Can The Mediterranean Diet Help Boost Fertility? Let’s Find Out – NDTV Doctor

Continue reading this article to understand whether or not the Mediterranean diet can help you boost fertility.

  By: DoctorNDTV  Updated: Dec 21, 2022 02:26 IST

3-Min Read

Mediterranean diet is rich in whole foods and plant-based foods

The Mediterranean diet is both tasty and nourishing since it is full of rich components including fruits, vegetables, whole grains and heart-healthy fats. It’s also linked to a number of advantages, including those that may boost brain function, advance heart health, control blood sugar levels, and more. 

The Mediterranean diet is rooted in the traditional meals that people used to consume in France, Spain, Greece, and Italy are all nations that border the Mediterranean Sea. These persons were recognised by researchers to be unusually healthy and to have a minimal risk of developing various chronic diseases.

There are numerous broad suggestions you can follow to incorporate the tenets of the diet into your daily routine, even if there are no specific directions for how to follow the Mediterranean diet. One of the newer benefits of the Mediterranean diet is its ability to boost fertility. Continue reading this article to understand how this diet helps boost fertility.

Can the Mediterranean diet boost fertility?

According to dieticians at Loyola University Health System, women who eat a Mediterranean-style diet rich in vegetables, vegetable oils, seafood, and legumes have a higher probability of becoming pregnant. In addition to improving fertility, eating a Mediterranean-style diet lowers the risk of heart disease, strokes in women, Alzheimer’s, improves sleep, excess weight, rheumatoid arthritis, and depression.   

For women who want to get pregnant, establishing a healthy eating routine and weight is a smart first step. A good diet and way of life may improve foetal well-being and lower the chance of pregnancy difficulties, in addition to perhaps assisting with fertility.

Along with traditional pregnancy, it may even benefit women undergoing IVF. Especially because when deciding to use IVF to attempt a child, you have to acknowledge that there are numerous factors beyond your control and that success is not assured. 

However, your nutrition and lifestyle are some of the things you can manage when attempting to conceive through IVF. Although making changes to this area of your life does not ensure success, doctors in the field largely concur that doing so can help raise your chances. This is where the Mediterranean diet can be helpful. 

How can the Mediterranean diet improve fertility?

There is a huge amount of reliable information about fertility available online, but there is also plenty of false information. If you’ve ever looked into the relationship between diet and fertility, you may have come across a lot of information about the advantages of following a “Mediterranean diet.” 

A Mediterranean diet is just a way of life-based on traditional cuisine and healthy lifestyle choices; it is not a restrictive diet. It is frequently advised to women trying to get pregnant to boost their chances of conception since it entails eating meals high in important nutrients, such as healthy fats and loads of vitamins.

With the current studies performed on the impact of the Mediterranean diet on fertility, it can be said that the diet can help increase sperm concentration in men. In the case of women, the diet may help beat obesity which is one of the complications many women face when trying to get pregnant. 

How does the Mediterranean diet work?

As discussed in the beginning, the Mediterranean diet is extremely liberal and not restrictive. Which is often the misconception. People have when they hear the word ‘diet’. Fresh foods including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, spices, legumes, and olive oil form the foundation of a Mediterranean diet. Olive oil also aids in the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins and is high in healthy fats. Instead of processed foods, the emphasis of this diet is on whole, single-ingredient foods. 

Seafood, white meat, eggs, cheese, and yogurt should be added as a supplement to these items a few times per week. Even though there aren’t many animal products on the MedDiet, it’s still advised that you consume fish at least twice a week because it’s strong in protein and good omega-3 fatty acids, which are crucial for maintaining pre-conceptional health. Additionally, you should aim to consume red meat no more than once a week.

Try adding the Mediterranean diet to your routine as an additional effort towards increasing fertility. 

Disclaimer: This content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for a qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist or your own doctor for more information. NDTV does not claim responsibility for this information.