Nutrition for Fertility: When Does It Matter?
The evidence is clear! Nutrition matters for every stage of TTC & carrying to term:
Hormone balance
Egg Quality
Ovulation
Fertilization
Implantation
Growing a tiny human!
Has your doctor ever said something like; “diet doesn’t make a difference”, or “diet changes don’t change fertility outcomes”. These comments make my heart hurt……because these doctors are highly intelligent, often specialists in their field, (which is not nutrition) and they are making these comments to their patients. My heart hurts because their patients aren’t being given the best information for the best outcomes.
Nutrition impacts fertility in a variety of ways!
For instance, we need specific nutrients to build hormones & eliminate hormones. If our bodies don’t have the building blocks for hormones, their will be imbalance that can lead to things like irregular ovulation & a short luteal phase.
Did you know nutrition plays a big role in egg quality too!? Nutrients like B12, folate and B6 (to name a few) support the genetic programming of a maturing follicle. If we aren’t consuming enough of these nutrients, or able to metabolize them appropriately, egg quality will suffer.
Nutrition even plays a role in fertilization of an egg! Nutrients like folate are found in fertile cervical mucus. Cervical mucus keeps the sperm alive, helps it swim to the egg & it even “preps” the sperm for fertilization. When there isn’t enough of the right nutrients, cervical mucus can suffer making it harder for fertilization to occur. Amazing right!?
How we fuel our body can also impact implantation. You see, implantation requires a healthy lining and a healthy immune system. Our endometrial lining is supported by a healthy hormone balance, which requires appropriate nutrients. Implantation requires an immune shift, if our immune system is over or under active implantation becomes more difficult. Food has a big impact on our immune system, partially due to the fact that over 70% of our immune system lives in our gut.
We can NOT know everything about everything. I specialize in nutrition for fertility, I couldn’t give a woman a pelvic exam, do an ultra sound or HSG, initiate IUI or provide an IVF protocol. Whether your doc believes in the power of nutrition or not, reach out to a nutrition expert to see if you could benefit from personalized guidance.
You are an individual & your what your body needs to get to baby is different from your friend or even your sister.
The truth is, nutrition is crucial for fertility & growing a tiny human NO MATTER HOW you are TTC. Many of my clients feel that they are “eating a pretty healthy diet” when they reach out to me. The thing is, it’s often not as “healthy” as they think or simply not a good fit for their body. Additionally, there is almost always something interfering with the nutrients being used; poor gut health, overloaded detox system, suppressed immune system, inflammation etc.
As a functional, fertility dietitian, I investigate what puts you at risk for not being able to digest, absorb, detox & use these nutrients appropriately to optimize fertility & greatly improve your chances of taking home a healthy baby.
Individualized nutrition guidance is key! Giving everyone the same diet guidelines & failing to look at the whole picture isn’t going to provide results that I see in my practice like:
—Amenorrhea or irregular cycles to regular ovulation
—Conceiving naturally after years of TTC
—Successful IVF after failed cycles
—Full-term babies after recurring miscarriages
Curious whether a targeted nutrition plan could optimize your fertility & help you take home a healthy baby? Schedule a free consult!