Dian Shepperson Mills
Cert Ed., BA., Dip ION, MA
The Endometriosis and Fertility Clinic
Having an optimistic attitude and a healthy body are probably very important for fertility. Excellent health and sound nutrition may well enhance your chances of a successful pregnancy. Our reproductive function is literally fed by what we eat. If we chose poor quality food, it would not be surprising that we may have poor quality fertility. Yet, many women are eating to the best of their ability, so it may be that their digestion is compromised and they are just not absorbing nutrients from their food effectively. We know from the vast amounts of laxatives and indigestion tablets sold each year that many people have digestion problems. Essential nutrients are crucial for the working of the endocrine system, and it would appear that we might have to correct the digestive system first.
In the UK 722.500, 000 babies were born in 2005. The largest number of births was in 1920 when 1,126,800 babies were born (1). We know from research that approximately 1:20 men are sub-fertile and 1:15 women are sub-fertile. The miscarriage rate averages are 23.6 per cent in women with normal ovaries and 35.8 per cent in women with polycystic ovaries. Hundreds of babies are born prematurely. All prospective parents want a healthy baby, not a sickly one. Women get pregnant naturally up to the age of 52 years, all around the world. The average age of first time mothers in the UK is around 27 years of age.
Making Healthy Babies
We think of a 9 -month gestation as the period for the baby to be produced. However, both the sperm and ova need to be healthy before they meet and form the blastocyst, and then implant into a healthy endometrium and form a baby. The endocrine glands, ovaries, testes, uterus, pituitary, thyroid and adrenal glands all require nutrients to function. The hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadol axis is very sensitive to B vitamin intake (2). The hormonal messages have to pass from one gland to another. If the messages are garbled the glands will not work effectively.
A diet of too many convenience foods and too few fruits and vegetables, unnatural trans fats and oils, excess sugars and refined carbohydrates will provide a diet which is deficient in nutrients required by the mother to be. Fast foods are often low in B vitamins and essential minerals and trace elements such as zinc, manganese, magnesium, selenium and iodine.
Men are able to make a fresh supply of sperm continually so food choice is vital to their formation. It takes three months to build a healthy sperm with a rich nutrient supply. Furthermore, it takes 120 days for sperm to recover if harmful chemicals (mutagenic substances) have damaged sperm production (3).
Women are born with a supply of ova in their ovaries, and by puberty 400,000 are present. The health of these eggs depends upon how healthy their own mother was during her pregnancy. If their mother smoked or drank heavily throughout their pregnancy, ovary development may have been damaged, thus their daughter's fertility may have been compromised (4,5).
Nurturing The Ovary
Proteins and cold pressed oils from nuts, seeds and oily fish are precursors to hormone and enzyme production. Eating a supply of protein at each meal and a cold pressed olive oil may aid fertility. A low protein diet causes far fewer ova to ripen or be released.
The pituitary gland requires all the B vitamins for it to work correctly and send the right hormone signals to the ovaries (6). Other research suggests that the ovaries require vitamin E and C, the minerals, iodine, selenium, zinc, magnesium and essential fatty acids. Most of these nutrients are found in a diet of lean meat, fish, fruits and vegetables, pulses, berries and some dairy foods.
Testes Needs
Testes produce seminal fluid, which is high in vitamin C to protect the sperm from damage and improve motility and mobility. Vitamin E enhances the ability of sperm to fertilize the ova in test tubes. Zinc is critical in male reproduction (zinc and vitamin E increase testosterone levels, which is responsible for sperm production) and low zinc status may contribute to infertility. (7) The head and tail for sperm are rich in zinc. Vitamin B12 improves sperm count and motility. Deficiencies of vitamin A in the diet may cause sperm abnormalities. Selenium, iodine, manganese, magnesium deficiencies are linked to low sperm count and testicular degeneration. Manganese deficiency is linked to mutagenic changes and infertility. Research suggests that 'manganese deficiency causes testicular degeneration'. (8). The amino acids L arginine and L carnitine are also plentiful in sperm. Good quality oils and proteins from oily fish, nuts and seeds are important for cell membrane integrity.
Womb Needs
The womb produces many different prostaglandins and the rich endometrium lining nurtures the fertilized ova after implantation. The placenta is built from this lush nutrient rich layer. A healthy placenta will lead to a healthy baby as it gathers the maternal hormones and nutrients to feed the embryo via its bloodstream. If the mother's nutrition stores are inadequate then the baby will have poor nourishment and may not develop properly (9). Vegetables were the most important contributor of magnesium, required to build healthy cell membranes, with dairy products in second place and they were more important than dairy produce as a source of B vitamins. (10). Low intakes of B vitamins may also slow down the ripening of the egg before conception and be affecting fertility. The hypothalamus in other mammals reacts to a severe deficiency of any of these B vitamins (particularly riboflavin [B2] by inhibiting GnRH secretion and so causing infertility (11). Eating well for 3 months before conception will ensure that adequate nutrients are available to the developing baby.
Dietary Advice
In order to maximize the chances of conception and pregnancy, a diet rich in vitamins and minerals, phytochemicals, proteins, complex carbohydrates and natural cis fatty acids is essential. This is not difficult. It means eating the freshest healthiest food you can afford for 3 months before conception and for the nine months of pregnancy and whilst you breast feed. Fresh fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, peas, beans, lentils, organic lean meat, oily fish, some organic dairy products and eggs are suggested. It's actually eating as your great grandparents ate - fresh foods untainted with chemicals and cooked carefully without additives. After all, many people from that generation are now living long and healthy lives into their nineties. We all want all our children to live a life that is going to be a healthy one.
Healthy Eating Suggestions
Nutritional Supplements
Nutritional supplements are tools to improve body biochemistry and to correct biochemical imbalances, whilst dietary nutrients from fresh food is being supported. A good mutli-vitamin-mineral capsule, along with a vitamin C and essential fatty acids - omega 3-6-9 oils may help to restore the body's natural balance.
We know from published McCance and Widowson data that compared from 1939 to 1991 that in many plants the mineral levels are down by a third or three-quarters from the levels our grandparents ate (12). We therefore need to eat more fruit and vegetables than they did in order to obtain the same level of nutrients. The Harvard School of Public Health new food pyramid, from professors of epidemiology and nutrition, suggests that everyone needs a daily mutli-vitamin-mineral to correct this loss (13).
Of course all the supplements should be free from allergens, wheat, dairy, sugars, yeasts and unnecessary excipients, which is why capsule form is usually suggested.
Nutritional supplements will be useless however, unless the digestive tract is working efficiently. Therefore the use of acidophilus, digestive enzymes and gut membrane healing substances (such as slippery elm), and anti-yeast supplements may be required before pregnancy is attempted.
Diet plays a major role in fertility and the birth of healthy babies, with healthy mothers. Burke et al, looked at mothers who had eaten good/excellent diets, they gave birth to babies judged to be in good/superior health 94 per cent of the time. Contrasted with mother's whose diets were classified as poor and whose infants had good health only 8 per cent of the time (14).
Three regular meals each day and two healthy snacks are essential to bring vital nutrients into the body. Research has shown that a nutritious breakfast is key. Remember what our grandmother taught us - "eat right, exercise and reflect".
© Dian Shepperson Mills 2007
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