The ovary is the female reproductive organ responsible for releasing an egg each month for fertilization to conceive a child. Taking good care of your reproductive health helps ensure that you can have a baby when you are ready, as well as to help prevent reproductive disorders, such as ovarian cancer. The foods you eat play an important role in how healthy your ovaries are and adding certain ones may help you protect this part of your body.
Healthy Fats
While limiting your intake of saturated fats found in red meat, full-fat dairy foods and many packaged convenience foods is smart, you need some healthy fats in your diet for ovarian health. Your ovaries rely on fat for fertility and hormonal balance. Vitamins A and E found in many healthy fats support reproductive health by fighting free radicals that cause cellular damage. Choose unsaturated fats found in foods such as fish, nuts, olive oil and avocados.
Orange Fruits and Vegetables
The antioxidants that give some fruits and vegetables their deep orange color have protective benefits for your ovaries. These antioxidants may reduce the symptoms of endometriosis, as well as prevent recurrence if eaten on a regular basis, notes the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. The vitamins and minerals found in orange produce offer protection to your ovaries so you may be less likely to experience reproductive problems and ovarian cancer. Add sweet potatoes, cantaloupe, oranges, orange bell peppers and squash to your diet to reap these protective benefits, the committee recommends.
Whole Grains
Adding whole grains to your diet is an important way to reduce your risk of many diseases, but they have enormous benefits for your ovaries as well. In order for your ovaries to function properly, maintain a healthy insulin balance in your body. If you have too much insulin in your body, you may not ovulate regularly or you may damage the health of the eggs you release, according to the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. Including whole grains in your diet helps control your insulin balance and benefits the function of your ovaries. Add oatmeal, whole wheat bread and pasta, brown rice and popcorn to your menu to get these benefits.
Foods with Vitamin B6
If you are deficient in vitamin B-6, your body may be producing more estrogen than you need, which often disrupts normal menstrual cycles and prevents your ovaries from releasing an egg on a consistent basis. Including foods rich in vitamin B-6, such as avocado, spinach, broccoli, beans and potatoes, in your diet helps you get a healthy amount of this essential vitamin, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reports. An added bonus of vitamin B-6 is that it may help reduce menstrual pain.
References
- "Healthy Eating for Life for Women"; Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine; 2002
- "It's My Ovaries, Stupid!" Elizabeth Lee Vliet; 2003
- Women'sHealth.gov; Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS)
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