IVF Diet and Lifestyle

Your lifestyle, the type of your IVF diet, the level of stress in your life, your physical activity, and exposure to egg/sperm damaging factors play a decisive role in your probability of success. This is particularly the case with advancing age (35 and older).

Reproductive treatments require active participation (both partners) in the process, starting as much in advance of the beginning of your treatment as possible.

Reproductive treatment cannot improve the egg and sperm quality, but your close adherence to the following reproductive health requirements can result in an improved capacity of your eggs and sperm to result in a healthy baby.

IVF Diet and Reproductive Health

1. Optimize Your Body’s Acid-Alkaline Balance: Maintaining a proper blood pH balance is essential for fertility. Minimize acidic foods like grains, corn products, dairy, and processed meat. Increase alkaline foods such as apples, carrots, grapes, and leafy vegetables.
2. Avoiding Pesticides: Organic produce is preferable to reduce pesticide exposure (PDF). If organic is not possible, still consume fruits and vegetables to promote reproductive health.
3. Omega-6 to Omega-3 Ratio: Decrease intake of omega-6 fatty acids (corn, grains, vegetable oils) and eliminate or minimize trans fats. Increase consumption of omega-3-rich foods (deep-sea fish, seaweed, flaxseed oil, seeds, certain vegetables) and take high-quality omega-3 supplements.
4. Reduce Your Dietary Glycemic Load: Limit high-glycemic foods like sugar, potatoes, and foods made out of flour: bread, pasta, pastry, cereal, dumplings, tortillas, chips, cupcakes, cakes, cookies, pancakes, puddings, muffins, crackers, tacos, pretzels, bagels, doughnuts, etc.
   Emphasize low-glycemic options such as fruits, vegetables, legumes, seeds, nuts, and seafood.
5. Reproductive Hormones Imbalance: Avoid or minimize the consumption of foods high in sugar, flour, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and processed food. Limit unfermented soy products and be aware of toxic plastic additives (phthalates) in certain plastics and canned foods.
6. Nutritional Deficiencies: Take high-potency multivitamins consistently to improve reproductive health and reduce the risk of birth defects.
   

IVF Lifestyle and Reproductive Health

1. Exercise has a significant impact on improving insulin sensitivity (decreasing insulin resistance). Frequent and consistent exercise by both partners (if applicable) is critical for good reproductive health and is a part of your treatment at Bay IVF.
2. Stress: Managing stress is essential for reproductive health. Engage in relaxation techniques, meditation, or counseling to reduce stress levels.
3. Sperm Oxidative Stress: Minimize exposure to environmental factors that may cause sperm oxidative stress, such as smoking, exposure to toxins, and unhealthy lifestyle choices.
4. Volatile Organic Compounds: Avoid exposure to harmful chemicals in everyday products like cosmetics, mothballs, and fire retardants.
5. Dental Hygiene: Maintain good oral hygiene and avoid dental infections, which may impact reproductive health.
6. Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine: Consider complementary therapies like acupuncture and Chinese medicine to support reproductive health.

In Conclusion:

Before starting IVF treatment, optimizing your diet and lifestyle is essential. Implementing a health-promoting IVF diet and lifestyle changes can significantly improve the quality of your eggs and sperm, increasing the chances of a successful pregnancy.

Remember, these changes may take several weeks to show results, so start as early as possible. By actively participating in the process, both partners can work together towards a successful outcome at Bay IVF.

Please refer to the IVF Diet and Lifestyle (PDF) and Pesticide Residue (PDF) documents for more comprehensive information.