Super-Foods For Fertility
Get in tiptop baby-making shape with these five super-foods!
Whole Grains
Everyone is always talking low-carb diets, but the woman who is trying to conceive must have carbohydrates. However, not just any carbohydrate will do. A woman who is trying to become pregnant needs plenty of complex carbohydrates such as whole grain breads, oatmeal, stone-ground cornmeal, and brown rice. These won't cause spikes in your blood sugar and insulin levels the way that refined carbohydrates like white bread, white sugar, and bleached flour can.
The fact is that anything enhancing insulin function boosts your fertility. Whole grains also provide you with long-lasting energy and are packed with vitamins E and B; both essential for the process of cellular reproduction, the manufacture of healthy sperm and eggs, and the proper balance of hormones.
Plant Protein
While no one expects you to become a vegan, phyto-proteins, or protein from plant sources is linked to an increase in fertility while protein sources like poultry and red meat are associated with a decrease in your ability to conceive. So pile your plate with legumes and peanuts. Beans are loaded with iron, another known fertility-booster.
Full-Fat Dairy Products
Research performed by Harvard scientists discovered that women who consume whole milk, full-fat ice creams and yogurt have fewer ovulatory disorders. Besides, calcium can help with fertility by bolstering your nervous system, bones, and blood. Keep in mind that the Harvard researchers advised women to limit these full-fat products to a single daily serving.
Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
Fresh fruits and vegetables are filled with antioxidants, good for promoting both general and reproductive health. But there is also a subset of fruits and veggies that contain high amounts of folate or folic acid: strawberries, citrus fruits, and leafy green vegetables. Folic acid is essential for the production of healthy ovaries and sperm. This nutrient can also prevent neural tube defects during the earliest days and weeks of your pregnancy. At the same time, you get some vitamin C and iron, both of which improve sperm quality and help to maintain your health.
Healthy Fats
Aim to include a moderate amount of monounsaturated and polyunsatured fats, as well as omega-3 fatty acids. These fats serve to increase your body's sensitivity to insulin and to reduce inflammation. You need a certain amount of the right kind of fat to manufacture reproductive hormones and to improve blood flow. These fats also improve sperm motility and quality. Find these fats in salmon, sardines, flaxseed oil, pumpkin seeds, sesame, nuts, and avocados.
Oysters
Oysters have long been touted as an aphrodisiac, but now we've been informed that the shellfish are good for fertility, too. This is due to the fact that oysters contain vast amounts of zinc which boosts the production of healthy sperm and eggs. But, if you don't eat oysters, get your zinc from eggs, beans, pumpkin seeds, nuts, and multi-vitamins.
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