Diets For Healthy Sperm And Egg

When you are trying for a baby it is essential that you are eating a healthy diet with a balanced intake of protein, carbohydrates, healthy fats, vitamins and minerals. This will not only give your baby a good start in life
but will also give you the best chance of conceiving.
The general advice for healthy eating is to have a well balanced diet which includes:
¤ Plenty of fruit and vegetables a day
¤ Complex carbohydrates – whole grains like brown rice, oats and wholemeal bread
¤ Organic foods where possible
¤ Oily foods such as fish, nuts, seeds and oils
¤Avoid trans fats
¤Increase your intake of fibre
¤More fish and organic eggs than red meat
¤Avoid additives, preservatives and chemicals such as artificial sweeteners
¤ Reduce or avoid sugar, both on its own and hidden in food
¤ Reduce or eliminate caffeine, e.g. coffee, tea, chocolate, colas and alcohol
¤ Eliminate processed foods as much as possible

WHAT TO AVOID!

There are some things that can have a negative impact on fertility and should be
either eliminated completely or reduced.

¤ Caffeine:
Researchers have found that caffeine can
have an adverse affect on female fertility and
may increase the risk of a miscarriage, so it
makes sense to cut caffeine out altogether.
Men aren’t immune either and studies
indicate that problems with sperm health
seem greater with increased coffee intake.
Caffeine is found in regular coffee, black tea,
green tea, colas and chocolate. Tea contains
tannin as well as caffeine and tannin blocks
the absorption of important minerals, so if
you drink tea with your meals you are
preventing vital nutrients from being
absorbed in your digestive tract.

Chocolate contains caffeine too and you
can’t cheat by switching to organic dark
chocolate! It does have less sugar than milk
chocolate but its percentage of cocoa solids
will be higher, making the caffeine effect
even stronger.

Decaffeinated options for tea and coffee
aren’t really a good substitute as we have no
idea how many chemicals are involved in the
decaffeination process. However, you can
use them in the weaning stages to get you
off the caffeinated drinks. Begin by
substituting decaffeinated coffee for half of
your total intake a day and then gradually
change over to all decaffeinated. Then,
slowly substitute again with other drinks,
such as herbal teas and grain coffees.
You should, ideally, eventually eliminate
decaffeinated coffee as well because coffee
contains other stimulants (theobromine and
theophylline), which are not removed when
the coffee is decaffeinated.
Experiment with herbal teas. Try
peppermint, chamomile and also grain
coffees which contain chicory and barley.

¤Alcohol:
This is a complete no-no when it comes to fertility for both men and women. It acts as
a diuretic (causing valuable fertility nutrients like zinc and folic acid to be excreted) and a
toxin to the sperm and egg and to the baby once you are pregnant.