Fertility fixes: natural options for enhancing your fertility health can help you conceive—and calm your emotions

Natural Health, March, 2008 by Marie Myung-Ok Lee

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GETTING PREGNANT seems like the most natural process in the world, until you go several months--or without conceiving. Then the struggle to become a parent quickly becomes an emotional and physical ordeal. Many couples visit fertility experts who often recommend fertility drugs or invasive medical intervention. "Reproductive technology is overused," says Christiane Northrup, M.D., an advocate for women's health and author of Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (Bantam, 2006). "There is so much you can do naturally to enhance fertility. Technology should be a last resort."

Natural methods including stress reduction (which can help rebalance hormones) and acupuncture (which can help increase the flow of blood to the uterus) have proven effective in clinical studies. What's more, drug-free methods strengthen your immune system, improve mindfulness, and help you get more in touch with your body--all of which improve the overall quality of your life and health.

change your diet

"Ovulatory infertility can be prevented and potentially reversed through dietary and lifestyle changes," says Jorge Chavarro, M.D., a Harvard School of Public Health Research fellow in the department of nutrition and coauthor of The Fertility Diet (McGraw-Hill, 2007). Chavarro led the diet analyses in the Nurses' Health Study II, a landmark health study that in 1989 began looking at the habits of more than 123,000 female nurses--18,555 of whom were trying to become pregnant. From this study (fertility results were published in 1994), researchers learned that junk foods can harm fertility if they contain trans fats--also known as hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fat--typically found in commercially produced baked goods, fried foods, and processed snacks. Chavarro believes that such fats derail ovulation by interfering with a cell receptor that controls inflammation, glucose metabolism, and insulin sensitivity.

ELIMINATE OR REDUCE WHITE SUGAR AND FLOUR

"Eat foods that keep your blood sugar balanced," says Northrup. That means reducing or eliminating all white sugar and white flour products (the Nurses' Study showed more pregnancy success for women who followed such diets) including baked goods (doughnuts, muffins, and cake) and pasta, white bread, white potatoes, many breakfast cereals, and white rice.

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BUY ORGAN IC To reduce your exposure to pesticides, stick to organic foods. Many pesticides contain estrogen-mimicking endocrine disrupters and other reproductive toxins, says Julia Indichova, author of Inconceivable (Broadway Books, 2001) and The Fertile Female (Adell Press, 2007).

Shop for organic versions of foods that normally have high levels of additives or residual pesticides, Like meat, poultry, rice, oats, vegetables (especially onions, potatoes, celery, spinach, and green beans), as well as fruit such as strawberries, peaches, apples, grapes, and bananas.

GET ENOUGH PROTEIN Eat at least 2.5 ounces of protein a day, says Jill Blakeway, acupuncturist at the YinOva Center in New York City. Protein contains amino acids essential for egg production and vital for producing fertility-promoting hormones, LH and FSH, she says. Look for it in meat, fish, eggs, dairy products, lentils, beans, brown rice, quinoa, and sunflower seeds. "I tell my vegetarian clients to eat protein with at least two meals a day," says Blakeway. "But I don't give strict orders, because it's important for them to stay relaxed."

EAT SOME FAT A small amount of fat is important for your body to make fertility-related hormones, says Blakeway. Eat a handful of nuts and seeds for unsaturated fat and a small amount of polyunsaturated fat from fish each day, she suggests. You'll find essential fatty acids in oily fish, cod liver oil, flaxseed oil, eggs, pumpkin seeds, leafy green vegetables, and soy products. You can also try Ultimate Off softgel tablets from Nature's Secret, says Blakeway; a blend of cold-pressed organic oils, they offer "a good balance" of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

TAKE A FERTILITY SUPPLEMENT Perhaps the best-studied supplement for fertility is Fertility-Blend for Women (fertilityblend.com), made by the Daffy Wellness Company. The formula contains a long list of fertility boosters, including the antioxidants vitamin E and selenium, as well as folic acid and L-arginine, an amino acid that stimulates and improves circulation in the reproductive organs. FertilityBlend was tested as part of a 2005 Stanford University clinical trial (published in the Journal of Reproductive Medicine) involving 30 women ages 24 to 46 who had tried unsuccessfully to conceive for six to 36 months. After five months, five of the 15 women taking the supplement became pregnant compared with none in the placebo group. (Note: Since one ingredient, Vitex, may not be therapeutic for all reproductive disorders, check with your doctor before using FertilityBlend.)

eating better: one woman's experience For Lynda Fassa, a jet-setting model since age 16, skipping meals, smoking, and using only "diet" products (like artificial sweeteners) were just part of the job. But when Fassa approached age 30 and wanted to start a family, she knew she'd have to change her ways. At only 115 pounds and 5'9 1/2", she had rarely menstruated since her teens--a sign she wasn't ovulating. Fassa threw out her cigarettes and switched from a diet of Doritos, sodas, and cappuccinos to regular meals of wholesome organic foods including fruit smoothies, hummus and pita sandwiches, and plenty of vegetables. In a month, Fassa gained eight pounds and her period returned. Within four weeks of her first cycle, Fassa was pregnant; she gave birth to a baby girl in 1993 and has remained focused on healthful eating and living ever since. She is now the author of Green Babies, Sage Morns: The Ultimate Guide to Raising Your Organic Baby (New American Library, 2008).