Eating red meat and pork may improve your fertility

Nutrients found in red meat play an important role in fertility levels and the general health of women and men planning a pregnancy, says an expert. The intake of red meat and pork can make a difference, reports femalefirst.co.uk. "Red meat is often associated with fertility in so-called 'old wives' tales' and has been traditionally encouraged in the diets of couples trying for a baby. Now we know from scientific research that the nutrients found in red meat really do have a role in normal fertility," said Carrie Ruxton from the Meat Advisory Panel. The Meat Advisory Panel is a group of healthcare professionals who provide independent and objective information about red meat. Most adults across the globe have chronically low intakes of selenium due to poor levels in soil. Hence, numerous reports implicate selenium deficiency in several reproductive complications including male and female infertility, miscarriage, preeclampsia, foetal growth restriction, preterm labour, gestational diabetes and obstetric cholestasis. Pork is an excellent source of selenium and can, therefore, go some way to boosting selenium levels in adults, thus supporting normal reproduction. Vitamin B6 is one of the most important vitamins for conceiving and fertility because it contributes to the regulation of normal hormonal activity. Again, red meat is a rich source of Vitamin B6. "The Government recommends that adults eat up to 500 gm of cooked red meat a week which gives the opportunity for four to five meat meals a week, including pork, ham, beef, lamb and bacon," added Ruxton. Article: 11th January 2013 www.dnaindia.com

Brussel sprouts may increase fertility in both men and women

Many people shudder at the thought of Brussels sprouts with their minds conjure up images of bitter, overcooked school vegetables. But new research suggests that couples who are trying for a baby should tuck into a regular helping of the festive staple. According to studies, nine per cent of all conceptions take place over the Christmas period, making December the most fertile month of the year. Parties and festive tipples are thought to be partly responsible for this trend. However, Neema Savvides, a nutritional therapist at the Harley Street Fertility Clinic, says the increased consumption of sprouts could also play a role. She said: ‘Believe it or not, this green micro cabbage is a baby making super food. ‘Firstly, they are bursting with folic acid which is essential for boosting fertility in both men and women. ‘This vitamin rich source also increases sperm levels and helps line the womb with the right nutrients raising sperm survival chances. ‘Another benefit of this folic rich food is that it also helps to decrease the risk of miscarriages and birth defects.’ Brussels sprouts also contain a phytonutrient called di-indolylmethane, which helps women absorb balanced levels of the hormone oestrogen. In fact, it binds to environmental oestrogens, like pesticides and hormones in meat and dairy products, and helps rid the body of excess hormones – this boosts fertility. The vegetable is also thought to lower cholesterol levels and have anti-inflammatory properties. Article: 5th December 2013 www.dailymail.co.uk

Eat raspberries to boost male fertility says nutritionist

The news has recently highlighted that Raspberries may improve fertility, because they high levels of Vitamin C, a key nutrient in male fertility, and magnesium, which helps produce testosterone. They are also thought to contain 10 times more antioxidant activity than tomatoes, and are key to protecting sperm. It is also believed that after conception antioxidants continue to protect the embryo and may decrease the risk of miscarriage. Raspberries provide essential nutrients that are known to enhance fertility in men and women Juliet Wilson, a leading fertility nutritionist, said that one portion of raspberries provided the same amount of Vitamin C as eating 173 grapes. She said: “Raspberries provide essential nutrients that are known to enhance fertility in men and women.” It is also important to have a healthy balanced diet containing many different fruits and vegetables, which can help boost fertility, such as mangos, lemons, garlic, nuts and green leafy vegetables. Along with eating meat, fish, potatoes and eggs. Article: 1st September 2013 www.prideangel.com Read more about diet and natural fertility at www.prideangel.com

Women who eat fish during pregnancy suffer less stress

Women who do not eat fish during pregnancy are more likely to experience high levels of anxiety at that time, researchers have revealed. They have found a link between the types of diet eaten, particularly whether this includes fish, and anxiety in pregnancy. The researchers suggest that eating fish during pregnancy could help reduce stress levels. Most women experience some stress during pregnancy but excessive anxiety is not good for the mother's long-term health and can result in their baby being born prematurely and/or having a low birth weight. Researchers from Children of the 90s at the University of Bristol and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, looked at the fish intake of more than 9,500 pregnant women They categorised women's diets by the frequency with which different types of foods were eaten and identified five dietary patterns. They are roughly described as: health-conscious, traditional, processed, confectionery and vegetarian. The researchers found that women who never ate seafood had a 53 per cent greater likelihood of having high levels of anxiety at 32 weeks of pregnancy when compared with women who ate seafood regularly. The results suggest that two meals of white fish and one meal of oily fish each week would be an adequate amount of fish to consume. This was the case after taking into account 14 different factors that could affect anxiety, including drinking, smoking and family adversity during pregnancy. When the researchers investigated the dietary patterns, women in the top third of the vegetarian type of diet pattern were 25 per cent more likely to experience anxiety than women in the bottom third. There was also evidence that women in the top third of the health-conscious dietary pattern were 23 per cent less likely to have high levels of anxiety when compared with women in the bottom third. Women in the top third of the traditional diet pattern were 16 per cent less likely to have high levels of anxiety when compared with women in the bottom third. These findings, the researchers suggest, may be due to the lack of fish and meat in a vegetarian type of diet and because a pregnant woman's nutritional requirements increase during pregnancy, due to the demands of the growing foetus, which gets all its nutrients from the mother. Dr Juliana Vaz, the report's senior author, said: "An important message from this research is that in order to have a healthy pregnancy, women need to follow a healthy diet and not something special for pregnancy. "It means a diet containing whole cereals, vegetables, salad, fruit, dairy foods, meat, poultry, pulses and including fish - three portions per week with at least one of oily fish, such as salmon, sardine or tuna. "Sweets and fast foods should be kept to a minimum because they are low in nutrients." Article: 13th July 2013 www.news.ninemsn.com.au

Pregnant women with diabetes have higher risk of babies with birth defects

Pregnant women with diabetes are almost four times more likely to have a baby with a birth defect than women without the condition, warn researchers. Their findings suggest that higher blood sugar levels in the mother raise the risk. Around one in 13 babies born to a woman with type 1 or type 2 diabetes is affected by a major birth defect, such as heart disease and spina bifida. This compares with a risk of one in 50 for women without diabetes.
Doctors at the charity Diabetes UK, which funded the study, are urging women with diabetes who want to start a family to take advice about getting good glucose control first to minimise the risk. But they stressed that the vast majority of pregnancies in women with diabetes did not involve a birth defect.

The study, led by researchers at Newcastle University and the Regional Maternity Survey Office, looked at the outcomes of 401,149 pregnancies, including 1,677 pregnancies in women with diabetes, between 1996 and 2008 in the North of England. Researcher Ruth Bell told the journal Diabetologia: ‘The good news is that, with expert help before and during pregnancy, most women with diabetes will have a healthy baby.

'The risk of problems can be reduced by taking extra care to have the best possible glucose control before becoming pregnant.’ The study examined 401,149 pregnancies born between 1996 and 2008 'Any reduction in high glucose levels is likely to improve the chances of a healthy baby. ‘All young women with diabetes need to know about preparing for pregnancy, and should contact their doctor or diabetes team as soon as possible if they are thinking about pregnancy or become pregnant.’

Previous research shows having diabetes increases the chance of birth defects, but this is one of the first studies to quantify the effect of glucose levels on risk. Higher blood sugar levels can be reduced using lifestyle and diet, or changes to medication during pregnancy. Dr Iain Frame, Director of Research for Diabetes UK, said ‘The real message from this study is that the blood glucose level of the mother is important to the risk.

‘This study offers clear evidence that although women with diabetes might still have a higher risk of a birth defect, they can still do something positive to reduce that risk by carefully monitoring their blood glucose level and trying to reduce it if it is high. ‘We need to get the message out to women with diabetes that if they are considering becoming pregnant, then they should tell their diabetes healthcare team, who will make sure they are aware of planning and what next steps they should be taking.

‘Blood glucose control continues to be important throughout pregnancy and should be closely monitored to ensure the best result for the baby and this is why women should be as prepared as possible beforehand.’ He said women with diabetes who were sexually active but not planning a baby should use contraception. ‘This is because as well as high blood glucose levels increasing risk of birth defect, some medications taken by people with Type 2 diabetes can cause problems in the developing foetus and higher doses of folic acid are needed for women with diabetes to reduce the risk of complications such as spina bifida’ he added..

Birth defects include congenital heart disease and defects of the nervous system such as spina bifida. Many can be treated but some result in stillbirth or pregnancy loss or ongoing health problems. The study did not look at women who developed diabetes - gestational diabetes - during pregnancy.

Article: 6th February 2012 www.dailymail.co.uk

Taking vitamin pill could double success rate of IVF

A 30p multi-vitamin pill could more than double a woman’s chance of having a baby by IVF, according to a study. It found that 60 per cent of those taking the supplements while undergoing IVF became pregnant compared to just a quarter who did not take them.

Researchers say the pills contain nutrients that may boost fertility such as vitamins A, C and E, zinc and selenium, that are often absent from our diets.

The study carried out at University College London involved 56 women aged 18 to 40, who had all tried unsuccessfully to fall pregnant using IVF for at least a year. Half were given a multi-nutrient pill to take every day and the other half given folic acid pills to take daily.

The micronutrient pill also contained folic acid which prevents birth defects and has also been shown to help boost fertility. The team found that 60 per cent of women taking the multi-nutrients fell pregnant, and did not miscarry in the first three months when it is most common. This compared to 25 per cent of women in the group taking folic acid who were still pregnant after three months.

The study published in the journal Reproductive Biomedicine also found that women taking the micronutrients needed far fewer attempts to become pregnant. Of those who fell pregnant, 75 per cent conceived in the first course of IVF.

By comparison just 18 per cent of those on folic acid who became pregnant did so after the first IVF course. The particular pill, Vitabiotics Pregnacare-Conception,contains folic acid, vitamin B, vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin C, zinc, selenium and some antioxidants.

Lead researcher Dr Rina Agrawal said: 'The implications of this study are far reaching as they suggest that prenatal micronutrient supplementation in women undergoing ovulation induction improve pregnancy rates. 'There is a large body of evidence establishing the relationship between placental development, foetal growth, pregnancy outcomes and adequate nutrition, particularly vitamin intake.'

But other scientists pointed out that the study was very small so the results should not be taken too seriously. Dr Allan Pacey who specialises in fertility at the University of Sheffield said: 'The influence of nutrition on our fertility is of general interest to the public and professionals, but there are relatively few studies which have examined this systematically and few which have shown direct benefits of taking supplements to enhance things.'

'Therefore, on the face of it, this study is interesting but we should acknowledge that this is a relatively small number of patients and the study would need to be repeated in a larger trial before we could be certain of the results.' A woman’s fertility is known to be affected by a number of factors including her age, weight, alcohol consumption, whether she smokes.

High levels of stress and even drinking too much coffee have also been shown to reduce the chances of falling pregnant.

Article 2nd December 2011 www.dailymail.co.uk

Men improve your sperm count by eating fruit

Female fertility has previously been linked to obesity, but a Brazilian study has discovered that a poor diet in men can lower sperm concentration and affect their ability to reach the egg.

A new study involving 250 men with partners undergoing IVF reveals that those who regularly drink alcoholand eat a poor diet are less fertile than those who eat a diet high in fruit and grains.

Lead researcher Edson Borges, from the Fertility-Assisted Fertilization Center in Sao Paolo, says: 'The sperm concentration was negatively influenced by body mass index and alcohol consumption, and was positively influenced by cerealconsumption and the number of meals per day.'

The results from the study reveal that, from the speed of their sperm to their partner's chance of pregnancy, men who drank alcohol and ate a poor diet were less fertile.

Lynn Westphal from Stanford University hopes that the study, published in the Fertility and Sterility journal, will encourage men to make healthier lifestyle choices.

'We talk about having a healthylifestyleand trying to eliminate any of these things that are bad for health, but I think most of the emphasis tends to be on making sure the woman is as healthy as possible,' she says.

Article: 22nd December 2011 www.marieclaire.co.uk