What To Eat And What To Avoid During IVF Treatment: A Fertility Expert Explains
What you eat can have a great impact on your fertility. Once you decide to go for IVF treatment, monitoring your diet is important. It is observed that low body weight or obesity reduces the success rate and adversely affects fertility. So, following a healthy diet is important to combat these issues. Paying attention to your diet and essential nutrients will make it easier for your body to carry a pregnancy. Because the IVF process is both emotionally and physically taxing, a healthy diet can help you improve your mood in addition to reaping its benefits.
The nutrition you take in can have a bearing on overall health and in turn improve the quality of the gametes (reproductive cells) which is an important parameter in IVF, says Dr. Apurva Satish Amarnath, Fertility Consultant, Nova IVF Fertility, Bangalore. She also shares tips on what to eat and what to avoid during IVF treatment. Keep reading...
Foods to eat during IVF treatment
Fats - Consume healthy, plant-based fats such as avocados, olive oil, and grapeseed oil. This may help women who are trying to conceive.
Healthy carbs: Especially those high in fibre, such as fruits, vegetables, beans and whole grains are digested slowly and have a more gradual effect on blood sugar and insulin levels. B vitamins, vitamin E, and fibre are all abundant in unrefined grains.
Dairy - Consume one or two servings of whole milk or other full-fat dairy foods per day, such as yogurt.
Zinc-rich foods: Foods that are high in zinc help in hormone balance. Zinc-rich foods include grains, nuts, dairy products, meat, and potatoes.
Folic acid: Along with certain parental vitamins, folic acid (folate or vitamin B9) helps in the healthy development of a child's brain and spinal cord. Folic acid is mostly found in dark green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, asparagus, romaine lettuces, turnip greens, beans and peas, etc.
Protein: This nutrient is highly recommended during the pregnancy process because it helps in the development of the body and provides instant energy to the body. Lean chicken, fish, tofu, beans, lentils, low-fat yogurt, milk, cheese, seeds, nuts, are some high protein foods.
Foods to avoid during IVF treatment
Caffeine:
Limit your intake of coffee and tea. While several cups of coffee or
tea per day can have little effect on ovulation issues, it could cause dehydration.
Alcohol: As alcohol consumption can also cause dehydration, it is advisable to limit your alcohol consumption to two to three glasses over a week.
Sugary drinks and processed sweeteners: Limit your sugar intake and opt for less processed sweeteners. Concentrated doses of the sweet stuff can completely disturb your blood sugar, causing problems with insulin and your overall hormonal balance.
Fish with high mercury content: Men and women who are trying to conceive should avoid eating fish with high mercury content, such as tuna and swordfish. Since mercury accumulates in the body, it can interfere with sperm production. Other fish, such as shellfish and salmon, which are high in zinc and essential fatty acids, are good for fertility.
Processed meats: When trying to conceive, avoid processed meats such as salami, sausages, bacon, hotdogs, and so on. Processed food contains more hormonal residue than unprocessed meat. This can impair sperm production and result in sperm with low motility