The Fertility Diet: What to Eat to Get Pregnant, a Sample Meal Plan & the 6 Nutrients That Matter Most
August 7, 2023
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If you’re trying to get pregnant, what you don’t eat matters as much as what you do.
The pesticides, herbicides, and synthetic hormones used in conventional food production don’t just pass through your body. Many of them mimic estrogen, disrupt hormone signaling, and add to the detoxification burden your liver is already carrying.
A quick note on language: I prefer “toxin-free” over “organic.” Many small local farmers grow without pesticides, hormones, or GMOs but can’t afford the cost of organic certification. Their food is clean. It just doesn’t carry the label. So it’s worth knowing what to actually ask for, not just what sticker to look for.
Key Takeaways:
Listen up men, this part is for you too!
Many of the pesticides, chemicals, and hormones used to treat fruit, veggies, grains, and animal products contain synthetic estrogen-like substances which occupy estrogen receptor sites and have negative side effects on our hormonal and reproductive systems. All that excess estrogen exposure wreaks havoc on your body’s delicate hormonal system.
In men, pesticides have been shown to negatively affect: the male reproductive tract, sperm health, sperm motility, sperm count, overall male fertility, and hormonal balance.
In women, pesticides negatively affect fertility by disrupting hormone synthesis, hormone release and storage, hormone transport, hormone receptors, thyroid function, and the central nervous system.
All of these are essential in maintaining a healthy reproductive system, and in turn, promoting your fertility … in both women and men!
Think about this for a second: when you eat food that was grown using pesticides, your body has to work harder to eliminate those pesticides. This process not only adds extra stress on your body, but it makes your liver work harder to detoxify.
When you consume meat and dairy from conventional factory farms, your body is ingesting the same chemicals, hormones, and antibiotics that the animal was fed. These hormones have the ability to disrupt your own internal hormone production. This imbalance can impede ovulation and even weaken egg health and sperm, making it difficult to get pregnant. Research has linked higher dietary pesticide exposure to reduced sperm count and quality.
Have I convinced you yet that clean, toxic-free foods are the way to go? Say YES!
Eating toxic-free foods means that the foods you are choosing to consume are grown without pesticides, herbicides, or other repellents. No hormones, antibiotics or steroids are used in animal production. It means that the land the product is grown on is free of said toxins from previous use. Toxin-free foods have not been genetically modified, and are therefore not considered a GMO (genetically modified organism).
When you see the organic label, you can be assured that the criteria listed above has been met. If you are purchasing food directly from a local farmer who doesn’t have the organic label – ask them if they spray their crops with anything, what they feed their animals, if their animals are raised humanely, and if they avoid GMO’s.
Clean meat and dairy means that the animals are fed pesticide- and insecticide-free & non-GMO feed, and are not given antibiotics or hormones to ‘bulk’ them up.
Animals accumulate and store toxins far more than plants do, so purchasing clean, humanely raised animal products is essential 100% of the time!! If you have to choose what to purchase organic — always choose organic animal products and at least aim to buy the Dirty Dozen fruits and vegetables organic.
A note on GMOs
The concern with genetically modified crops isn’t primarily the genetic modification itself. It’s what comes with it. Many GMO crops are specifically engineered to withstand heavy herbicide application, which means they’re often sprayed more aggressively than their conventional counterparts. Glyphosate is the most common example.
So when you choose non-GMO, what you’re really doing in most cases is reducing your exposure to herbicide residue. That’s the fertility-relevant piece.
Here are some tips ‘n tricks on how to incorporate more organic, toxin-free, foods into your diet:
Whether organic or conventionally grown, fruits and vegetables are critical components of a healthy diet. However, many crops contain potentially harmful pesticides, even after washing, peeling or scrubbing, which the USDA does before testing each item. Since pesticide contamination varies by crop, it is important to understand which items are most or least contaminated.
The Environmental Working Group believes that consumers have the right to know what they’re being exposed to and what they can do about it – which is they have released a Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce most years since 2004.
Here is an up to date list of the EWG’s Dirty Dozen.
Here is an up to date list of the EWG’s Clean Fifteen.
When you’re at the grocery store and trying to determine which of the hundreds of fruits and veggies that you’re looking at should be purchased organic, always prioritize the dirty dozen – those products are what the EWG have determined to be the “dirtiest” in terms of pesticides and hormone-disrupting chemicals.
And, alternatively, the clean fifteen are the items that are the “cleanest” and safest to eat when not organic.
If you’re nerdy like me and want to get into the intricate details of the EWG’s testing process, I highly recommend checking out their research.
Fortunately, there are major regulations in place when it comes to food language and labeling. The chart below helps to outline what means what in the organic world.
Cleaning up your food is one of the most tangible, controllable things you can do while trying to conceive. It’s worth doing.
But food is one input. In my practice, dietary toxin exposure almost always shows up alongside other hidden drivers preventing pregnancy: low progesterone, thyroid dysfunction, blood sugar issues, nutrient deficiencies, inflammation.
Eating organic won’t fix low progesterone. It won’t correct a thyroid problem. It supports the foundation, but it doesn’t replace the investigation.
Whether you’ve been told everything looks “normal” or you’re working around a diagnosis like PCOS or endometriosis, the question isn’t just what you’re eating. It’s what hasn’t been looked at yet. It’s rarely unexplained. It’s uninvestigated.
If you’re wondering what’s preventing pregnancy, and looking for a solution-based, comprehensive approach – start here: What’s Actually Preventing Pregnancy — and How to Fix It.
Reducing your toxic load is one piece of the puzzle. Finding out what’s affecting your ability to get pregnant is the whole point.
The Fertility Code is my 12-week, high-touch fertility program designed to identify the hidden drivers preventing pregnancy and correct them with a strategic, personalized plan, so you can get pregnant naturally or through IVF.
More than 90% of the women who complete The Fertility Code go on to conceive.
Stop guessing. Start getting answers.
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