Whether you're trying to get pregnant now or just hope to nurture your reproductive health for the future, eating right is an important part of fertility. While environmental factors definitely matter -- clean air, toxic by-products of food packaging and disruptive chemicals in hygiene or cosmetic products -- diet is a major way for you and your partner to improve the odds of successful conception and a healthy pregnancy.
Leafy Greens
Leafy green vegetables, like spinach, kale, chard, fenugreek and lettuce, are high in folate, a member of the vitamin B family. Folate is crucial to both partners' reproductive health. For women, leafy green vegetables helps maintain regular and effective ovulation, one of the key ways to sustain and track reproductive health. In men, leafy greens improve the strength of sperm.
Organic Produce
A wide range of fruits and vegetables is necessary for your body normally, but eating for reproductive health requires that you go totally organic. According to a broad study on the links between reproductive health and the industrial food system by Patrice Sutton at the University of California, pesticide exposure in the United States is ubiquitous and it negatively impacts fertility and pregnancy. It has been linked to infertility, miscarriage, diminished fetal growth and birth defects.
Also, according to the same study, since the U.S. economy requires that most farmers grow massive quantities of one product, they often need to corner the market as much as they can. This means tons of chemical fertilizers dumped into food sources. Start eating locally grown, chemical-free fruits and veggies.
Beans
Beans are a great source of protein for reproductive health. Harvard School of Public Health found that women who got most of their protein from animal sources instead of plant sources had higher rates of infertility. If you're not ready to go completely vegetarian, replacing a few servings of meat a week for each partner can still make a difference.
Meat
If you or your partner are a die-hard carnivore, eat the cleanest meat you can. Hormones and anti-microbials are really bad for reproductive health. United States beef production and regulation includes a dangerous inconsistency -- natural and synthetic steroids increase the size of cows, but none are approved for use in food. Many beef, pork and poultry farmers give their livestock arsenic and other anti-microbials at non-therapeutic doses. Switch to organic grass-fed animal protein.
Complex Carbs
Complex carbs take longer to digest. This keeps your blood sugar levels stable, which in turn, helps women maintain regular ovulation. Choose whole wheat pasta over traditional pasta, brown rice over white and dark breads over white or lighter breads. Legumes, like lentils, kidney beans and black beans, are good choices that include protein. Eat veggies, such as broccoli, cauliflower, eggplant and asparagus.
Whole Milk
Whole milk protects women's reproductive systems from infertility, whereas low-fat or skim milk can actually be a detriment. The reasons for this are not entirely proven, but Jorge E. Chavarro, M.D., Sc.D., assistant professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, theorizes it may be because removing the fat from milk changes its balance of sex hormones, which may, in turn, disrupt healthy ovulation in women who consume the products.
References
- "Reproductive Health And The Industrialized Food System: A Point Of Intervention For Health Policy"; Sutton et. al.; "Health Aff"; vol. 30; May 2011
- "Parents"; Top Foods That Can Help You Get Pregnant; Leslie Pepper
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