While many factors contributing to fertility might be beyond your control, you can still influence your dietary choices.
Fertility is inherently sensitive, particularly given that numerous factors lie outside our control. Infertility affects a significant portion of couples in Europe, with estimates suggesting that around 10 to 15 percent of couples experience infertility at some point during their reproductive years. However, recent research suggests that specific dietary patterns can help increase fertility, while others might act against it.
Pro-inflammatory diet and its impact on fertility
A study published in the Nutritional Journal indicated that a pro-inflammatory diet increases the likelihood of female infertility by up to 86 percent. This study involved a total of 4,437 women (411 with fertility issues and 4,026 without). Women who followed specific diets, consumed less than 800 or more than 4,200 calories per day, or had conditions such as neurological, liver, and endocrine diseases that could affect the results were excluded from the study. Each participant completed food frequency questionnaires to determine their score on the Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII). This index considers 45 dietary parameters, including fiber content, vitamins, and fats. A higher DII score indicates a higher percentage of pro-inflammatory foods in the daily diet. Participants were divided into four groups, ranging from the lowest to the highest pro-inflammatory scores. After analyzing the data, researchers concluded that those with higher DII scores were up to 86 percent more likely to experience fertility problems compared to those with lower scores.
Understanding a pro-inflammatory diet
A pro-inflammatory diet refers to a diet that increases chronic inflammation in the body. Examples of pro-inflammatory foods include refined sugars, processed meats, and processed and fast carbohydrates. While this study doesn’t specify particular foods to consume or avoid, the suggested general approach is to move towards more complete and natural foods. Interestingly, the highest fiber intake was found in the first group, even though their overall calorie intake was the lowest.
- “Our findings suggest that a diet rich in plant fibers and omega-3 fatty acids while low in unhealthy dietary factors such as simple sugars and saturated fats could be considered a suitable approach to reducing the risk of infertility,” the researchers stated.
What is good anti-inflammatory food?
There’s no universal anti-inflammatory diet that works for everyone, but you can work on replacing refined sugars and processed foods with natural, fiber-rich options. Here are a few helpful tips:
Consume at least 25 grams of fiber daily.
Limit saturated fat to 10 percent of daily calories.
Include foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
Use healthy cooking oils.
Keep in mind that diet certainly isn’t the sole factor affecting fertility. However, it’s one of the factors you can influence, making it useful to experiment with reducing pro-inflammatory foods. Additional factors influencing fertility include stress, poor sleep quality, lack of daily exercise, and more.
