What Should I Eat for Fertility? 3 Simple Nutrition Tips

If you have started looking into nutrition for fertility, you have probably realised quite quickly that there is a lot of information out there.

Foods to eat. Foods to avoid. Different diets to follow. And often, completely conflicting advice about what you should be doing.

So, is there actually a fertility diet?

The simple answer is no. There is no specific fertility diet. However, research suggests that certain dietary patterns may have a role to play in supporting fertility.

There are also many different nutrition and lifestyle factors that may need to be considered depending on your individual circumstances. But getting the foundations right is a good place to begin.

So, if you are wondering where to start, here are three simple things you can focus on first.

1. Start with your overall way of eating

When you are trying to conceive or preparing for IVF, it can be tempting to focus on individual foods. But a good place to start is by looking at your diet as a whole.

One of the dietary patterns that has been studied in relation to fertility is the

Mediterranean style diet.

This way of eating includes plenty of fruit and vegetables, legumes, whole grains, oily fish and olive oil, alongside some poultry and dairy and smaller amounts of red meat. It also tends to include fewer processed foods and foods high in saturated fat and added sugar.

Rather than thinking about following a completely new diet, have a look at what you are already eating and how closely it resembles this way of eating.

That gives you a good place to start.

2. Add more colour to your meals

You have probably heard plenty of times that you should eat more fruit and vegetables. But when it comes to fertility, there is a reason they are important.

Fruit and vegetables provide antioxidants, which help protect our cells from damage. Eggs and sperm are cells too, so this is one of the reasons we want to include plenty of fruit and vegetables in our diet when trying to conceive.

A simple way to think about it is colour and variety. Different coloured fruit and vegetables provide different nutrients, so have a look at what you are already eating and where you could start adding a little more.

You don't need to overcomplicate it. Focus on getting more colour and variety into what you already eat.

3. Choose high fibre carbohydrates

Carbohydrates can get a bad press, particularly when you start looking online at foods to eat for fertility.

But cutting carbohydrates out isn't where I would start. Instead, think about the type of carbohydrates you are choosing.

Choosing higher fibre options, such as whole grains, can help with blood sugar control, which is one of the reasons the type of carbohydrate you choose matters.

So rather than thinking about what you need to cut out, start by looking at the choices you are already making.

When should you start thinking about fertility nutrition?

If you are making changes to your diet to support your fertility, it is also worth thinking about when you start.

The three months before an egg collection or conception are an important time for nutrition. This is an important period in the later stages of egg development, while sperm also take around three months to develop and mature.

There is a lot to think about when you are struggling to conceive, and nutrition can easily become another thing to worry about.

Hopefully, the three areas we've covered here give you a useful place to start without making it more complicated than it needs to be.