While all nutrients are important for health there are some you should avoid when trying to conceive and although they don’t directly impact your fertility they do indirectly. If you drink fruit juices and you assume you’ve taken the required foods for the day then you got it all wrong.
And here are the foods you should avoid when trying to conceive;
1. Sugar, soda & pasteurized juices
Juices such as bottled apple juice, orange and pineapple juice and other bottled fruit juice contain concentrated sugar and they can make your blood sugar levels imbalance. Also, they can negatively affect your immune system and hormonal balance.Therefore, avoid processed or refined and artificial sugars. Instead, use honey and maple syrup if you need to sweeten your beverages. Also, reduce your salt intake.
2. Caffeine
It’s not only during pregnancy that caffeine is not advised, studies have shown that caffeine can affect your hormonal balance, increase your chances of a miscarriage and prevent you from ovulating.
3. Soya Foods
It has been shown that soy foods contain estrogen mimicking properties. Therefore, avoid processed soya foods such as soya milk, soya beans, soya meat, soya cheese, soya powder, soya chips, soy burgers, to avoid a negative impact on your hormonal balance. Men included.
4. GMO Foods
Genetically Modified foods are posing a real problem to fertility and increasing infertility rates worldwide. Sperm counts have reduced since the 1970’s and the world’s male population have declined as much as 40-50%, according to some studies. Which is why you should buy organic foods directly from farmers, not ones that have been processed and injected.
5. Fat-Free Foods
Eat foods that are low in fat and don’t be deceived when you see foods labelled as fat-free or low-fat because they are highly processed and high in sugar. Choose foods that are sold as made by nature, like full-fat diary, (yoghurt, milk, egg….) better increase chances of fertility over low-fat ones. Our body needs fat to produce hormones.
Important Foods Specifically for Fertility
Some foods are known to directly impact on fertility so here is a list of nutrients and the foods that contain them;
The major nutrients you need are fat, protein and fibre. Other nutrients you need are fatty acid, zinc, selenium, iron, folic acid, B6, B12, lipoic acid, vitamin C, CoQ10, vitamin E, vitamin D.
Below are a few foods that contain these nutrients, the good thing is that they pack a lot of nutrition per serving.
- Eggs – Contains Vitamin D, B12, Protein
- Nuts and Seeds()- Contain Omega 3, Zinc, Vitamin E, Protein
- Grass-fed meats() – Contain Omega 3, Iron, B12, Protein
- Dark leafy Vegetables – Contain Iron, Folic acid, B6, Vitamin E
- Fruit – Contain Vitamin C, Flavonoids, Variety of antioxidants
- Colorful veggies – Contain B6, Vitamin C
- Fish and Shell Fish – Contain Vitamin D, Omega 3, Zinc, Selenium, B12, CoQ10
- Liver – Contains Vitamin D, Zinc, Selenium, Iron, Folic Acid, B12, CoQ10 vitamin D, zinc, iron, folic acid and B12
- Beans – especially lentils contains Iron, Folic Acid
- Raw or cultured dairy – ContainVitamin D, B12, Zinc
Tips and Tricks
- Veggies: Juice your vegetables and drink, works better that way
- Dark leafy greens: Make them into juices or smoothie
- Fruit: To get all the fruits you need, buy all of them and make them into smoothie
- Nuts: You can also add nuts to your smoothie including your oatmeal and cookies.
- Eggs: Creativel;y add eggs to all your meals like fried rice, in custard, omelets, frittatas
- Liver: You can add liver into sauce or even your vegetable soup. Find a way to eat it at least once in a week.
- Beans: Try various types of beans especially lentils.
If you can get these superfoods, they also boost fertility;
- Maca Royal Jelly
- Bee Propolis and Bee Pollen: From the bee and they are rich in nutrients.
- Spirulina, Wheat Grass, and Leafy Green Vegetables
Make sure you incorporate these foods into your everyday meal.
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