Boosting your fertility naturally and thus increasing your chances of getting pregnant is the result of multiple factors: environment, lifestyle, diet, psychology… Some will be disappointed to learn that there is no specific diet before conception to get pregnant, but one thing is sure: our habits play a fundamental role on our female and male fertility. Since reproduction is a couple affair, this means that the good habits of women will have as much impact on fertility as those of men. To increase our fertility, it is not a question of adopting a specific diet but rather of taking care of ourselves. By paying attention to what we eat, what we do, it is our health that you preserve and it is our fertility that you increase.
Fertility and physiology: knowing your body to increase your chances of conceiving
Consult a health professional
You can make an appointment with your gynecologist or midwife to review the situation. Tell him/her about your desire to get pregnant, he/she will be a precious ally and will be able to adapt his/her advice to your needs.
Know your ovulation period
Be aware of the date of your ovulation. Ovulation is a key stage of fertility. It is an expressive phase that begins more or less from the 14th to the 20th day of the cycle (this phase varies a lot from one woman to another, it is given as an indication). It is during this period that women can potentially become pregnant.
Detoxify your body
Cigarettes are the number one enemy of your fertility. It is therefore essential to stop smoking or reduce your consumption, and this is also recommended for your spouse! Remember 
that it will participate to 50% in fertility, and then the passive smoking is also harmful. Don’t hesitate to ask for help from a tobacco specialist.
In addition to a balanced diet (see tips below), remember to drink plenty of water throughout the day.
Think of some plants to clean your body in pre-conception period (lemon, rosemary, dandelion, lovage…) and plants which allow to boost its fertility afterwards (nettle, yarrow, ginger, damask rose…). Find out more beforehand because some plants are not recommended in case of MAP (Medically Assisted Reproduction), IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)…
Fertility and diet: which foods to eat to increase your chances of getting pregnant?
Eat a variety of foods
We can never say it enough: the golden rule is to eat everything in reasonable quantities in order to provide all the essential nutrients for the proper functioning of the body. This rule applies even more to couples who are preparing a pregnancy.
Choose good fats
For women, omega 3 helps produce good hormones and contributes to the normalization of menstrual cycles. As for omega 6, it improves the structure of reproductive cells. For men, omega 3 increases sperm quality. (see our
our article on the subject
)You will find good fats by regularly varying the oils. They each provide different fatty acids in varying amounts. Eat oleaginous fruits (nuts such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts…) as well as fatty fish (mackerel, sardines, herring, anchovies…). And limit as much as possible the bad fats, i.e. all the fats resulting from industrial transformation.
Maintain good blood sugar levels.
Studies now show a link between high blood sugar levels and ovulation disorders. In order to avoid blood sugar peaks that require too much insulin production, you can choose foods rich in fiber and foods with a low glycemic index: dried vegetables (lentils, chickpeas, white beans, etc.), cereals (quinoa, bulgur, buckwheat, etc.) and wholemeal flours (wholemeal rice, wholemeal bread, wholemeal pasta, etc.), and raw or cooked vegetables As for refined white sugar, the less you consume, the better off you are! If you can’t live without it, you can replace it with coconut blossom sugar or agave syrup. They will have less impact on your blood sugar. For a more detailed explanation of the glycemic index of foods, see
our article on the subject
.
Put fruits and vegetables at the center of your diet.
They provide large quantities of vitamins and minerals, all of which have a role -in some way- on your fertility. To promote a good intake of vitamins and minerals, here is a first guideline: the more colorful your plate is, the more likely it is to contain a wide variety of vitamins! Also, choose local fruits and vegetables because some of the nutritional qualities are lost during the long transport journeys, during which treatments are added to the plants to make them stand up during transport. And then, the plants from the end of the world are rarely picked at maturity, which is why they are mostly devoid of nutrients but also of flavor. Favour the quality of products by limiting pesticides because even if, to this day, the effect of pesticides on health is still poorly evaluated, we assume that they are potentially toxic and that they induce consequences on fertility.
Maintain or aim for a “healthy” weight
Weight is a valuable indicator of your fertility because both obesity and undernutrition are associated with increased ovulation problems. It is as if the body knew in advance the needs necessary for the proper development of a pregnancy and “protected” itself in case of nutritional deficiencies to avoid the possibility of a pregnancy. The goal is to reach or maintain a “healthy” weight by having a BMI between 19.5 and 24.9.
Fertility and healthy living: good habits to adopt before preparing for a pregnancy
Avoid endocrine disruptors
Ban endocrine disruptors! They are present everywhere: in cosmetics, in cleaning products, in food, in packaging… Numerous studies are emerging and highlight the link between endocrine disruptors and hormones. They alter their proper functioning and affect fertility.
Also avoid parabens and their derivatives.
Learn to manage stress
Stress can influence the quality of endometrial vascularization, which is essential for proper egg implantation. It is therefore essential to learn how to manage it.
Simple and effective methods exist: homeopathy, yoga, hypnosis, sophrology, acupuncture… It is up to you to choose the one that suits you best.
Play sports
Regular but reasonable physical activity optimizes fertility. It is an opportunity to walk, swim, cycle (but gently!)…
Also consider fertility yoga. Recommended as an accompaniment to MAP, this process would increase the success rate of IVF. It is also an interesting method to manage stress and to understand more about your body’s mechanisms.
The information in this article is provided for informational purposes and is not a substitute for medical consultation. In case of infertility, it is recommended to consult a health professional for an appropriate follow-up.
