Fertility and Foods: Help Extend Your Fertility!

Ultimately, a woman's genes play a large role in determining her ability to get pregnant, but ensuring she has a healthy weight and diet certainly ups her chances of conception.William Gibbons, director of the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at Baylor College of Medicine, revealed that weight before getting pregnant is often an overlooked factor in fertility.In one study, researchers evaluated the body mass index (BMI) of 2,112 pregnant women. Women in the study who had a pre-pregnancy BMI of 25-39, considered overweight or obese, had a twofold increase in the time it took to get pregnant. Women with a BMI less than 19, had a fourfold increase in time to conception.

All the more reason for women to maintain a healthy diet!Women's Health Magazine recently chatted with holistic health counselor Alisa Vitti (Link to the interview) about the ways conception-friendly diet choices can increase a woman's odds of getting pregnant. Vitti, founder of the food therapy program FloLiving.com, explained that the first step towards a healthier reproductive system is balancing your hormones through diet.Let's take a look at Vitti's list of fertility-boosting foods:

Fertility and Foods:

Avocados

Fruits that are high in monounsaturated fats (the good kind of fat) have the potential to improve fertility. Luckily, these satisfying fruits are full of monounsaturated fats!One study found that women who ate the highest amount of these healthy nutrients while undergoing IVF therapy had triple the success rate of those who ate the lowest.

Sunflower Seeds

Rich in zinc, these salty seeds can help balance the reproductive hormones and lead to higher quality eggs. So take down a handful of these three times a week--no one will mind the crunching!

Cinnamon

This spice has insulin-reducing powers and may help increase your ovulation rate. Sprinkle some in your tea or smoothies. Or just use this as your cue to believe that cinnamon cookies are good for you!

Eggs

You can soft-boil them or even poach them twice a week--just don't scramble them. Keeping the yolks runny preserves their vitamin D and B6 content, both of which trigger the production of progesterone, a hormone necessary for pregnancy.

Buckwheat

Rich in compounds that help lower insulin and testosterone levels, buckwheat can help enhance ovulation. Cook up a quarter cup to eat with dinner three times a week.