Ditch the chocolate, sweets and biscuits if you’re trying for a baby. Leading fertility expert, Zita West, explains how sugar could be ruining your fertility

As a practising midwife and fertility expert, I have always been fascinated by the role nutrition takes in every couple’s ability to have a healthy, happy baby.

What I see in my fertility clinic, The Zita West Clinic, is women know everything about ‘diet’ but very little about nutrition. They will be looking for a magic ingredient in their diet that will get them pregnant, but in reality, every part of the diet and the micronutrition within it lays the foundations for a healthy – or not so healthy – egg and sperm.

Over the course of my many years in this field, I have come to the conclusion that micronutrients play a big role in getting pregnant – both naturally and through assisted conception – with deficiencies having significant effects on fertility for both men and women.

I have come to the conclusion that micro-nutrients play a big role in getting pregnant

2016 was the year of Brexit, Trump and the year that sugar became public enemy number one. And not unreasonably so – especially when it comes to your fertility.

In order to make a mature egg both naturally and for IVF, there is a delicate and complex interplay of reproductive hormones that need to peak and flow throughout the month. And unfortunately for those with a sweet tooth, sugar is a major hormone disruption and affects blood sugar balance, having a negative impact on this process.

What’s the evidence?
Some studies show that a lower intake of carbohydrates have links to better IVF success. It is known that eggs and embryos do not thrive in a high glucose environment.


In a study presented at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) meeting last year, IVF patients who switched to a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet and then underwent another cycle increased their Blastocyst formation rate from 19% to 45% and their clinical pregnancy rate from 17% to 83%.

Even non-IVF patients with poly-cystic ovarian syndrome have improved pregnancy rates after making this lifestyle change, the study’s author Dr. Russell noted.

Sharon Phelan, MD, from the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque said: “Although the blood glucose is not high enough to be in the diabetic range, it is enough to be toxic to the developing blastocyst.”continue reading>>>https://taphealth24.com/2017/05/03/is-sugar-ruining-your-fertility/