I got a great question last week: What are the goals of diet and nutrition for infertility?
The reason diet is important is that gut health is linked to all health. Through dietary changes you can:
- Reduce inflammation, which is the precursor to disease.
- Increase nutrient intake. Think about the food on your plate as your first line of nutrition, rather than relying on supplements. (Some supplements are important when you’re trying to conceive, but there’s a lot you can get from food.)
- Support your menstrual cycle, ovulation and uterine lining.
- Eliminate toxins which disrupt hormones, cause blood sugar imbalances and cause insulin resistance
- Improve egg quality. An egg takes 3 months to mature before ovulation.
- Improve symptoms related to PCOS and endometriosis.
(These is just one topic we’ll be covering in Fertility Foundations, my new 5-week group program.)
The question that followed was, how do diet and nutrition affect fertility? We talked about the role of carbs, blood sugar and inflammation.
- Choosing slowly digested carbs (legumes, seeds, nuts, veggies and whole grains) and not eating a carb-heavy diet (along with increasing protein) can help balance blood sugar and insulin levels.
- High blood sugar and insulin levels can impact egg quality. You can reduce insulin levels by reducing carbs, increasing protein and reducing sugar.
- One of the goals of a fertility diet is to reduce inflammation. Prolonged inflammation is linked to infertility – and can also be seen in endometriosis
Want more info on Fertility Foundations? Click here.
xo,
Jennifer