Whether you’re just thinking about getting pregnant, you actively trying to get pregnant or already struggling with infertility, these are the foods that needs to be included in your diet on a regular basis, because they’re been shown to nourish the body system, balance your hormones and help promote fertility.
Asparagus
The first food that should be included in your diet is asparagus. Asparagus are a great source of folate, which is necessary for healthy ovulation. Folate is also important for healthy sperm production and the quantity of sperm. So both of you want to definitely include asparagus in your diet.
Asparagus is also an excellent source of glutathione which is a master antioxidant which will help your overall immune system.
Black beans
The second food that should be included in your diet are black beans. According to Chinese medicine, when you’re trying to get pregnant you want to nourish the kidneys, you also want to build up your blood, and black beans are a great way to do that. They’re a great source of protein, folate, zinc and vitamin B, so by including black beans in your diet on a regular basis would be suggestion number two.
Another food that can help with fertility are avocados. You can add them into your diet on a regular basis. Avocados are a great source of glutathione, folate and potassium, but more importantly these are great source of monounsaturated fats and studies have shown that couples who have eaten avocados during IVF treatments had a higher success rate than those that did not, so including avocado is also important.
Salmon
Another great addition to your diet is the wild Alaskan salmon. Wild Alaskan salmon contains omega-3 essential fatty acids which reduce inflammation in the body which is necessary for implantation of the egg. Omega-3 fats have also been shown to help with healthy follicle production and healthy cervical fluid production, both necessary for optimal fertility.
Yams
The fifth suggestion is to include yams in your diet. There’s a tribe in Nigeria called the Yoruba tribe that is known for their massive amounts of twin births and they have an enormous amount of yams in their diet.
Yams contain phytoestrogens that helps imbalance your estrogen levels and it also helps promote a little bit of progesterone in your body. This helps with hormonal balance. You need to eat yams the first two weeks of your cycle, first day of your period to day 14 is the optimal time to eat yams and maximize your fertility. However there is one word of caution: in the United States most yams are in the sweet potato family so you really want to look for yams which are either from the Caribbean or from Africa.
Flax seeds
Flax seeds are also a great helper for fertility. Ground flax or flax seed oil would be the best to consume. They are a great source of Vitamin B, magnesium and manganese. They’re also an excellent source of omega-3 and omega-6 essential fatty acids.
Flax seeds has phytoestrogen properties meaning that it balance out your estrogen levels and helps protect you again estrogen dominance, which is quite common in women that have endometriosis, fibroids or heavy periods.
Cruciferous vegetables
The next recommended foods are cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. These vegetables contain something called DIM (Di-Indole Methane). It helps to process harmful estrogens out of your body, out of your liver and help to lower estrogen dominance in your body leading to a greater hormonal balance overall.
Kale
Kale is a dark leafy vegetable with a great source of folate and iron which helps with the individual lining. So if you’re trying to boost your fertility, this makes a great reason to eat kale.
If you want to maximize your nutrient intake and get the most out of them, you can combine all these foods together.
Foods to be avoided
All the above foods are great to be included in your diet, but there’s more than this: there are some key foods that you should be avoiding if you’re trying to get pregnant, and these foods are:
You need to avoid trans fats, the kind of hydrogenated fats in processed food. They not only wreck your immune system, but they also block your body’s ability to absorb essential fatty acids like omega-3, fats found in salmon and in flax.
You also want to avoid sugar and refined foods. They lead to inflammatory response in the body and they can disrupt your hormonal balance. You need to avoid alcohol because can also disrupt your hormonal balance and lead to estrogen dominance. You want to minimize or avoid caffeine, because that can also have a detrimental effect to your fertility.
So here you have a good opportunity to use delicious and amazing food to maximize your health and well-being. It’s so simple to change your diet. You just need the right suggestions and then you need to put them into play.