Thursday, April 10, 2008

Fertility Diet: Supplement your way to Pregnancy!

When it comes to fertility, Diet is not always considered to be on the top list of priorities. A Fertility Diet is not as crazy as it sounds. Look around, we hear so regularly about all the great benefits of Supplements, Vitamins, Minerals, and the amazing things they can do for our bodies. This is also true when we are facing problems of fertility and the desire to fall pregnant.

All too often in our busy modern lives, we skip meals, eat processed foods or, quite simply our foods just don't have the same nutritional content as they once did due to over producing, steroid use, fertilizers,... and the list goes on....

So here are some basic supplements you can use to your advantage to increase your overall health and help your body kick start into baby mode.

FOLIC ACID
Folic Acid is a necessary supplement for all women attempting to fall pregnant. It is proven to prevent against Spina Bifida developing in an unborn baby during development.

VITAMINS B6 and B12
Vitamin B6 has been proven to help increase fertility levels in otherwise unfertile women. B vitamins play a role in our overall health and stress levels, so are important for everybody, but in this case, can play an especially important role in conceiving.
Vitamin B12 is essential for men. It has been shown to increase low sperm counts.

ESSENTIAL FATTY ACIDS
Essential Fatty Acids are vital in the body's functioning. They play an extremely important role in the production and regulation of hormones. Essential Fatty Acids, are especially vital for men due to their effect on the production of prostoglandins. Without these Essential Fatty Acids, prostoglandin production is inefficient resulting in low quality sperm.

VITAMIN C
Vitamin C can play a strong role in sperm production and is therefore vital for any man who has low sperm count, or evidence of abnormal sperm. If sperm tests have not been undertaken or even if infertility is not yet a problem, vitamin C is still a great vitamin for anyone to be taking. It is a great antioxidant, ridding our bodies of bad elements, it also increases our immune system.

VITAMIN E
Yet another wonderful antioxidant. Vitamin E is recommended for assisting to increase fertility in both men and women. The antioxidant properties of vitamin E have been thought to make the sperm more effective.

ZINC
A Zinc deficiency can lead to lower fertility for both men and women, and a higher risk of miscarriage in women. Zinc is an essential element in your bodies efforts at utilising reproductive hormones. Zinc is found in high concentrations in sperm, and if vital in sperm production, so essentially both male and woman should include zinc as part of their fertility plan.

This is of course a small list of essential vitamins and minerals that can and may assist with fertility issues. It is good to know that most "pregancy" formulas contain each mentioned here. For men, they are often less likely to implement vitamins and minerals to increase fertility as this issue is often associated more so with women, so it's good to realise that planning for and increasing fertility is equally important to both man and woman.

2 comments:

mica said...

While skipping meals and such is sure not going to raise one's fertility odds any, it happens, and unbalanced diet happens, and all these things. Thanks for your run down on these essential parts, I mean, we know what we need, and if I just remember to take the damn supplements... shouldn't be that hard, should it? Here's another good reference for the vitamin/supplement minded that I've run across...

I think I'm gonna start putting my vitamins and supplements in the fridge, every time I open, I'll have to see them.

Oh, and buying your male counterpart some boxers is always a good idea too :)

Unknown said...

Fertility problems are often approached with noninvasive procedures, such as Clomid treatments, fertility treatment drugs designed to help stimulate and induce ovulation. Clomiphene titrate is successful in about 80% of women who experienced ovulation difficulties, although it may be less effective in older or heavy women.
Women who suffer from fertility problems during the ovulation process or during follicle development and ovulation are often good candidates for Ovulation Induction (OI). In this treatment, follicle-stimulating hormones are prescribed that help to stimulate follicle development and eggs within the ovary.
Intrauterine insemination (IUI) is more commonly known as Artificial Insemination. Medication is given to a woman at a fertility treatment center to stimulate multiple egg development. Insemination, or insertion of sperm from the male partner, into the uterus usually increases chances of fertilization.
In vitro fertilization is a method that assists reproduction through the union of a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm in a laboratory dish. After fertilization has occurred, the embryo is transferred to the woman’s uterus for implantation and development of a normal pregnancy process.
Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is a fertility treatment that has been used since the early 1990s, most often with couples where male factors such as low sperm count or poor sperm quality. The process involves the injection of a sperm directly into a mature egg.
Global fertility treatment center facilities such as Dr. Rama’s Institute for Fertility in India, or Superior A.R.T. in Bangkok, Thailand, are popular. In addition to opportunities for exotic travel, state-of-the-art facilities, expertly trained staff offer compassionate, knowledable and experienced care for couples around the world.