What Should You Eat to Increase Fertility?

In all reality, there are not studies supporting particular food to improve your ability to conceive.  Taking zinc is the only exception.  Zinc is related to both male and female fertility.  You should seek to take the recommended dietary allowance of 15mg of zinc every day.  Many multivitamins can help with this.  Oysters also have high levels of zinc.  Additionally, you want to maintain a well-balanced diet that includes fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and dairy products keeping your body nutritionally fit to provide the optimum reproductive functioning.

What Nutritional Steps Should You Take for Preconception Health?

Ideally you already have healthy eating habits.  If not, you should seek to create healthy eating habits at least three to six months before trying to conceive.  Healthy nutrition is shown to be related to fertility for both men and women. Here is a list of suggestions for healthy nutrition prior to conception:

Folic Acid: The U.S. Public Health Service recommends that women of childbearing age obtain 400 micrograms (0.4 milligrams) of folate or folic acid each day. This B vitamin helps reduce a baby's risk of neural tube birth defects such as spina bifida. If your family has a history of neural tube defects, your doctor may increase your daily intake. Folic acid may be obtained naturally through dark green leafy vegetables (i.e. spinach), citrus fruits, nuts, legumes, whole grains, and fortified breads and cereals. These foods can be supplemented with a prenatal vitamin which usually contains 800mcg of folic acid. Folic acid is a water-soluble vitamin allowing your body to flush out excess amounts.

Calcium: It is recommended that women get at least 1,000 mgs (three 8 oz glasses of skim milk) of calcium a day if they are considering getting pregnant. Calcium may be obtained from natural sources such as cottage cheese, low-fat yogurt, canned salmon, sardines, rice, and cheese.

Supplements & Vitamins: In addition to a healthy diet, many healthcare providers will encourage supplements to increase the probability that you get all the nutrients you need.

Caffeine: It is important to wean yourself off of caffeine (including chocolate), because research has shown that more than 300 milligrams of caffeine per day may reduce fertility by 27 percent. Caffeine also impedes upon the body's ability to absorb iron and calcium.

Remove: Artificial sweeteners, alcohol, recreational drugs, and cigarettes all have the potential of harming your soon to be conceived baby.