The Beef on Fertility and Meat

Many women become vegetarians for several reasons, such as animal welfare or health reasons, but recently one woman gave up her vegetarian lifestyle in hopes to conceive. After being told she had no health eggs remaining and had the “ovaries of a 44 year old” she decided to make a decision to change her entire lifestyle in order to get pregnant, which she did in her early 30’s. It worked.

Jess Barry’s doctors suggested In Vitro Fertilization (IVF), but she wanted to try all she could before taking that route. Her fertility acupuncturist recommended eating meat and other dietary and lifestyle changes, such as including some red meat and fish, and months later she fell pregnant. The woman attributes switching to a meat-heavy diet and receiving acupuncture treatments to her getting pregnant and having a healthy baby girl. Does this mean all women and men trying to conceive (TTC) should eat nothing but burgers and chicken every day until they are pregnant? Absolutely not – a balanced diet including plants and different kinds of veggies is of the utmost importance!

Can increasing animal protein and fat really help women to get pregnant? Studies show that increasing healthy, natural fats can increase one’s fertility, while eating the majority of calories in the form of carbohydrates can actually create insulin resistance over the years, contributing to infertility, ovarian cysts (or PCOS) and endometriosis. The studies on animal or plant protein contradict the other, but the one thing that remains certain in all fertility studies is that the more natural, less processed foods one eats, the more their fertility increases. Even switching to one serving of unprocessed, full-fat dairy per day vs. low-fat or fat free, processed dairy, increases fertility.  Overall, higher consumption of monounsaturated rather than trans fats, a variety of unprocessed vegetable and animal protein & fat sources, low-glycemic carbohydrates, high fat dairy, and iron from plants, along with lifestyle guidance, can greatly increase one’s chances of getting pregnant.

If you have any questions about diet and fertility, holistic fertility and trying to conceive, feel free to call us anytime. Santa Monica Fertility is always available to answer your questions and support you on your journey to parenthood in the healthiest way possible.

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