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Make time for your baby.

What to eat when you want to get pregnant

Research shows a healthy lifestyle considerably increases the chances of a healthy pregnancy.
The basic rule I apply is: Eat like your ancestors did 100 years ago. Much has changed since, but our genetic make-up has not.

  • Eat a wide variety of vegetables, as close as possible to their natural form. Steaming and stir-frying retains vitamins.
  • Avoid white flour, sugar and processed food.
  • Did you know garlic is a miracle food? It even has a positive influence on erections. But make sure you both eat it  😉
  • Cut down on meat. Replace it by pulses. Lentils, chick peas, beans are a wonderful source of protein. During the same meal, eat some grain, the combination makes it easier to absorb the protein.
  • Zinc is great for increasing fertility. Carrots, peas, pumpkin, nuts and seeds, chickpeas and whole grains contain zinc. Good zinc levels help curb the ‘sweet tooth’ as well.
  • Do you eat a variety of grains? Millet, oats, buckwheat, barley, quinoa…
  • The opinions on soy consumption differ. Soy contains phytoestrogens, plant-based substances that are related to the female hormone estrogen, which can disrupt the hormone balance, also in men.
    On the other hand, a study by Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston, MA, proves that soy can protect against the adverse effects of Bisphenol A (a hormone-changing substance in plastic) and improves the success rate of IVF.
    I suggest consuming the products closest to the natural form (tofu, tempeh) in moderation. Avoid the heavily processed ones such as meat imitations, soy milk and the like.
  • Too much vitamin A is detrimental to fertility. Also for other vitamins applies: watch out with the dosage. You better avoid liver and liver produce due to its high level of vitamin A.
  • Coffee – an American-Swedish study of 562 women shows that women who drink 1 – 3 cups of coffee a day have a 30% higher chance of a miscarriage. Women who drink more than 5 cups of coffee a day have a 40% higher chance of a miscarriage.
  • Coke, Energy drinks and Sports drinks contain caffeine, a fertility enemy. Besides that, one bottle of AA Energy drink (approx 2 glasses) contains 24 lumps of sugar! The other drinks are not much different.
  • Alcohol makes conception more difficult by disrupting estrogen and progesteron levels. Alcohol also leads to worse sperm quality.
  • Green tea can affect the hormone balance, don’t exceed 1 cup a day.
  • Fish may contain heavy metal, so go easy on fish. A good source of Omega 3 is linseed oil. Linseed oil oxydates fast and needs to be used up quickly. Capsules solve that problem.

More tips for getting pregnant

  • Try to get at least 7 hours sleep a night. In the winter we tend to need more sleep than in the summer.
  • Did you know gum infections can effect fertility? Keep healthy with brushing, flossing, but avoid those aggressive rinses.
  • Have sex in the morning. After a rest, the sperm quality is better.
  • Men with poor sperm have best sperm after one days’ abstention, after two days it gets worse again. Men with normal sperm have the best quality sperm after seven days abstention.
  • Have fun. I really believe it makes a great difference to our lives, even fertility, as it cuts down stress.
  • Yoga helps. I work with a Fertility Yoga System by Ludmila Mojzísová, which in itself has helped populate the Czech Republic.
  • Smoking delays a pregnancy by lowering estrogen levels, plus it increases the chance of a miscarriage.
  • Stress disrupts the acid-alkaline balance, which is of prime importance to all body processes. Stress is associated with irregular menstruation and abnormal sperm. Further, stress impacts potency.
  • Overweight reduces fertility – consult your doctor
  • Medication – beware of pain killers like Ibuprofen, these can disturb the hormone balance, making it impossible for a fertilized egg to attach itself in the whomb. Ask your doctor or chemist for advice.
  • Navel piercing – the piercing cuts through the Conception Vessel, an essential meridian – imagine cutting through an electric wire – the light would not go on. Take it out.
  • Wishing you luck!

Tips for men – improve the sperm count and potency

Monika Denes | Eline Verestraat 23 | 1183 KX Amstelveen | Call +31(0)20 7718183

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