Latest / Nourished Fertility / Nourish Your Body for Fertility Series, Part 2: Nutrient Dense Foods

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Nourish Your Body for Fertility Series, Part 2: Nutrient Dense Foods · Nourished Fertility

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  Welcome back to the Nourishing Women Podcast.
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  This is Victoria Myers, your podcast host, period recovery specialist,
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  and Fertility Registered Dietitian.
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  Fertility is an energy intensive process.
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  From maturing an egg to your body ovulating, fertilization, and
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  implantation, This requires a lot of energy to become and stay fertile.
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  It's going to mean you need to truly nourish your body for fertility.
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  So welcome to this four part series to walk you through exactly what to
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  do to take your body from stressed and malnourished to from the inside out.
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  In this part two of our four part series, we're going to address these specific
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  nutrients that boost fertility, support preconception, as well as bringing
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  you a healthy baby in your arms.
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  Through part one, you've supported your body in actually ovulating and
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  cycling again, the number one reason why our clients struggle with fertility
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  issues and cannot get pregnant.
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  From here and how we support our clients is once they have their periods
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  back and have the most basic part of fertility addressed, we ensure nutrient
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  dense foods are a regular part of the diet to further support fertility.
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  The great news here is that these foods make it easy to meet the goals of part
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  one, eating enough, As well as contain the nutrients of focus in this part,
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  part two, and even the minerals in part three that we'll cover next week.
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  Eating nutrient dense foods really is a win win when it comes to
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  period recovery and fertility.
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  So up next I'm going to review a list of like what nutrient dense foods are,
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  why they're important, and then we're going to go through some specific key
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  nutrients and the way that they serve.
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  specifically support fertility.
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  Keep in mind that if a food is nutrient dense, that often contains one or more
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  or many of these key nutrients, vitamins and minerals included, but also keep in
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  mind that these aren't the only foods you should be eating, but rather they
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  should be part of your diet in addition to your other fave foods that you consume.
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  So specifically nutrient dense foods to nourish your body
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  properly for fertility include.
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  Eggs with yolk, full fat dairy products, especially fermented dairy products like
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  kefir and yogurt, liver and organ meats.
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  And if you're like me and you cannot stand eating liver, I have some in my freezer
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  right now that I can not convince myself to thaw and like put into something.
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  Uh, you could take liver supplements, meat on the bone,
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  slow cooked meat and bone broth.
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  High quality meat like grass fed beef, fish and seafood, specifically fatty fish
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  like salmon and tuna, but also sardines, anchovies, and oysters, fermented foods,
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  I just mentioned a second ago kefir and yogurt, but also things like kimchi, Sour
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  kraut and kombucha nuts and seeds like walnuts, pumpkin seeds, Brazil nuts, flax
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  seeds and chia seeds and antioxidants through colorful fruits and vegetables
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  think the more colorful, the better dark leafy greens, especially berries,
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  especially, but again, anything colorful here, honestly, all fruits and vegetables
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  are nutrient dense and wonderful.
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  For you to eat and fuel your fertility.
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  Just make sure that your fruit and vegetable consumption doesn't outweigh
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  the food needed for your body to ovulate that we covered in part one because what's
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  most important for your fertility plan for my people, uh, for my clients is to
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  start ovulating again by eating enough, but nutrient dense foods like the foods I
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  just mentioned and adding those in now or later to optimize your nutrient status for
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  preconception planning and egg quality.
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  Should make it easier for you to meet your energy goals for period recovery
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  to keep in mind too, that this isn't an exhaustive list, but the foods that you
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  may be missing most in your diet right now due to a focus on dieting and low
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  calorie instead of nutrient density.
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  If eating any of these foods too makes you feel anxious.
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  This especially is where one on one coaching makes all the difference.
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  So why do these nutrient dense foods matter so much?
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  First, we need to have a conversation that.
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  I bet you were not expecting to have today.
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  We need to talk about mitochondria, DNA, and epigenetics.
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  Mitochondria are the powerhouse of the cell.
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  Think of them as like tiny little power plants inside of your cells providing
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  the energy needed for everything to function properly, including your eggs.
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  This is so fascinating, but our egg cells have the highest
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  concentration of mitochondrial DNA than any Other cell in the body.
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  X cells are mitochondrial rich because they require so much energy.
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  You're going to hear that over and over and over again in this four part series.
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  Fertility requires a lot of energy.
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  We have to nourish our bodies properly to support this process, and since
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  eggs require a lot of energy to mature, to divide, and support early
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  embryo development, strong and healthy mitochondria are essential for high
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  quality eggs and successful pregnancy.
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  At the same time, DNA programming plays a crucial role because it contains all the
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  instructions for how a baby will develop.
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  If the DNA is damaged or not properly regulated, it can
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  lead to fertility challenges, miscarriage or developmental issues.
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  Together, Healthy mitochondria and well programmed DNA create the foundation for
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  a healthy pregnancy and baby by ensuring the egg has enough energy and the right
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  genetic instructions to grow and thrive.
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  Epigenetics also plays a key role in how mitochondria and DNA programming influence
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  egg quality in a healthy pregnancy.
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  While your DNA provides the genetic blueprint, epigenetics acts like a set
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  of switches that turn the genes on or off based on environmental factors,
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  lifestyle, and even mitochondrial health.
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  This means that diet, stress, toxins, and overall health can impact how the
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  genes in the egg are expressed without actually changing the DNA sequence.
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  Epigenetics doesn't change the book, just the way it's read.
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  So if mitochondria are damaged or inefficient, they can produce
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  excess oxidative stress, which may lead to harmful epigenetic
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  changes that affect egg development.
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  Embryo health and even long term outcomes for the baby.
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  On the flip side though, a healthy environment such as good nutrition, proper
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  sleep and stress management can promote positive epigenetic changes leading
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  to better egg quality and a stronger foundation for a healthy pregnancy.
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  Essentially, epigenetics is the bridge between your environment and your genes,
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  shaping the potential of your fertility and the health of your future baby.
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  So good nutrition through eating enough and eating nutrient dense foods
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  matters, not only for your ability to have sufficient hormones to ovulate
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  and cycle again, but also to get and stay pregnant and make a healthy baby.
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  The only reason getting pregnant with no period feels hard is
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  because no one has shown you how.
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  This period recovery method that I'm about to share with you is going to change your
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  life and making getting pregnant with no period so much easier and quicker.
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  for you.
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  I've laid it all out for you in my new free training, restore your fertility
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  in 90 days or less without giving up all exercise or focusing on weight gain.
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  In this free training, you'll learn our proven inside out formula, a Customized
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  five step framework to get your period back and restore your fertility, how
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  to repair your relationship with food and what that has to do with your
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  period loss and your pregnancy goals.
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  This free training is going to give you every single detail that
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  you need to make your goals of starting your dream family a reality.
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  You can download and get started watching this free training today
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  with a link in our show notes.
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  Now let's get back to today's episode.
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  Several key nutrients play a major role in supporting mitochondrial function,
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  epigenetics, and DNA programming.
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  I'm going to go over some of the key ones now, but know that this,
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  again, isn't an exhaustive list.
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  There's so much involved when it comes to the nutrients your
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  body requires for fertility.
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  I'm just going to touch a few of the super special ones.
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  So first starting off with coenzyme Q10.
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  This is the superstar supplement for egg and sperm quality.
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  It's an important antioxidant to protect and boost mitochondrial function.
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  And remember better mitochondrial function helps eggs produce more energy, which
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  means better egg and embryo development.
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  Even in the high sources like sardines, meat and poultry, you're not
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  often able to eat enough inadequate levels to influence fertility.
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  So this is one that is especially recommended for supplementation
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  and something to talk to your dietitian or provider about.
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  Another key nutrient is alpha lipoic acid, or ALA, a powerful
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  antioxidant that helps mitochondria work more efficiently and protects
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  against oxidative stress as well.
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  Magnesium plays an essential role for ATP, or energy production in mitochondria.
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  And omega 3 fatty acids, especially DHA and EPA, reduce inflammation.
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  protect mitochondria and support egg membrane integrity.
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  Folate.
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  Now we all have heard of folate, right?
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  I think that is like the main nutrient that people think of when they think
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  of like Supporting your body through pregnancy and developing a healthy baby.
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  And the reason for this incredible focus that we should have on folate, but also
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  on a lot of other nutrients, um, the reason for this is because folate is
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  essential for DNA methylation, which regulates gene expression and helps
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  prevent neural tube defects in the baby.
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  It's also essential for cervical health, The quality of your egg and
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  early embryonic development critical making new copies of DNA is an effective
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  scavenger of oxidizing free radicals.
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  It also increases progesterone and decreases risk for ovulation disorders.
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  It's important to eat folate in your diet, as well as take a methylated
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  form through your prenatal vitamin.
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  Choline, according to the book, Real Food for Fertility, choline is so important
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  during preconception because it plays an important role in some of the early steps
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  of your baby's development, including the proper closure of that neural tube.
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  It works alongside folate in that methylation process and supports
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  brain development in the baby.
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  Up next, vitamin B6 and B12.
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  They support methylation and gene regulation, reducing, again, the risk of
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  birth defects and pregnancy complications.
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  And specifically, B12, B6, and folate are considered the trifecta
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  according to I. A. Bramer, they are all three essential
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  in the homocysteine pathway.
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  This matters because, if we come back to methylation for a second, methylation
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  in preconception period and early embryo development is the Most widely studied
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  form of epigenetic modification and occurs within the one carbon metabolism pathway.
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  And due to the role of folate B6 and B12 in that one carbon metabolism pathway,
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  they play a crucial role intrauterine programming of adult diseases.
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  So basically what that means is like they play a role in the future outcomes
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  of like baby's health and their health specifically as they become an adult
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  Vitamin D. Vitamin D is so important for fertility.
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  We actually have vitamin D receptors present on cells of the ovary, uterus,
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  placenta, testes and pituitary gland.
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  Vitamin D enhances ovulation, facilitates egg transport and fertilization.
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  modulates the immune system.
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  It's important to know that vitamin D deficiency is very common,
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  both with conditions like PCOS and also is associated with low
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  ovarian levels in older women.
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  This is something you're going to want to test and supplement appropriately
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  because both too low and too high vitamin D can be problematic for fertility.
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  Um, again, you want to test and supplement appropriately, talk with
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  your dietician or provider about this.
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  Okay, a couple more to cover before we wrap up today's conversation.
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  Melatonin.
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  Yes, melatonin.
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  Isn't that so cool that that also plays a role in fertility?
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  It's more than just a sleep hormone.
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  Regulator is secreted at night by the pineal gland.
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  It helps you regulate circadian rhythms.
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  Exposure to bright light in the evenings will suppress production.
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  And this is problematic because we need melatonin because of its role
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  in ovulation and because it's found in the fluid of ovarian follicles So
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  it increases as the follicles grow So melatonin is another thing that you
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  also want to consider, you know, Am I supporting my melatonin production just
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  through my habits and my sleep hygiene?
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  We're going to cover that specifically in part four, but you
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  may consider supplementing with it.
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  If you've tested for, or if you are older than the age of 35, this may
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  be something to highly consider.
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  Keep in mind, again, sleep hygiene plays an important role in melatonin production.
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  You can also consider something like tart cherry juice to
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  support melatonin production too.
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  Up next, zinc helps regulate gene expression, supports egg development,
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  and reduces oxidative stress.
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  Vitamin C and vitamin E are important antioxidants that protect
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  DNA from oxidative stress and help prevent damage to egg cells.
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  N acetylcysteine, or NAC, boosts glutathione, the body's master
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  antioxidant, Which protects DNA and improves egg quality Iron.
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  Iron supports oxygen delivery to all cells, reducing oxidative stress
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  that can damage DNA and polyphenols like the ones found in berries.
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  Green tea and dark chocolate help protect DNA from damage
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  and supports cellular health.
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  Big picture here, a diet rich in whole foods, antioxidants, healthy fats, and
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  methylation supporting nutrients can optimize mitochondrial energy, gene
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  expression, and DNA integrity, creating the best environment for egg health, a
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  successful pregnancy, and a thriving baby.
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  Keep in mind, too, that men can significantly improve their sperm
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  quality with the same nutrient dense foods, and they, too, need to properly
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  nourish their bodies for fertility.
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  In fact, this is why we've recently added on an add on option for sperm
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  analysis to our program, premier period recovery for fertility.
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  And if you were listening to this episode, you know, you've listened to
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  part one, you're like, okay, well I need to get my body ovulating again.
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  And now you're like part two.
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  Okay.
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  Like I need to add in all these nutrient dense foods.
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  This is exactly what we do with our clients as we are supporting them in.
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  Transforming their relationship with food and body so that they can not
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  only have a healthy relationship with food, but so that they can also
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  get their periods back and properly nourish their bodies for fertility.
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  It would be a lot to do all of this on your own.
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  And it's one of the many benefits to getting a period recovery specialist
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  at your fingertips and getting that personalized support so that every
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  area of your fertility is properly supported to ensure successful pregnancy.
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  The link to apply Because we do have limited spots and you have
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  to apply to be approved is always included in our show notes.
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  Thank you so much for listening to today's episode.
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  I hope you feel so empowered with information about how nutrition just helps
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  your body thrive and function properly.
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  And of course supports fertility.
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  We will be back next week for part three, all about minerals.
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  I cannot wait to talk to you about that until then love to each of you.