Food is not a trial solution against infertility. However, paying attention to the content of your plate is likely to improve your chances of design. The dietician-nutritionist Alexandra Murcier details food and nutrients to favor or to avoid if you have a child’s desire.
To improve the chances of getting pregnant or even ensuring pregnancy in the best possible conditions, both for the mother and the baby, it can be good to take stock of her lifestyle: tobacco and other addictive products of course, physical activity and food. Indeed, food and nutrients have a significant impact on the health of the mother and the fetus. Alexandra Murcier, dietitian-nutritionist and co-creator of the personalized nutrition support program Bemumen takes stock of their importance in the realization of a desire for a child.
– Why doctor: Why is it recommended to pay attention to your diet when you have a baby project?
Alexandra Murcier: Food has a role on all the physiological functions of our body, since it is the fuel of our organism. It thus plays as much on our immune system as on the quality of our hair, as much on our energy as improving fertility. How does she boost the chances of getting pregnant in people who have difficulty getting pregnant? A good diet improves the quality of gametes, in particular the spermatic quality and the quality of oocytes, and this will also have an impact on the health of the future baby.
Indeed, it is really more and more scientifically documented, the food of parents during preconception will play a role on the health of the future baby. In addition, paying attention to your plate before getting pregnant avoids starting your pregnancy by being deficient. Which translates into less fatigue.
It should not be forgotten either that food plays a role in several pathologies impacting the fertility of women. For example, polycystic ovary syndrome that affects one in ten women. Moreover, modifying the lifestyle and having an adapted and specific diet are the first -line treatment of the SOPK.
-Are there other disorders impacting fertility that can benefit from nutritional support?
For men and women who are overweight, lose pounds before pregnancy also improves the chances of pregnancy. This once again boosts the spermatic parameters as well as the chances of implantation. On the other hand, the goal is not at all to make a drastic diet that could create important deficiencies, but to lose weight gently and durably. Reducing your BRI is one of the ways to promote the design for overweight people (that is to say that with a BMI greater than 25).
“A pro-fertility regime is likely to boost the chances of getting pregnant by almost 50 %” pregnant “
– What are the products that women have a child’s desire should put on their plate?
It depends a lot on the physiological situation of the patient. For example, for a syndrome of polycystic ovaries, it must be taken into account that this disorder is aggravated by resistance to insulin. Thus, we will recommend, a low glycemic index diet in order to vary the blood sugar level as little as possible. It is therefore necessary to favor foods with the lowest glycemic indices (whole grains, legumes) and limit those with high clues (refined cereals, sweet products).
But in general, omega-3 (nut oil, rapeseed oil, nuts, fatty fish, etc.) have an important role in fertility, since they play on the quality of oocytes. Vitamin B9 is also very important. Also called “folic acid”, it reduces the risk of poor growth in the fetus and certain malformations in the unborn baby. The contribution is mainly done thanks to supplementation, but it is also found in many fresh fruits and vegetables (spinach, salads, broccoli, cauliflowers, beets, red fruits, etc.).
In fact, Dr. Gaskins of the University of Harvard highlighted in 2019 that a pro-far-in-fertility regime is likely to boost the chances of falling pregnant by almost 50 %. It is a diet rich in antioxidants as well as in vitamin B9, dairy products or soybeans.
– Should men also pay attention to their diet when the couple has a baby project?
During fertility problems, men are less subject to hormonal disorders than women. So the food will above all be used to improve spermatic quality. Men wishing to have a child must bet on a menu, once again, very rich in antioxidants, and especially in omega-3. Several studies have, in fact, showed that this nutrient influences spermatic quality (quantity, motility, structure, etc.). On the other hand, unlike women, future dads should avoid soybeans.
Ultra-transformed additives and foods: “What poses the most problem is the cocktail effect”
– Several studies point to the harmful effects of ultra-transformed products on fertility. Are they also to be avoided?
Indeed, very processed foods are to be avoided during a baby project. In fact, there are additives in these products that can have a negative role in fertility. To try to use the least possible additives, you have to choose the foods that will be the least processed as possible, by checking the labels.
Fortunately, the most dangerous additives for fertility are prohibited in the European Union. We must also pay attention to those in circulation who are suspected of being “potentially” harmful to fertility. But, what poses the most problem is the cocktail effect. The overexposure to additives in our diet can lead to a cumulative effect that can be problematic for health and fertility.
Beyond food additives, it is also necessary to be wary of the potentially present endocrine disruptors. Indeed, many processed foods are wrapped in plastic. There is a risk that they will contain endocrine disruptors that can disrupt our hormonal system.
It is also recommended to avoid pesticides, and therefore to favor organic fruits and vegetables. You also have to try to lower your sugar consumption. As I have already indicated, carbohydrates exacerbate fertility problems in women with a sopk, but also in those suffering from endometriosis.
We try to reduce omega-6 consumption too, because the latter has a pro-inflammatory action. It is therefore harmful in the case of endometriosis and sopk.
Of course, avoid alcohol. Regular consumption alters sperm, without forgetting its harmful consequences on the fetus.
It is also advisable to reduce animal products. In fact, ideally, it would be necessary to stretch towards a 50 % protein diet of animal origin and 50 % vegetable proteins.
Pro-Feritility Food: “It takes a little time to observe an effect”
– When should you start paying attention to your diet?
I recommend paying attention to your diet at least three months before design. For what ? Because as for any change of diet or for any food supplement cure, it takes a little time to observe an effect. In addition, the creation of a sperm from A to Z lasts four months. And for women, it’s the same. The oocyte of February began to mature 3 to 4 months before. So pay attention to your diet at least 3 to 4 months before design is good.
On the other hand, if there is a weight loss which must be put in place, it is then necessary to consider a longer period. The goal is to avoid a woman’s career before a pregnancy, at risk otherwise, to start her tired pregnancy and in lack of recommended micronutrients. Do not hesitate to consult healthcare professionals if necessary.
