Life and diet have an effect on fertility, and fertility experts advise consuming a diet rich in folic acid, vitamin B12, omega-3 fatty acids, low pesticide fruits and vegetables, whole grains, and lean proteins for maximum success.
Studies suggest that eating a large breakfast and decreasing the size of your evening meal could help improve fertility. You should also try to decrease stress by including meditation, yoga and acupuncture into your routine.
1. Eat a Healthy Diet
Making diet a priority and eating healthily are among the key strategies you can employ to increase fertility. A diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains will provide essential nutrients necessary for overall good health as you prepare to become pregnant.
Studies have demonstrated that women who maintain a normal body weight have a better chance of experiencing regular menstrual cycles with on-time ovulation. Avoiding fatty and processed foods will also help promote ovulation and increase chances of conception.
Reduce sugar, trans fats and alcohol consumption while simultaneously adding leafy greens, soy, whole grains and cold water fish into your diet to improve fertility. Aim for slowly digested carbohydrates like whole grains, vegetables and beans into daily meals like salads, soups or casseroles or juice kale for easy integration!
2. Exercise Regularly
Given that fertility and overall health are connected, exercise should be an integral component of both men and women’s lifestyles. But beware – too much exercise may lead to decreased fertility! Exercising to exhaustion increases a woman’s risk for anovulatory infertility (when her ovary fails to release an egg at each menstrual cycle).
Exercise can help alleviate stress and maintain a healthy body weight, particularly important for women struggling with PCOS – a condition which leads to weight gain and makes conception harder.
Exercise should focus on gentle movements like walking or restorative yoga during the menstrual cycle. When working out during follicular phase, more intensive workouts may be done without risking high levels of estrogen, poor ovulation and decreased bone density in female athletes. When entering luteal phase it’s wise to opt for low impact aerobic and light strength training exercises for best results.
3. Stop Smoking
Smoking cigarettes is unhealthy for everyone, but smoking even one cigarette per day has serious repercussions for fertility. Even women who only smoke a single cigarette per day experience negative impacts on their reproductive health; fortunately, any negative side-effects from smoking can be reversed by quitting early enough before trying for pregnancy.
Female smokers tend to have lower fertility rates as smoking reduces the number of healthy eggs produced. Smoking has also been linked with early menopause and may damage DNA found within eggs. Furthermore, it’s essential that women trying to conceive maintain a healthy body weight as excess body fat may interfere with normal ovulation and being overweight increases risks during gestation.
Men should make an effort to break their smoking habit as this can decrease sperm count and quality and may even contribute to infertility issues, so quitting will only serve to improve fertility further.
4. Reduce Alcohol Consumption
Many people, including those trying to conceive, don’t realize the role that alcohol can play in impeding fertility. Excessive drinking can cause both men and women to have irregular periods or not ovulate at all, while it may even lower sperm quality resulting in problems during conception. Therefore, those hoping to get pregnant should limit their alcohol consumption to no more than 14 units a week (consult the NHS website for more details).
Studies show that being overweight can interfere with regular ovulation. If you are obese, try to lose some weight to increase your chances of pregnancy and avoid foods high in trans fats which have been shown to reduce fertility in both women and men.
Starting a family is a huge commitment and can be stressful, but lifestyle choices may help increase fertility. These include maintaining a healthy body weight, eating well, not smoking and cutting back on alcohol intake. Furthermore, regular physical activity has been shown to increase fertility so if you’re having trouble trying for one make sure you get plenty of physical activity!
5. Cut Back on Caffeine
Though it’s not necessary to give up caffeine altogether, reducing intake may increase fertility. Drinking too much coffee (regular or decaf) can make body and cervical mucus too acidic and impair ovulation; similarly, large quantities of caffeinated sodas or energy drinks may affect men’s fertility negatively.
Studies on women have demonstrated that consuming less than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day does not adversely impact fertility. While completely cutting caffeine out may cause withdrawal symptoms like headaches, most health experts advise having caffeinated beverages at certain times (like first thing in the morning or mid morning) then replacing them with decaf beverages during other parts of the day.
Sleep, regular exercise and not smoking are all effective strategies for increasing fertility, but the single most critical factor for improving it lies within one’s general health and weight management. Smoking ages the ovaries and makes ovulation harder while being overweight or underweight also impedes regular ovulation cycles.
