If you and your partner are thinking of trying to get pregnant or have been trying for a while, it is a great opportunity to evaluate your overall diet and lifestyle. Small tweaks can make a big difference. Fuelling your body with the goodness it needs to create life and looking after yourself - mind and body will not only make you feel good, it can make the overall difference to conceiving naturally.
Here are my top 10 tips to boosting fertility naturally:
1. Cut the C.R.A.P
Caffeine - yes your beloved morning flat whites. Evaluate how much caffeine you have daily - including coffees, teas, herbal teas (e.g. green tea), energy drinks, chocolate. If your finding it hard to cut out caffeine completely, cut down to 1-2 coffees daily (for both you & your partner). Best case if you can switch to de-caf.
Refined sugars - wave goodbye to white pasta & breads, ready-meals, breakfast cereals, croissants and cakes. Refined sugars are essentially sugars that have been stripped completely of its naturally occurring vitamins and minerals and have no nutritional goodness, examples include white sugar, powdered (caster) sugar & in some cases brown sugar. These sugars will cause your blood sugar levels to spike and yep you guessed it, negatively impact fertility in both men and women.
Alcohol - if your serious about getting pregnant naturally and faster it is time to ditch the booze. Not an option? Make sure you and your partner do not binge drink and stick to less than the NHS guidelines. Oh and avoid sugary cocktails and mixers. If you must drink, be sensible and stick to special occasions and sensible choices.
Processed foods - cut it out, switch from frozen ready meals to homemade meals, savoury snacks such as crisps, sausage rolls, pies to a handful of nuts, sugary snacks such as chocolate bars & sweeties to a piece of fruit, fizzy drinks to sparkling waters infused with fruit. Most processed foods are high in added salt, sugar and fat which is not doing your body any favours.
2. Supplements
It is no secret that the female body needs more folate pre conception and for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Taking a decent multi-vitamin that includes the recommended daily dose of folic acid (400 micrograms) is recommended by all health professional. Including this in a multi-vitamin will ensure your getting all the nutrients you need daily that are not always easy to consume from diet alone. It will reduce the risks and ensure the safe development of baby in the all important first trimester. A favourite of mine are the Zita West supplements, the prenatal supplements are brilliant for both men and women.
3. Get to know your cycle
It is so important to be in tune with your menstrual cycle. Research shows only 13% of women are in tune with when there fertile time is and this depends on your cycle length among other factors. Knowing your cycle pattern is very important so make sure you know your cycle length (from the first day of your period to the last day before the start of your next period) - if this can change month to month, keep a record of the past 6 months, if there are huge variations (over a week or so) you could visit your GP.
Most women ovulate 14 days before the END of their cycle, and women need at least 10 days after ovulation for a fertilised egg to implant. So if your cycles are short, this could be preventing conception. Pinpointing ovulation exactly can be difficult, but ovulation predictor tests (OPK) are good at giving you a good idea. Caveat - I would only use these for a month or so to get an idea if you are ovulation and do not pin point sex to just these times, your best bet is to have regular sex throughout your cycle without the stress of OPK's and to look out for fertile signs including secretions.
4. Exercise
Yes, exercise is important for a healthy lifestyle and is a brilliant stress reliever but be kind to your body with how your exercising. Too much high intensity exercise can negatively impact fertility causing more stress on the body. Play it safe and stick to a balanced exercise routine two to three times a week for 30-60minute sessions. Pilates, barre and yoga are all brilliant forms of exercise for keeping in shape, de-stressing and feeling good. Also do not underestimate walking, little things like walking up the escalators on the tube or walking to the shops instead of driving will up your daily steps.
5. Smoking
Pretty simple, if you or your partner are smoker's its time to ditch the cigarettes. I am not going to bore you with statistics of why smoking is bad for you and that it affects your fertility, but if your interested in reading more check out this article by Tommy's.
6. Weight control
Being a healthy weight is fundamental pre-conception for both you and your partner. Both being under and over weight negatively impacts fertility. A healthy weight is deemed a 'normal' BMI between 18.5 - 24.9. Our weight can affect our body's hormonal balance, in women this can affect ovulation and in men this can affect sperm production. Leading a healthy lifestyle, cutting out the takeaway's for home cooking, walking more, limiting treats to occasionally and cutting out the C.R.A.P (see number 1) will put you in good stead.
7. Sleep better
Studies show sleeping 7-8 hours a night, is optimal for maximising fertility whilst lack of sleep is linked to infertility in men and women. Make sure your getting good quality sleep by properly switching off, if your struggle with sleep try a bath for bed with oils such as lavender or aromatherapy associates are brilliant. I am a big fan of the This Works products including the bath salts and pillow sleep spray. Create a bed time routine so your body knows its time to switch off.
Try to keep off your phone 1 -2 hours before bed time (harder than it sounds, I know) but the backlight on our phones affects our bodies natural melatonin levels - meaning it can make you feel the opposite to sleep and disrupt your body from falling into a natural slumber, affecting your sleep quality. Instead read a book or listen to music before bed to relax. Fresh air, regular exercise and regular bed and morning routines are all beneficial to improving your sleep.
8. Lifestyle
This is unique to every one of us. Only you will know how stressed you are. If you are feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, anxious or stressed now is the time to start putting you first. Stress alone will not cause you to not fall pregnant, but it does not help. Managing stress will be beneficial for your body, mind and overall happiness so now is the time to let go and evaluate any factors causing you stress in your life. Acupuncture is brilliant for letting go of unwanted stress you may be holding on to and has many benefits for fertility and getting your body baby ready.
9. Up the anti ...
Anti-oxidants, vitamins and minerals are found in fruit, vegetables, nuts & seeds, whole grains, some meats, poultry and fish. Making sure you are getting a good supply of nutrients from 'real food' is essential pre-conception. When I say real food I mean fresh food that is unprocessed and preferably organic.
10. Overthinking
As a last point, if you have being TTC for some time, it can be really difficult to switch your mind off from overthinking getting pregnant and fertile times. It is very common for it to take up to 1 year, so if your within this time don't let it rule your life. If your thoughts are taking over try mindfulness or meditation apps including Headspace / Calm and positive affirmations are brilliant also.
Make time for you and your partner with date nights or just connecting the two of you by going for a walk or doing a favourite hobby you share. Take this time to connect, have fun, go on holiday and support each other, because once a baby comes along things will be very different.
If you and your partner are under 35 and have been trying for over a year, visit your GP or other health professional. It can be scary but it will be a step in right direction and sometimes a few simple medical tests can highlight simple tweaks that can make all the difference to get there.
Photo credit - Pinterest.
If your interested in a a consultation and learning more about diet and nutrition for fertility, drop me an email on fertilityism@gmail.com for bespoke, tailored nutrition plans.
Lisa x