Eating for Fertility

At Parsley Health, we recommend taking a year to prepare a birthing parent's body to conceive. Our Founder and CEO Robin Berzin, MD, calls this a “fertility year.”

A large component of the fertility year is focused on diet. Diet directly impacts hormone and immune health, which in turn affects fertility. Attention to diet prior to becoming pregnant is also a great way to get into the habit of making healthy choices; once someone is pregnant, what they eat will influence their baby’s development and future health.

Managing blood sugar

High blood sugar levels during pregnancy can result in gestational diabetes, and will increase the baby’s susceptibility to developing diabetes later in life.

An easy way to keep blood sugar in check is making sure that each meal and snack includes fat, fiber , and protein . For example, someone could begin their day with a breakfast of eggs (protein) with avocado (fat) and greens (fiber), and later snack on a green apple (fiber) with almond butter (protein and fat).

Pregnancy superfoods

When it comes to pregnancy diets, I recommend patients focus on what I call the “pregnancy superfoods.” Each of these foods is packed with the vitamins and minerals that are critical for embryonic and fetal development.

• Fermented vegetables. Fermented foods like sauerkraut, pickles, and fermented beets and carrots provide the probiotics (or good bacteria) needed to build a healthy microbiome that a birthing parents passes on to their baby starting in the third trimester. More generally, studies show that exposure to bacteria in utero can affect whether or not a child will develop allergies or asthma. A birthing parent should aim to eat 2-3 tablespoons of fermented foods per day. Try them mixed into salads or as a side with a protein.
• Pastured and organic eggs. Eggs are a great source of protein and contain vitamins A, D, K2, and E, iron, selenium, lecithin, folate, biotin, zinc, and choline. Choline is essential for a baby’s neurological and spinal cord development, while folate is critical to DNA production. Birthing parents should aim for 2-4 eggs each day; if that sounds a bit overwhelming, try adding eggs into other dishes, like soups.
• Wild fatty fish. Fatty fish like salmon, anchovies, and sardines are high in omega-3 fatty acid DHA, which is critical to the brain health of both a birthing parent and baby, and vital to the development and functioning of the central nervous system. It's recommended to aim for 2 servings per week.
• Leafy greens. Kale, arugula, chard, beet greens, mustard greens, spinach, romaine, collard greens, and broccoli are high in antioxidants, which help combat free radicals in the body and contain iron, calcium, folate, and vitamins A, C, E, K and B. They also provide fiber, which keeps us regular, balances blood sugar, and has a high concentration of beta-carotene, which promotes growth and repair of connective tissue. I recommend aiming for 1-2 cups of greens with at least one meal each day.
• Pastured and organic ghee. Ghee us rich in vitamins A, K2, C, D, and E, DHA, selenium, and iodine. Pastured ghee also contains butyrate, which improves colon health and supports healthy insulin levels. Short-chain fatty acids like ghee have also been shown to protect against leaky gut . Ghee can be used in a variety of ways, from a cooking oil to a spread. However you choose to eat it, aim for 1-3 tablespoons each day.
• Organic bone broth. With the increased popularity of collagen , some may already be eating bone broth. If you are not, now is the time to start! Bone broth contains glucosamine and gelatin, both of which strengthen and repair the digestive tract, bones, tissue and joints. It is also a source of glycine, which is essential for fetal and placental growth. Aim for 1-2 cups daily.

Foods to avoid

Take care to avoid the following foods and beverages. That said, if one of these slips in every now and then, don’t worry.

• Non-organic fruits and vegetables, particularly those that are part of the Dirty Dozen .
• Refined sugars and carbohydrates
• Any containers that have BPA
• High-mercury fish, like tuna, shark, largemouth bass, swordfish, marlin, halibut, pike, king mackerel, tilefish, sea bass, Gulf Coast oysters, walleye)
• Soda
• Gluten
• Non-organic dairy
• Soft cheeses like Camembert, feta, Brie, blue cheeses like Roquefort and Gorgonzola, and Mexican-style cheeses such as queso blanco, queso fresco, and panela
• Raw fish
• Soy
• Artificial sweeteners
• Deli meats
• Processed oils like canola, soybean, palm, peanut, vegetable oil
• Processed foods like chips, candy bars, cakes, cookies

Keep it in perspective

While nutrition needs for a birthing parents will increase each trimester, the increase in caloric need is actually no greater than the equivalent of a cup of full fat yogurt and an apple with almond butter.

Sample day: pregnancy superfoods

Wondering how all this looks in practice? Here’s a sample day to get started:

• Upon waking: bone broth with chopped scallions
• Breakfast: smoothie with 2 scoops protein powder, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 1 cup blueberries, 1 tablespoon flax, 1 cup of fresh almond milk
• Lunch: chicken breast served with 2 cups of arugula tossed in olive oil (½ tablespoon) and roasted squash with ghee
• Snack: 1-2 hard boiled eggs with avocado
• Dinner: Wild salmon served with steamed broccoli (1-2 fists), spaghetti squash (1-2 fists) or brown rice (1 cup) with tahini sauce (½ tablespoon)