The 5 WORST Foods for Fertility
I recently shared about the best foods for fertility, and thought you may also be interested in what foods to stay away from to help boost fertility as well. So today I’m putting together a list of the worst foods for fertility, and why!
Before I do, I always have to give a little disclaimer. Just because these foods aren’t stellar for you doesn’t mean they are BAD. Food doesn’t have morality, and you aren’t a bad person if you eat them. Don’t beat yourself up about it and know that having these foods on occasion isn’t going to make or break your health.
But if you’re seriously considering trying to conceive, or even having difficulty doing so, taking a look at both the foods you include AND exclude might be beneficial for you.
Now that we have that understanding, let’s get into it.
Seed oils & trans fats
I think this is one category that literally everyone on the planet could benefit from excluding from their diet. These fats & oils are SO inflammatory to the body, and inflammation causes a whole host of issues in the body, including an effect on your hormones and cycle health! Say no to canola, vegetable, safflower, peanut, hydrogenated fats, and any other thing of the sort.
Stick with coconut, avocado, and olive oil, along with animal fats such as butter, ghee, lard, tallow, duck fat, etc for some anti inflammatory options.
Processed & fried foods
This is kind of cheating because this covers a wide variety of different foods that are inflammatory. Seed oils, for one, are almost always present, along with gluten, one of the most common sensitivities I see, and refined sugar, which is also extremely inflammatory to the body.
I’m not saying you should eat 100% real foods all. the. time. I don’t do that and it’s totally unrealistic for most people. But when you do purchase processed or convenience foods, try to do the best you can. There are tons of products out there now that use coconut or avocado oil instead of canola. Coconut sugar instead of refined sugar. Cassava flour instead of wheat flour. You get the picture. Try to get the best quality you can without making yourself crazy.
Soy products
This is a hugely overlooked one. Soy is a phytoestrogen, meaning it mimicks estrogen in the body, and can disrupt your body’s normal endocrine function. This includes soy milk, soy sauce, edamame, tofu, soy protein, soybean oil (add that to the #1 as well), and so on.
While other cultures do include some fermented soy and have seemingly no negative effects, I’d argue that they are VERY different products than what we’re eating in the US. Not to mention their ancestors have been eating those foods for so long that they are likely better suited to eat such things.
Sugar & artificial sweeteners
Not only are these extremely inflammatory, they can negatively impact gut health, which is a key piece to your overall health and fertility. These also wreak havoc on your blood sugar regulation, which is a vital piece of your hormone balance. Ditch the refined sugar and high carbohydrate diet for tons of protein, fat, and whole food sweeteners like maple syrup & honey instead.
Alcohol
Don’t shoot the messenger, okay? Your girl loves to have a nice adult beverage so I’m not saying you need to be all or nothing. Although technically not a food, it is true that alcohol has many negative effects on the body, and can certainly effect egg and sperm quality. So if you’re TTC, I’d try keeping it to a minimum for the best chance at getting knocked up.
Like I said before, occasionally having these things isn’t going to be the thing that makes or breaks your fertility. But constant exposure isn’t going to help, so try to find ways you can swap out certain foods or products so that you don’t feel restricted, but are able to support your body as best you can.
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