Diet and lifestyle are crucial fertility factors

By Rosie Shelley Saturday October 24th, 2009

Fertility is a blessing (or a curse!) that was taken for granted in our parents’ or grandparents’ day, but the times are always changing, and with them our environment, our lifestyles and our bodies. According to a report out last month from the Women’s Health Council, as many as one in six couples is now unable to conceive naturally.

There are various reasons why people are having more difficulty getting pregnant. Susannah Lawson, co-author of Optimum Nutrition Before, During and After Pregnancy, feels that ‘In general, people are in poorer health today. Stressful modern lifestyles, nutrient-depleted food and greater exposure to environmental pollutants are all taking their toll. It’s also more common for couples to wait until they’re older before they start trying for a baby.’

Age of course is a crucial factor: fertility falls off sharply around the age of 35 in both sexes (in men, sperm quality is compromised), and a woman in her thirties may take twice as long to conceive as a woman in her twenties. The average amount of time it takes is around six months, but it’s worth remembering that we’re all different: 18 months is not uncommon, and taking longer than that doesn’t by any means signal infertility. The desire for a baby can become all-consuming, and the monthly failure to conceive can be truly devastating, but there is a great deal we can do to boost our chances of establishing and maintaining a healthy pregnancy if we take a good look at the way we live.

If you have been trying for a baby for a year or so without success, then the first thing to do is see your doctor to rule out any basic obstacles, such as hormonal imbalances in women or poor/low sperm count in men. Your GP can also screen for infections such as chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection that often carries no symptoms and is rampant amongst men and women of childbearing years. If untreated it can damage the fallopian tubes and attack sperm, and some experts believe it to be the single largest cause of infertility in Western Europe.

Once you have a clean bill of health, the next step is to address your diet and lifestyle – the most crucial factors in both female and male fertility. Susannah Lawson points out that while the average success rate for (expensive, stressful) IVF is around 22%, the British charity Foresight achieves a 78% success rate in otherwise healthy couples, using nutritional methods alone.

It stands to reason that a healthy pregnancy – and a healthy baby – are dependent on the best possible levels of all the nutrients. Vitamin A is vital for male and female hormone health (but should not be supplemented), while the B vitamins reduce female infertility and miscarriage, and the possibility of birth defects. Vitamin C is crucial for healthy sperm and ovaries, while E is especially important for overall reproductive health – studies have shown supplementation resulting in higher rates of pregnancy amongst those with unexplained infertility. We know that women trying to conceive should be taking folic acid (one of the B vitamins) to prevent birth defects, but it can also lower the risk of miscarriage and improve sperm quality in men.

The mineral zinc, found in seeds and nuts, seafood and poultry, is both one of the most important nutrients for reproductive health, and one that we most commonly lack. Calcium and magnesium work to balance female hormones, while chromium can raise the sperm count. A deficiency in another mineral, selenium, is strongly associated with infertility, while iron is important for hormonal as well as general health. And finally, the healthy fats found in oily fish, nuts and seeds and dark leafy greens are vital for normal functioning of the entire reproductive system. The best sources of all these nutrients are listed here, along with suggested herbs and supplements for those who are keen to try this natural approach. The herb Red Clover, for example, is a traditional fertility booster for women – offering amongst other virtues an astonishingly high, and very absorbable mineral content. Your local healthfood store will advise you about any of these herbs, and in this case I really would advise supplementing vitamins and minerals as well – modern farming techniques mean that our foods are simply not sufficiently nutrient dense for our purpose.

When it comes to lifestyle issues, stress is perhaps the number one enemy when it comes to achieving a healthy pregnancy. One German study of 2,000 infertile couples, for example, found stress to be the cause in 25% of cases, the reason being that adrenalin and cortisol interfere with that all-important hormone balance, not to mention libido, and of course sleep – a lack of which has a knock-on effect on the hormones. Maintaining a reasonable weight, and keeping blood sugar levels steady is also vital for hormone balance, so eat low GI foods (wholegrains and pulses, vegetables, protein, a little fruit and healthy oils) and avoid sugar and all refined foods, cigarettes, fizzy drinks, alcohol and caffeine. Drinking more than one or two cups of coffee a day (two or three cups of tea is fine) can lower fertility and raise the risk of miscarriage, while drinking alcohol can cut female conception in half and damage sperm. Other no-nos are the unhealthy fats in fried foods and too much animal fat, and food additives and sweeteners. Soya products may impair male fertility in particular, and you might want to avoid the hormones in non-organic meat and the pesticides in non-organic fruit and veg. There are also a few things that can impair fertility that might not occur to us, such as some over-the-counter painkillers and cold remedies, as well as lubricant jellies, which can kill off 70% of sperm.

And this may seem obvious, but once a week isn’t enough! Ideally, you should be having sex every other day, but don’t turn it into a chore – remember those stress levels, but remember too that sex releases relaxing and bonding feel-good chemicals in the brain. Men should do everything they can to keep themselves cool down below; avoid hot tubs and saunas, wear boxers rather than underpants, and a really good tip is to shower the genital area with cold water every day. Moderate exercise is vital for the physical and mental wellbeing of both parties, and will help keep your weight down. Other stress-relieving techniques like yoga and meditation have a proven beneficial effect. And if you want further proof that this natural approach works, my husband and I tried it after three years of heartbreaking failure to conceive, and one year later our big, healthy boy was born.