils “The Essential Woman”,
available at health food stores. Good sources of essential
fatty acids to include in your diet are fish, fish oil, flaxseed
oil,
pumpkin-seed oil, eggs, soy products, raw nuts and seeds, and
dark-green veggies like broccoli, cauliflower, beets, carrots,
kale, collards,
cabbage, turnips, rutabaga, and Brussels sprouts. These veggies
are also beneficial because they contain a compound that stimulates
more efficient use of estrogen by increasing the metabolism
of estradiol. Excess estradiol is associated with breast pain,
weight
gain, breast and uterine cancer, moodiness, and low libido
(not good when trying to get pregnant). Adding more of these
veggies
into your diet will decrease levels of estradiol, and allow
your body to process estrogen more efficiently.
Get Your Vitamins & Minerals.
Supplement your diet with a natural, high-potency multivitamin
and mineral complex with iron, folic acid, and B vitamins I
recommend
New Chapter’s “Perfect Prenatal”. Other supplements
that boost your fertility are the following:
Greens supplement:
Try to get as many greens as possible into your diet through
food,
but to help fill in on those days where
it isn’t possible to eat Kale and broccoli. Take this every
day!(found at health food stores. A great one is New Chapter’s “Berry
Green”). Green food supplements nourish the endocrine,
nervous, and immune systems.
Vitex Agnus-castus (chasteberry): This natural
supplement stimulates the ovaries to ovulate and normalizes
progesterone levels. (Take
160-240mg of a 6 percent aucubin extract each morning). Discontinue
when you become pregnant.
Coenzyme Q-10: This assists the mitochondrial
function in our cells, making them as healthy as possible.
Healthy cells= healthy organs=healthy,
well functioning systems.
Take a probiotic supplement
(acidophilus& bifidus).
Probiotics help build up your body’s intestinal flora, making
you more resistant to any type of infection, along with improving
the health of your digestive system. While you are trying to get
pregnant, and when you do become pregnant, you want to try and avoid
taking medication as much as possible. By improving your body’s
defense system, you are decreasing the likelihood of getting sick,
and therefore won’t have to take meds which may interfere
with your fertility and pregnancy.
Eat as much fresh organic pineapple as possible after ovulation.
Pineapples contain bromeline, an enzyme that helps an embryo
implant into your endometrial lining.
Yes, your hubby or partner has to do stuff
too!
L-carnitine or acetylcarnitine (1,500 mg 2x a day):
This improves sperm motility.
Coenzyme Q-10 (100mg a day): Improves
sperm motility.
High potency multivitamin that includes vitamin
B-12: Provides a base of nutrients that are important for
fertility.
Things to avoid if possible when trying to concieve.
Coffee ( green tea is a great
sub, as it still wakes you up, but opens your blood vessels
instead of constricting them).
Alcohol ( I think a glass of
wine with dinner is perfectly fine…and
needed when going through this whole process…,
but try to avoid excess consumption). Of course avoid
alcohol all together
if you
are pregnant.
NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflamitories) can
actually inhibit ovulation, so try to steer clear of the ibuprofen.
Nicotine ages the ovaries (as well as the rest of your body), and makes
the eggs less likely to be fertilized.
Stress….
this is the big fertility killer!!!! Really try hard to
take time out of your day just for yourself. Meditate, light
some candles, listen to a CD, take a bath….just 10 min a day
to yourself can really make a difference.
