Looking to boost your fertility? Today I share with you our top 10 Natural Fertility Boosters. These are changes you can implement from home and have been shown to support healthy fertility.

1. Fertility Diet: Change How and What You Eat

Did you know diet changes alone can increase your fertility? Studies have shown time and time again that making simple diet changes lowers the risk of infertility and boosts overall reproductive health.

Harvard performed a study that showed an 80% decrease in infertility with the lifestyle changes made by switching to a fertility diet. Women who followed a combination of five or more lifestyle factors, including changing specific aspects of their diets, experienced more than 80 percent less relative risk of infertility due to ovulation disorders, compared to women who engaged in none of the factors, according to a paper published in “Obstetrics & Gynecology”.

Another study published by Fertility and Sterility, 11/10/2011 showed that men who consumed more healthy meals each day had better sperm health and count than men who had poor diet and lifestyle habits. Men that ate a diet rich in a variety of whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, with low red meat consumption had better sperm health, count and motility.

By switching to a fertility diet you will:

• Increase nutritional levels by eating whole foods
• Provide the body an abundance of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other vital nutrients
• Support healthy fat intake which promotes healthy cholesterol levels for hormonal balance
• Decrease your risk for infertility
• Increase reproductive health
• Aid the body in healing
• Aid the body in maintaining a healthy body weight
• Support healthy energy levels

The Natural Fertility Diet: How to Eat for Optimal Fertility

2. Consume Fat: Say What? Fat is Good for Fertility

Fat intake is vital to healthy fertility. Many fats are actually good for us, and are in fact essential to our good health. Instead of worrying about how much fat we eat, we need to be concerned with the types of fats we eat. We need a certain amount of saturated, monounsaturated and essential fatty acids to produce cholesterol. Cholesterol is needed for formation of healthy cell membranes and is a precursor to all steroid hormones (progesterone, estrogen, FSH, ect). We cannot have proper hormonal balance without adequate amounts of fats. The human body needs adequate levels of all types of fats.

Be sure you are eating good sources of fats, including cooking with stable oils that will not oxidize at high temperatures. Oxidation when cooking with oils that burn at high temps (olive oil) can turn the oil into a trans fatty acid and damage cellular health.

Fat tips:

• Eat whole fat, raw organic dairy products; yogurt, butter, cheese
• Coconut oil is the most stable saturated fat and tastes great, choose it for cooking over olive or canola oil.
• Cod Liver Oil provides important acids. DHA and EPA are vital for brain, nervous system and emotional wellbeing.
• Great sources of Omega 3 Fatty acids are cod liver oil and flax oil.
• Great sources of Omega 6 EFA’s are evening primrose oil and borage oil.
• Great sources of Omega 9 EFA’s are fresh seeds and nuts, avocado and sunflower oil.
• Avoid cooking with olive oil, canola oil, margarine (contains soy and hydrogenated oils).
• Avoid fried foods, fast foods, prepackaged foods, pastries, cakes, ect. These are full of trans fatty acids which may damage cellular health.
• Cod Liver Oil Essential for Healthy Fertility and Pregnancy
• Omega 3-6-9, Essential Supplement for Fertility

3. Vitamins & Minerals: The Missing Links for Fertility Vitality

Both partners should include a multivitamin made from whole foods. Why? Our dietary habits should come first and we should get most of our vitamins and minerals from what we eat daily, but more than likely you will not get what you need from food choices alone. Whole food multivitamins help us to make sure we are getting enough vital nutrients necessary for maintaining hormonal balance, creating healthy eggs and sperm, and creating a baby. In women nutritional deficiencies can lead to irregular menstrual cycles, anovulatory cycles, hormonal imbalance, increased risk for miscarriage and lowered egg health. In men, nutritional deficiencies can cause hormonal imbalances, lower sperm health and count.

Little known facts about vital nutrients:

• Low iron, vitamin B12 and B6 levels associated with anemia can cause ovulation to stop.
• Magnesium deficiency is a leading cause of menstrual cramps.
• The period of time that it is most important for the fetus to get folic acid, is before you will even know you are pregnant.
• Zinc is necessary for the formation, function and quality of male sperm.
• Vitamin C has been shown to help improve hormonal levels and increases fertility in women with luteal phase defect.
• Vitamin E is an important antioxidant to help protect sperm and egg DNA integrity.
• A study by Harvard has shown that taking multivitamins improve chances of pregnancy.

Why should the multivitamin be made from whole food?
Because the body is able to easily breakdown, assimilate and utilize the nutrients found in whole food multivitamins as opposed to synthetic or isolated vitamins and minerals.

Women should continue taking a whole food multivitamin into pregnancy, but it should be specific for pregnancy. Baby and Me Multivitamin is an excellent whole food prenatal multivitamin.

4. Drink a Fertility Smoothie Daily: Include Fertility Superfoods

You are literally made up of what you eat. Do you feel like making diet changes will be tough? Not if the first diet change you make is to drink a fertility smoothie each day. Drinking a fertility smoothie daily is one of the easiest and most delicious steps you can take to change your diet. Smoothies that include fertility superfoods are the best way to pack a ton of nutrition into one meal.

Superior Fertility Superfoods to Add to Smoothies:

Maca is a peruvian root that helps to support hormonal balance. Maca contains 31 different minerals and 60 different phytonutrients. This root is a nourishing food for the endocrine system, aiding both the pituitary, adrenal, and thyroid glands (all involved in hormonal balance.) Maca has the ability to affect key hormones in both women and men without containing hormones itself. Maca has a nutty flavor and is available as a loose powder easily added to smoothies.

Spirulina is a cyanobacteria, that is commonly referred to as blue-green algae. Spirulina is considered to be of the highest quality protein, superior to all other plant proteins. Powdered, dried spirulina is an excellent way to increase protein intake, which is vital to sustaining pregnancy. This little bacteria provides a wide range of vitamins and minerals.

Royal Jelly is a creamy substance is produced by bee’s to nourish their queen. Royal Jelly is rich in amino acids, lipids, sugars, some vitamins, fatty acids and most importantly, proteins. It contains ample levels of iron and calcium. Royal Jelly also contains acetylcholine, which is needed to transmit nerve messages from cell to cell. Regular consumption of high-quality Royal Jelly has been shown to help balance hormones.

Fertility Smoothies – A Fun and Delicious Way to Boost Your Fertility

5. Fertility Yoga: Benefit Your Mind, Body & Spirit

Oh yeah! YOGA! There is no other exercise program that supports fertility like yoga poses and breathing techniques specific for aiding reproductive function. Yoga is a well rounded exercise program. Trying to conceive can be stressful. Fertility yoga can help you reduce stress by teaching you to clear the mind and slow breathing, all while creating a strong and healthy body ready for pregnancy and parenting.

Benefits of Fertility Yoga:

• Yoga stretches and tones the muscles for increased flexibility and strength
• Fertility specific poses help to keep the reproductive organs in proper alignment
• Increased circulation to the entire body for proper detoxification and healthy renewal of cellular health
• Teaches you how to center your heart and mind for stress reduction
• Supports endocrine function for improved hormonal balance

Learn the benefits of Fertility Yoga here…

6. Fertility Cleansing: Clean “House” Before Inviting a New Life to Come In

You may be thinking,”Oh no, not me, I don’t need to cleanse.” But guess what, most of us do! What resides in your body and the body of your partner is going to making up your child. On top of that, a woman’s body is your child’s first home. I am pretty sure you plan on cleaning your house before your baby comes, so why not clean your baby’s first home; your body!

Did you know that we are constantly bombarded by chemicals that have the ability to alter our hormonal balance? Well we are, those chemicals are called xenohormones. Xenohormones mimic our natural hormones, which can cause hormonal imbalances. We are exposed to these daily through plastics, car exhaust, paint fumes and more. On top of that many of us lead high-stress lives, are sedentary, have sleep disturbances or we may regularly consume too much sugar, alcoholic beverages, and take medications. These all contribute to hormonal imbalance in the body.

Fertility Cleansing uses specific herbs to cleanse the body of these toxins and excess hormones. Fertility Cleansing is recommended for both partners, to help restore hormonal balance, strengthen the reproductive system all to prepare for conception and pregnancy.

Prepare for Conception with a Fertility Cleanse…

7. Fertility Massage: Massage Techniques to Improve Female Fertility

Fertility Massage is specific to women’s reproductive health. There are two kinds of fertility massage.

Self Fertility Massage™
Self Fertility Massage is series of massage techniques you can do from home to increase reproductive organ health. My colleague, dear friend and creator of Natural-Fertility-Info.com created the Self Fertility Massage DVD for all of you, so you can increase your fertility in the privacy of your own home. This type of massage helps to promote hormonal balance, promote circulation to the reproductive organs, reduce pain, strengthen the uterus and more. Self Fertility Massage can also be part of a natural therapy program for blocked fallopian tubes, endometriosis and uterine fibroids.

The Arvigo Technique of Maya Abdominal Massage™
Developed by Dr. Rosita Arvigo, this holistic pelvic care approach uses many of the same massage techniques that are part of Self Fertility Massage, but they are performed by a practitioner rather than you performing them on yourself.

Fertility Massage “awakens” the uterus, fallopian tubes and ovaries. This awakening invites in healthy fresh oxygenated blood, gently moves toxins out and strengthens the entire pelvic bowl. If you have not tried this yet, you can see what I am talking about here…

How to Use Self Fertility Massage™ to Boost Your Chances of Conception

8. Herbs: Powerful Support for Proper Reproductive Function

Doesn’t a nice cup of herbal tea sound nice? I never go a day without 3 cups of tea. I also use a variety of herbal preparations everyday to maintain my health and the health of my family. Learning to use herbs can be a supportive and healthy way to boost fertility.

Plants have been used for thousands and thousands of years to promote health, heal, increase libido and improve fertility. There are a wide variety of herbs to help improve fertility health. Liver supporting herbs help to promote hormonal balance. Adaptogen herbs support endocrine system function, protect the body from the damaging effects of stress and boost immunity. Some herbs have been shown to promote regular function of the menstrual cycle, while other are specific to aiding in function of the male reproductive organs.

There are herbs for menstrual cramps, reduction in heavy bleeding, improving uterine tone. There are even herbs that protect sperm health and boost erectile function in men. If you have never considered trying herbs for fertility, just check out our complete Fertility Herbs Guide. This guide will help you learn which herbs can be used for which fertility issue.

9. Make a Stress Reduction Plan: Slow Down Now

We live in a fast-paced world, full of high demand. That demand puts a lot of stress on the body. Stress can cause the body to no longer function as it should. A body in a constant state of stress can actually shut down reproductive function. This is not ideal if you are trying to get pregnant! It is essential that you make a stress reduction plan. You can change everything else in your life; your diet, you can take many herbs, supplements, ect., but if you do not consciously take down time each day, stress is going to have damaging effects on your health. Learn the impacts of stress on fertility and what you can do about it here: Stress and Your Fertility

10. Timing: Know Your Cycle to Optimize Your Chances of Conception

Learn to chart your cycle and time sexual intercourse correctly. Believe it or not, a recent study came out that showed most women calculated their most fertile times incorrectly. This can be devastating when you are trying to conceive. Missing your window of opportunity due to incorrect timing can be changed easily though!

You have a 6 day window to get pregnant, with only 2 peak days. So begin trying to conceive 3 days prior to ovulation, the day of ovulation and 2 days after that. If your male partner has low sperm count or poor sperm health, try to have sex only the day of ovulation. Abstaining from sexual intercourse for the days prior to ovulation will help to build up his sperm count. Most women ovulate 2 weeks before menstruation begins. Charting helps you to know if and when you may be ovulating; which will help you to know when to try to conceive.

References:
– LiveScience Staff. (9/6/2012). When Can You Get Pregnant? Many Women Don’t Know, Study Claims. Huff Post Women. Retrieved online from: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/09/06/when-can-you-get-pregnant-fertility-calendar-conception_n_1861006.html
– Harvard University Gazette. (2007). Changes in diet and lifestyle may help prevent infertility. Retrieved online from: http://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2007/11/changes-in-diet-and-lifestyle-may-help-prevent-infertility/
– Braga, D. P. D. A. F., Halpern, G., Rita de Cássia, S. F., Setti, A. S., Iaconelli, A., & Borges, E. (2012). Food intake and social habits in male patients and its relationship to intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes. Fertility and sterility, 97(1), 53-59. Retrieved online from: http://www.fertstert.org/article/S0015-0282%2811%2902677-X/abstract
– Rodriguez, Hethir, C.H., C.M.T. (n.d.) Omega 3-6-9, Essential Supplement for Fertility and Pregnancy. Retrieved online from: http://natural-fertility-info.com/essential-fatty-acid-fertility
– Rodriguez, Hethir, C.H., C.M.T. (n.d.) Fertility Yoga. Retrieved online from: http://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-yoga
– Rodriguez, Hethir, C.H., C.M.T. (n.d.) Prepare for Conception With a Multivitamin. Retrieved online from: http://natural-fertility-info.com/multivitamin
– Rodriguez, Hethir, C.H., C.M.T. (n.d.) Fertility Smoothies – A Fun and Delicious Way to Boost Your Fertility. Retrieved online from: http://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-smoothies.html
– Rodriguez, Hethir, C.H., C.M.T. (n.d.) How to Use Self Fertility Massage™ to Boost Your Chances of Conception. Retrieved online from: http://natural-fertility-info.com/fertility-massage