Christina Najjar acupuncture fertility nutrition guidelines

Fertility Nutrition Guidelines That Are Easy to Follow

Bysite_admin

Fertility nutrition guidelines apply both when trying to conceive naturally, and when using assisted reproductive technologies like IUI, IVF, and ICSI. It’s common to see guidelines get into the nitty gritty of what can be done to optimize fertility.

However, for many people, these changes are not sustainable and can add stress. In order to avoid an all-or-nothing approach to fertility nutrition, follow these base level guidelines. They will help you address the most important changes you can make to help you try to conceive.

Additionally, fertility nutrition is a good way to make sure that you get more out of your fertility acupuncture treatments. These guidelines apply whether you’re providing the egg, the sperm, or are a gestational carrier.

Fertility nutrition guidelines to prioritize

Eat protein with every meal

Start by building your plate with enough protein at every meal. If you’re just starting on the fertility nutrition journey, don’t overthink the types of protein too much. If you’re choosing animal proteins, it’s always encouraged to opt for products sourced from animals grown in healthy conditions in order to ensure maximum nutrient content and limited toxins. Plant proteins are also a great option.

You should aim for about 30 grams of protein per meal. Protein is important for blood sugar management, hormonal health, immune function, and tissue and cell integrity. These are all aspects that can affect the ability to conceive.

Include healthy fats on your plate

Healthy fats sourced from nuts, seeds, eggs, olives, and avocados are also an important component of fertility nutrition. You don’t need large portions at each meal. Fats are an important building block for hormones, they help regulate inflammation, and help improve the quality of eggs and sperm. Additionally, they help balance blood sugar levels and absorb fat-solluble vitamins and antioxidants.

Add loads of vegetables

Vegetables in every colour of the rainbow will help ensure you get a good variety of antioxidants which are essential for egg and sperm health. Additionally, vegetables provide many other nutrients and fibre to help balance blood sugar levels and hormones.

You can also include fruits such as berries as part of your fertility nutrition plan, but aim for more vegetables than fruits.

Focus on cooked and warm foods

There’s a concept in Traditional Chinese Medicine called “cold womb”. This happens most when people eat lots of cold and raw foods or spend time in cold environments without warm clothing. It’s the fertility equivalent of trying to bake bread in a cold oven.

In more biomedical terms, it can be described as limiting the blood flow to the reproductive organs.

Final note on fertility nutrition guidelines

There’s a lot of discussion about completely avoiding things like sugar, dairy, and sometimes gluten for fertility. While these are valid considerations, you should first focus on implementing the basics mentioned in this post. It’s important to make sure that all the necessary nutrients are in place first. Then, it becomes much easier to work on eliminations when you’ve replaced them with balanced nutrients.

If you’d like to take the mental load out of fertility nutrition, get my fertility meal plan today! It’s free of gluten, dairy, eggs, and corn, with the option to be nut free. Recipes are also free of added sugar.

You may also be interested in:

  • Achieve Your Goals Step By Step

    Bysite_admin

    Achieving big goals can take a lot of discipline. However, seeing your ideas come to life is a lot easier with planning. Making a plan helps you get clear on what needs to happen in order to accomplish these goals. As an acupuncturist, I most often help people achieve their health goals. However, the framework…

  • Let’s talk about gut flora

    Bysite_admin

    The microbiome is the combination of all the organisms living in our body, or gut flora. Some of these organisms are healthy, and some not. Hundreds of different strains exist. The combination of strains in the gut is determined at birth. If the baby is born through the birth canal, baby will receive mom’s bacteria….

  • Menstrual Problems? Tackle Digestion

    Bysite_admin

    Menstrual problems are far too common these days. There is a widespread misconception that PMS is normal and just sort of happens if you have unlucky genes. In reality, issues like PMS, PCOS, and endometriosis are your body’s way of telling you that there is an imbalance somewhere. Often, digestion is involved. Your gut flora…

  • Healthy Fats: They’re So Important for PMS

    Bysite_admin

    There was a time when fats were demonized. Food companies tried to come up with as many fat free products as possible. It was an unhealthy trend because extra sugar was added in foods to compensate. But on top of that, it became unhealthy because healthy fats were avoided for a long period of time….

  • Healthier Beverage Options

    Bysite_admin

    Whether you want to lose weight, bring your androgen levels back to a healthy level, or support your liver, alcoholic beverages can slow your progress down. But that doesn’t mean that you need to miss out on the social aspects of your life. If your friends are headed out to the bar, there are things…

  • Enzyme Production for Healthy Digestion

    Bysite_admin

    When we eat, our bodies produce enzymes to break down what we eat. However, as we age, our enzyme production begins to decline. Enzymes are needed to avoid and reduce inflammation in the body. When foods are not broken down fully, large particles of food find their way into corners of our bodies where they…