Introduction
Fertility—the ability to have children—is dependent on many different factors. It can depend on anatomy, genetics and family history, medical history, the health of the hormonal system—in both women and men—AND on your overall health and nutritional status.
There is some information that some vitamin and mineral supplements CAN have a positive effect on fertility for both men and women, and we will review those later. There have not been many studies examining the effects of non-vitamin/mineral supplements for fertility, but what we DO know is that there are some very important factors.
These factors include:
- Eating well-balanced nutritional foods
- Maintaining a healthy weight
- Exercising to keep physically fit
Eating Well-Balanced Nutritional Foods
What does it really mean to eat well-balanced meals? It means:(1)(2)(3)(4)
- Eat lots and lots of vegetables and fruit. The vegetables and fruit should be fresh, ideally, but frozen works as well. Raw vegetables and fruit may contain more vitamins, minerals, and nutrients, but cooked vegetables and fruits are fine—especially if you cook them just to the point of getting hot—in other words, avoid over-cooking!
- Eat lots and lots of fish and seafood. Eat lean, skinless poultry and go easy on the red meat. Game meat is great if you can get it!
- Include whole grains like brown rice, wheat, millet, quinoa, barley, and oats.
- Include nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, and other legumes.
- Avoid processed, fast, junk, prepared and fatty foods.
- Drink plenty of water!
Maintaining a Healthy Weight
The good news is that eating a healthy diet can help you maintain a healthy weight—and THAT can improve fertility for both women and men.(5)(6)(7) Vegetables, fruit, and whole grains are nutrient-dense but don’t carry loads of calories. Eating lots of fish (with the healthy fats, the omega-3 fats), skinless poultry, and avoiding red meats (that tend to be fattier) will help as well. Nuts and seeds tend to have higher caloric numbers, but these are also associated with healthier fats and high-quality protein.
Another aspect of maintaining a healthy weight is to include physical activity daily.(8) You don’t necessarily have to have an “exercise plan” to help maintain a healthy weight, but you DO have to move your body! You choose which physical activity works best for you—but keep moving as much as you can every day.
Finally, it is becoming clear that getting enough sleep makes it difficult to maintain a healthy weight—and can affect fertility.(9)(10)
Exercising to keep physically fit
To many, being told to “exercise!!” is, well, less than exciting. Big cheers to those who already exercise or have some lifestyle habit that includes vigorous movement! But…. what about the rest of us?
Well—you are the only one who can “decide to decide” to be active. The best recommendation is to find something that you are interested in—otherwise, you are unlikely to keep at it. Until you find some physical activity that interests you, try some of these “tricks”.
- Divide household chores so that you end up walking more often—in other words, if you are carrying something into the next room, drop the efficiency ideas and make two or three trips!
- Park as far away from the store as you can and when you return, take the “long way” back to your car.
- Take the stairs (not the elevator or escalator) all of the way, part of the way but at least some of the way to your office.
- Stop working at your desk and either take a brisk walk through the office or building or jog in place for a while. Do the same if you work at home.
- For errands, if you can, walk to the post office, the corner store, or the hardware store.
Supplements
There has been some research indicating that there ARE a few vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients that are especially important for fertility. For both men and women, the data IS clear that taking a quality vitamin and mineral supplement can benefit both fertility and pregnancy.(11)
Be certain that you are taking supplements with enough iron, folate, and vitamin B12.
A recent review on antioxidants concluded that while the evidence for benefit wasn’t really strong—there was also no evidence that antioxidant supplements would do any harm, and these antioxidants can be useful in promoting overall health.(12)
Oral CoQ10—also known as ubiquinol—seemed to increase fertility in women undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) and did not appear to cause any harm.(13)
13DHEA (Dehydroepiandrosterone) may improve fertility in older women with age-related lower serum levels of DHEA(14) and DHEA supplementation can improve ART results in those younger women with low serum DHEA levels.(15)
Omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA): Currently, there is no strong evidence that natural fertility and successful pregnancies are supported by supplementing with omega-3 fatty acids.(16) However, this may be a situation similar to that of antioxidants. There haven’t exactly been a lot of studies with either antioxidants or omega-3 fatty acids and given the overall importance of omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, taking supplements may be helpful. In one study, in women undergoing ART, higher serum levels of omega-3 fatty acids were associated with an increased probability of a live birth, suggesting that supplementation with omega-3 fatty acids would be beneficial to a successful pregnancy.(17)
- Herbal supplements
- Aside from traditional uses, there is not a lot of solid evidence for the use of herbs to promote fertility. But, looking at the “other side of the coin”: these herbs have been used for centuries with at least some success and little evidence of harm. A review of supplements for women’s infertility indicated some support for chasteberry, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals.(18)(19)
Overall, the best evidence appears to be for the vitamins and minerals already discussed—and possibly the use of chasteberry.
What to “Stay Away From”
Beyond staying away from fast, fatty, junk, and processed foods (especially anything that may contain “trans” fats), staying away from tobacco, “recreational” drugs, OTC medications, and moderating caffeine intake…well, beyond that, just try to enjoy life and relax…in other words, do what you can to also “stay away” from stress!
Resources:
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2018.00211/full
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fendo.2019.00346/full
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5826784/
- https://academic.oup.com/humrep/article/33/6/1063/4989162
- https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12958-018-0336-z
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5798797/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmc5983896/
- https://academic.oup.com/humupd/article/23/6/681/4157319
- http://www.sleepclinic.be/wp-content/uploads/LINKING-SLEEP-DISTURBANCE-TO-IDIOPATHIC-MALE-INFERTILITY-.pdf
Caetano G, Bozinovic I, Dupont C, Léger D, Lévy R, Sermondade N. Impact of sleep on female and male reproductive functions: a systematic review. Fertility and Sterility. 2021 Mar 1;115(3):715-31.
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6480978/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8094745/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7550497/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5908781/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6142344/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8411851/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5850735/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17081929/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17211965/