The Conception & it’s balanced Diet

(What you eat, and how much you eat, can affect your ability to conceive a child, in both positive and negative manner. Having a healthy weight helps your body for baby-making.)

To conceive is to become pregnant or to come up with an idea. Both imply planting a seed for something, either a baby or a thought.

Latin roots for conceive (by way of French) point to “take into” either “the womb” or “the mind.” An idea is sometimes called “a seed” or “the seed of an idea,” and conceive means to produce something from inside the mind.

The thing we can’t have is the thing we crave the most. This aphorism is never more true than when it comes to having children. Alarming new research, showing that a woman’s fertility begins to decline at age of 27 — rather than 35 as had long been believed — has brought new urgency to the debate as to ‘right’ age to have a baby.

But given the fact that we live in an era where women put careers first and try for children later — later in fact than at any time in modern history — it is not surprising to discover a burgeoning interest in natural ways of prolonging fertility. The statistics show that while one in six couples has trouble conceiving, the most common cause is ‘unexplained infertility’, rather than hard medical reasons, such as blocked Fallopian tubes or ovulatory failure.

However, a study by the University of Surrey gives hope that ‘unexplained infertility’ is not as inexplicable as previously believed. It shows that couples with a history of infertility, can achieve a phenomenal 80 per cent success rate if they alter their lifestyle, diet and take nutritional supplements.

You’re ready to have a baby! Now what? Trying to conceive can be exciting and fun, but it can also be frustrating. Being in tune with your body can greatly increase your chances of becoming pregnant.

Take a holiday
Many women fall pregnant on holiday. Why? Because this is when they relax. Stress is an enemy of fertility and anything that relieves it is encouraged. Alternative therapies — such as reflexology, homeopathy, acupuncture and yoga — can help achieve the desired emotional and psychological state.

Be patient
It takes three months for an egg to travel from a group of follicles to be selected as the egg that is released on a cycle. It also takes three months for a man to generate a completely new batch of sperm. Expect to wait four months before lifestyle and dietary changes have an effect.

Better sex
All this focus on dietary and lifestyle changes can leave you forgetting that however healthily you eat and live, the most important element is (Sex)*.

But not every night. Just remember, sperm are likefootball players — you have to give them a rest, otherwise you end up having to field your reserve team.

Why Eat A Natural-Fertility Diet?

• Did you know that there are specific nutrients that are needed by the young fetus before you can even detect pregnancy. And a deficiency in these nutrients could cause serious birth defects?
• Did you know that the foods you eat today impact the health of your eggs and sperm 90 days from now?
• Did you know that hormones build themselves from the ingredients you provide through your diet?
• Did you know that the number one treatment for balancing PCOS and getting pregnant despite it is diet?

Did you know that what you don’t eat is just as important as what you do eat?

Did you know that the number one cause of infertility (anovulation- lack of ovulation) can many times be remedied by changes in the diet?

Eating a Natural Fertility Diet is something everyone can do regardless of location, fertility issue, age, time, and money. We all eat, so why not eat in a way that supports your fertility.

What exactly is a healthy diet?

For both men and women, food and fertility are linked. If you and your husband stick to a healthy, balanced diet, you can boost your chances of conceiving and of having a healthy baby.

So, what is a healthy diet? A healthy diet simply means eating a ‘’balanced diet’’.

The most important mineral for female (as well as male) fertility is zinc, this is because many foods are stripped in the process of being refined, and because of depletion of the soil due to intensive farming.

Wheat, for example, contains zinc, but 80 per cent is removed in the manufacture of bread to extend its shelf life.

With this in mind, here are the top 5 “superfoods” recommended for fertility, pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Chicken. Chicken is a highly nutritious food loaded with vitamins and minerals. Lean chicken breast is the form of chicken that expecting mothers should consume because it has the lowest levels of fat and saturated fatty acids amongst all stir fried meats. It gives you omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. It is also low in cholesterol content, but rich in fatty acids, Vitamin E and A, Selenium, thiamine and niacin equivalents that promote metabolism and augment energy levels. It is carbohydrates free and delicious as well. Every woman should add chicken about 200gms a week (acc. to indian diet) before conceive to boost pregnancy* (for pregnancy benefits only).

It’s loaded with fat soluble vitamins like retinol (pre-formed vitamin A) that are crucial for reproductive health, and difficult to obtain elsewhere in the diet. Liver is also a great source of highly absorbable iron, which helps prevent miscarriage and maternal anemia, and B12, which is required for proper formation of red blood cells and DNA. Liver is also a good source of bioavailable protein, zinc, and folate, can supply the body with over three times the daily needed value of vitamin B12 which is an essential nutrient that supports the production of red blood cells & DNA. Therefore, it helps to prevent pernicious anemia. It also helps to prevent anemia because its high iron content. Not only does that high iron content give you the energy you need and prevent against anemia but it also keeps your immune system healthy and in top shape. For those trying to get pregnant , it would be great to try to get chicken liver into your diet, because it carries about 140% of your daily folate. Folate actually helps to promote fertility, but not only that it will also prevent a neural tube defects for the developing fetus. It keeps your thyroid healthy and balanced. It is filled with selenium, a mineral that supports iodine to keep the thyroid gland in top shape. Chicken livers are high in protein and a rich store of folate, which is important for fertility and helps prevent certain birth defects.

(Food Standards Authority advises pregnant women not to eat liver because too much vitamin A can harm the baby.)

Egg yolks : Like liver, egg yolks could be considered “nature’s multivitamin”. But they are especially rich in a nutrient many people have never heard of : choline. Studies suggest that 86% of women don’t get enough choline in their diet. This is significant because choline helps protect against neural tube defects. It also plays an important role in brain development, helping to form cholinergic neurons and the connections between these neurons that are so crucial in the first few years of life.

Cold-water, fatty fish* : Seafood is the exclusive food source of the long-chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA. DHA is particularly important for fertility and pregnancy. It is preferentially incorporated into the rapidly developing brain during pregnancy and the first two years of infancy, concentrating in the grey matter and eyes. It’s also crucial to the formation of neurons, which are the functional cells in the brain, and to protecting the brain from oxidative damage. Salmon, mackerel, herring and sardines are excellent sources of DHA.

Oily fish can contain environmental pollutants, such as dioxins and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). These build up in your body over a long period of time and may interfere with the development of your unborn baby.

Fish should make up about two portions a week. One of these should be oily, but try to have no more than two portions of oily fish a week.

Cod liver oil. Yep, grandma was right! Cod liver oil is a sacred fertility and pregnancy food that fell out of favor during the last couple of generations, but is making a comeback. It’s one of the highest dietary sources of vitamin A, which we discussed above. It has more vitamin D per unit weight than any other food. Vitamin D is crucial to fertility and pregnancy, and studies show that up to 50% of women are deficient in it. Vitamin D promotes proper development of the bones, especially during the 3rd trimester when the fetal skeleton begins to grow rapidly. Cod liver oil is also a good source of the long-chain omega-3 fats EPA and DHA.

Milk and Dairy Products: Consume milk, buttermilk, yogurt (fermented milk product), since these are rich in protein, calcium and vitamin B-12. While dairy is not strictly a Primal food, it’s a great choice for fertility and pregnancy for those who tolerate it well. Dairy is rich in saturated fat, which is especially beneficial for fertility. It’s also a good source of the fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, K2 & E) and a healthy, natural trans-fat (not to be confused with artificial trans-fats, which are harmful) conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Fermented dairy products – like yogurt and kefir – are also great sources of beneficial bacteria. This is important because a baby’s first exposure to bacteria is in his/her mother’s birth canal, and the mother’s gut health has a significant influence on the lifelong health of her baby.

Essential acids and respective foods

▪ Folic Acid: During the first three months, a pregnant woman needs folic acid in the first three months and fruits, green vegetables, orange juice, peas and rice have good amount of folic acids in them.

Iron: Iron is very important since a pregnant woman now carries another person in her. She will require additional blood supply than usual as the little one in her placenta needs blood. Therefore make it necessary to take foods like green vegetables such as broccoli and spinach, strawberries and breads.

• Zinc and Calcium: These two are very essential in baby’s growth and it is essential to have zinc and calcium rich food.
• Stay away from Tea and Coffee: Though many cannot avoid these two, try to minimize if not as tea and coffee will prevent your body from observing iron to your body.

*Some women are scared to eat fish during pregnancy because of concerns about mercury levels. It turns out those concerns have been overblown.