Fertility
Follow These 4 Tips to Improve IVF Success
Eloise Edington | 16 Feb 2022
At Fertility Help Hub, we know the importance of a healthy body to improve IVF success. Regular moderate exercise, a fertility friendly diet and ensuring you take fertility-boosting nutrients all contribute to fertility treatment outcomes.
Today, Charlotte at The Fertility Kitchen shares her top tips for boosting IVF results by following a fertility friendly meal plan.
Read on to discover Charlotte’s healthy diet for fertility and claim an exclusive discount to her 6-week course beginning 1st March.
Over to Charlotte…
There can often be a misconception that fertility treatment outcomes are completely in the hands of fertility specialists but this isn’t necessarily the case. You can improve the chances of IVF success by nourishing your body.
By using fertility friendly nutrition, fertility supplements and taking up positive lifestyle habits to prioritise your wellbeing, you can take control of your fertility journey and optimise IVF.
Here are four simple tips you can follow today to support IVF success.
Fertility Help Hub readers can claim an exclusive £30 discount off Charlotte’s 6-week Optimise IVF™ course (beginning 1st March) by using the code FHH when booking via this link. The offer is valid until 28th February.
1: Cruciferous vegetables are essential during fertility treatment
Fertility treatment entails a lot of medication and this can overwhelm our liver. These common symptoms suggest your liver could do with support:
- headaches
- night sweats
- fatigue
- breakouts
- low mood and
- irritability
These symptoms are commonly experienced during IVF.
Cruciferous vegetables contain the plant nutrients indole-3-carbinol (I3C) and sulforaphane, which support both phases of liver detoxification. Add cruciferous vegetables to your fertility diet meal plan and aim to include 30–50g (1-cup measure) with each meal (including breakfast!) – you can easily hide them in a smoothie or serve with eggs first thing.
Cruciferous vegetables to include in your fertility treatment diet:
- broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- cabbage
- cauliflower
- collard greens
- kale
- rocket (arugula)
- watercress
2: Eating fibre helps detoxification during IVF treatment
In your fertility diet plan, aim for at least 30g of fibre each day. If you make vegetables the bulk of your diet – especially during IVF, this will be easy to achieve. Fibre helps prevent constipation (another common side-effect of IVF shots) and fuels gut bacteria.
Moving your bowels every day is important in supporting detoxification as your body gets rid of old hormones via your stool. Constipation can harm the detoxification process, so include both soluble and insoluble fibre in your diet, from vegetables, oats, legumes, apples, flaxseeds, psyllium, whole grains and chia seeds.
3: Eat the rainbow for varied antioxidants
Eating all the colours of the rainbow every day helps supports egg and sperm quality. Having a varied diet ensures you get an abundance of antioxidants through different pigments that contain different plant nutrients. Different pigments each have unique properties and health benefits. For example, orange-coloured vegetables and fruits (carrots, orange bell peppers, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, turmeric, apricots, blood oranges, cantaloupe, mandarins, passion fruit and papaya) are thought to be supportive of egg quality as they contain carotenoid compounds, antioxidants that are particularly concentrated in the ovaries.
4: Take a prenatal fertility supplement
Fertility multivitamins are also essential to improving fertility treatment success. A high-quality multivitamin will contain methylated B vitamins, such as folate, vitamin B12 and vitamin B6, as well as antioxidant nutrients such as vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium and zinc, that support egg quality by protect egg cells from oxidative stress.
These tips are just the start! Join Charlotte’s 6-week Optimise IVF™ course (beginning 1st March) to have step-by-step guidance on nourishing your body during each stage of your cycle, during the lead-up to fertility treatment and throughout your IVF cycles. You’ll also receive fertility meal planning advice, recipe inspiration, lifestyle advice and a supportive community of other women navigating IVF alongside you.
Claim an exclusive £30 discount for Fertility Help Hub readers, using the code FHH when booking via this link. The offer is valid until 28th February and the course starts on 1st March.
Looking for other top tips to prepare your body for fertility treatment? Sign up to our newsletter here.
