Let’s real talk for a moment here. Can we please?
What you eat matters. It has the ability to make you a superhero with all the energy and focus you need to kick total a&$ in life. No joke. It can especially help make conception a little smoother, helping to balance sex hormones, nourish and strengthen sperm and egg health, turn on “good” genes and even help make pregnancy a little more enjoyable.
It’s a powerful piece for your fertility and can be a huge supporter of reproductive and overall health.
But on the flip side, many of the foods we have such easy access to today can have some pretty harmful effects on your fertility. Unfortunately, these are the foods that are all around us, all the time–at parties, restaurants, office lunches and down every aisle of the average grocery store.
These processed foods are cheap and offer your body little to no nutritive value and in some cases, can directly impact important systems that support your baby makin’ dreams.
So let’s dig into both sides–foods that boost your baby makin’ superpowers and those that do...well, the opposite.
And just so we’re clear–I’m talking to both you and the hubs.
Let’s not forget that it’s a 50/50 split when it comes to those first incredible steps of creating your precious baby.
So let’s dive into a few foods I recommend you start paying attention to and begin avoiding to help optimize fertility and feel and live better!
Processed Fats
Oh canola oil, you little liar. We’ve been told for years that vegetable oils like canola, corn, safflower and soy are the way to go for better health. FALSE. These types of fat sources are highly processed - bleached, deodorized, heavily damaged by high-heat processing and made to stand out with their perfect shiny yellow color on your local market’s shelf.
Trans fats are also dangerous- found in hydrogenated and partially hydrogenated oils, margarines and shortenings found in processed foods like crackers, breads, chips, pastries, commercially fried foods, etc.. Trans fats have the ability to mess with our cell structure, the health of our cardiovascular system, our hormones and most alarmingly, create issues with growth, visual acuity and development in baby.
Avoid these types of fats like the plague.
What to eat instead: Focus on unprocessed, cold-pressed, organic oils like coconut, olive and avocado as well as plenty of other healthy fats like grass-fed butter, ghee, wild fish, duck fat, tallow, fresh avocado, nuts and seeds. Do not fear fat. The different fatty acids help to nourish your hormones and provide a long-lasting energy source. My favorite preconception fat is butter!
Refined and Artificial Sweeteners
Sugar is one of the top ingredients that can wreak havoc on your health. Sugar, called numerous enticing names from “nectar” to “syrup” and everything in between, has been linked to a long list of health problems like heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, digestive issues, endocrine problems, hyperactivity, bone loss, depression and you guessed it, infertility.
When blood sugar levels are elevated from eating sugar and starchy carbs, especially processed carbohydrates, insulin levels will be elevated to bring the sugar down. Insulin is an important hormone for regulating blood sugar BUT it’s not supposed to be floating around in large amounts all the time. It’s inflammatory and can mess with the communication between your brain and your sex hormones, disrupting ovulation.
Artificial sweeteners are no better and can cause neurological issues, reduced immunity and have been linked to low birth weight.
What to choose instead: If you are going to use a sweetener in your coffee or baking, choose whole food versions that can also have health benefits like raw honey, coconut sugar or pure maple syrup. Make sure you are reading the “ingredients” on all the foods you purchase to make sure you’re avoiding added sugars and artificial sweeteners. Remember, if you can’t pronounce it or don’t know what it is, put it back and opt for a cleaner version.
As you can imagine, kicking the sugar habit prior to conception is so important to your health as well as the health of that future little babe. I love Whole30 as a challenge to get off the sugar and fill up on healthier carbohydrate sources like vegetables and some fruit along with plenty of healthy proteins and fats. All good for baby makin’!
Hell no, GMO!
There is growing evidence that genetically modified (GM) foods, plants and animals that have had their DNA altered, can cause serious health problems. This is especially true for a delicate fetus and growing children. The top three GM foods are corn, soy and canola oil, but the list is growing. I recommend that couples looking to conceive in the near or distant future (or any other breathing human) avoid these conventional foods and choose organic whenever possible, which do not allow GM ingredients to be used.
What to choose instead: Organic. Whenever you are able to choose organic, you are making a decision to support the non-GMO movement. Yes, there are stories of GMO crops blowing into non-GMO crops, but let’s not get crazy friends. No one’s perfect, but the more we look for organic ingredients (especially anything containing corn and soy), the less likely we are to consume GM foods.
Soy
It is actually surprisingly difficult to avoid soy or soy-containing products if you are not on a whole food diet. Soy is in eeeevveeerrything on the grocery store shelves these days and used for a number of different purposes from increasing protein content to binding processed foods. One of the big issues with soy is that it is loaded with phytoestrogens that compete for our own estrogen sites and can create hormonal imbalances. Phytoestrogens also have anti-fertility properties which is a huge no-no for what we’re trying to accomplish here. Soy also contains enzyme inhibitors, oxalates and phytic acids that can mess with your digestive tract and block mineral absorption.
What to choose instead: If you are looking for more protein sources, choose sustainably raised animal protein sources like grass-fed beef, pastured chicken and their eggs, duck, bison, wild fish and so on. If you’re vegetarian, look for organic, pastured eggs, organic dairy like plain, whole-milk yogurt, kefir or cottage cheese, properly prepared beans and legumes and consider adding wild fish. You can eliminate most soy by choosing whole foods as much as possible and reading food labels.
Alcohol
Ok, before you close out this post because of this one, hear me out. For some people, alcohol plays a big role in their social life and even daily life. Alcohol is often times used as a way to “relax” after a long day or week, but I always challenge my clients to look at the “why” behind it. Is it just to enjoy some time with good friends over a beautiful meal? Fine! Clean it up and keep it as more of an occasional thing. Is it to help you unwind after a long day? The thing that you look forward to after work? Something you binge on weekly?
There are numerous reasons alcohol isn’t great for your health, but when it comes to fertility, there are some specific reasons I recommend to avoid it if possible during your preconception preparation. For one, alcohol can mess with blood sugar and hormone balance, both incredible important for your fertility. Second, alcohol consumption can directly impact sperm quality and quantity and even lower testosterone levels.
What to choose instead: Honestly, if you want to get serious about getting your body ready for baby or if you’ve been struggling to conceive for any amount of time, my best recommendation is to avoid alcohol consumption. If you’re used to having a cocktail or glass of wine after work, practice swapping it out with a glass of kombucha or sparkling water with muddled fruit and mint.
Now, if you’re going to have a drink, choose a cleaner liquor like gin or tequila and mix with sparkling water, kombucha or fresh fruit and stick to just one.
The easiest way to make all this happen is to focus on eating nutrient-dense, whole, real foods, found at Farmer’s Markets, local co-ops and the outside perimeter or your grocery store. Every decision you make has the potential to make a positive, baby makin’ improvement in your health. Let’s get our bodies ready to make healthy babies!
Lots of healthy love!
xo
Justine
References:
K Anderson, V Nisenblat & R Norman 2010; ‘Lifestyle factors in people seeking infertility treatment – A review’. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Vol.50, Issue 1, pp8--202
