One’s overall health and well being certainly plays an important role in infertility and trying to conceive. Doing things to improve one’s health, such as exercising, changing your diet and taking supplements can help to increase your ability to become pregnant.

Females:

Decreasing inflammation in the gut and throughout the body, provides a more ideal place for conception to occur. This can be done by eating a diet that is limited in processed foods and junk food, and by eating more olive oil, nuts, seeds, oily fish, pasture-fed meat, and live yogurt (or probiotic supplements). All of which have been shown to decrease inflammation throughout the body.

Nutritional supplements, specifically one’s that contain chasteberry, L-arginine, vitamins (including folate) and minerals, have been shown to improve pregnancy rates and could be used in conjunction with conventional infertility therapies.

Avoiding caffeine, alcohol and tobacco not only improves fertility, but prepares women for pregnancy when those things should be stopped completely.

Being overweight can also contribute to infertility. Improving your diet and exercising to decrease your body weight by as little as 5% can improve infertility significantly.

Males:

Studies have shown that a diet consisting of fish, chicken, fruits, vegetables, and whole grains improved motility up to 11% compared to those who eat red or processed meat, refined grains, snacks and sweets. However, red meat is also rich in carnitine, vitamins, iron, protein, and natural animals fats, all of which are are important to overall health, so cutting it out of the diet completely may not be necessary.

There is also evidence that a diet high in trans fats, such as margarine, hydrogenated vegetable oils, and to a smaller extent in meat and dairy products, leads to an increased level of trans fatty acids in sperm, which is related to lower sperm concentration.

Drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana or tobacco can also decrease sperm count and motility, so this should be eliminated while trying to conceive.

Certain dietary supplements, such as L carnitine, Acetyl L carnitine, CoEnzyme Q10, Vitamin E and Selenium have also been shown to improve sperm count, morphology (shape) and motility. More importantly, a 2004 study showed increased pregnancy rates with infertile men that used these vitamin supplements (21.8%) versus placebo (1.7%). These are even available in a single supplement, called Proxeed.

References:

  • Agarwal A, Nallella KP, Allamaneni SS, Said TM. Role of antioxidants in treatment of male infertility: an overview of the literature. Reprod Biomed Online. 2004 Jun;8(6):616-627. Review. www.rbmonline.com/Article/1284 on web 7 April 2004.
  • Balercia G, et al.. Placebo-controlled double-blind randomized trial on the use of L-carnitine, L-acetylcarnitine, or combined L-carnitine and L-acetylcarnitine in men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia. Fertil Steril. 2005 Sep;84(3):662-71
  • Beauchamp G, et al. Ibuprofen-like activity in extra-virgin olive oil. Nature 2005;437.
  • Cavallini G, Ferraretti AP, Gianaroli L et al. Cinnoxicam and L-carnitine/acetyl-L-carnitine treatment for idiopathic and varicocele-associated oligoasthenospermia. J Androl. 2004 Sep-Oct;25(5):761-770.
  • Chavarro, et al. Trans fatty acid levels in sperm are associated with sperm concentration among men from an infertility clinic. Fertil Steril. 2011 Apr;95(5):1794-7. Epub 2010 Nov 11
  • Collier-Hymans LS and Neish AS. Innate immune relationship between commensal flora and the mammalian intestinal epithelium. Cell Mol Life Sci 2005; 62-1339-48.
  • Crawford MA, et al. Comparative studies in fatty acid composition of wild and domestic meats. Int J Biochem 1970;1(3):295-300.
  • Gaskin, et al. Dietary patterns and semen quality in young men. Hum Reprod. 2012 Oct;27(10):2899-907. Epub 2012 Aug 11
  • Menchini-Fabris GF et al. Free L-carnitine in human semen: its variability in different andrologic pathologies. Fertil Steril. 1984 Aug;42(2):263-7.
  • Sheil B, et al. Probiotic effects on inflammatory bowel disease. J Nutri 2007;137:819-24S
  • Wall R, et al. Fatty acids from fish, the anti-inflammatory potential of long-chain-fatty-acids. Nutri Rev 2010;68:280-9.
  • Westfall LM, et al. Double-blind, placebo-controlled study of Fertilityblend: a nutritional supplement for improving fertility in women. Clin Exp Obstet Gynecol. 2006;33(4):205-8.

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