It’s not too difficult to find vegan diet followers these days. Once a fad, now many people swear by it and have made it an active part of their lifestyle.
And yes, going vegan does have many health benefits. You eat clean, remain active, and now there is a possibility that it increases your chances of conceiving.
There seems to be a direct correlation between a vegan diet and fertility, which is now attracting more women who want to conceive naturally.
In fact, new mum Alana Panton believes going vegan helped her conceive. The mum recently spoke about her experience of giving birth at 39, when doctors told her that her chances of having a baby were slim due to low egg count.
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Trying To Conceive Naturally
Panton originally shared the idea of having a baby with her ex-husband to whom she was married between 2011 and 2017. But it wouldn’t until after their divorce when she pursued the idea seriously.
Until then, she had no clue how difficult it would be for her to conceive naturally.
However, a big part of the conception process was changing her lifestyle to increase her chances of becoming pregnant. And this included adopting a vegan diet.
Panton says she completely got rid of animal products and alcohol from her lifestyle. And even began a juicing program. She immediately saw a change in her physical appearance as a result.
The new mum met someone new later and managed to conceive without really actively trying to do so. Panton credits going vegan that helped increase her fertility and chances of becoming pregnant naturally. Her son was born in June 2019.
Vegan Diet And Fertility: How Does It Relate
So can changing what’s on your plate actually make a difference? Well, turns out there is a correlation. Switching to a vegan diet usually includes eating clean and organic foods, while cutting processed food from your diet.
And this obviously makes a lot of difference to the body function, which has several after-effects one of them being fertility.
A 2018 study suggests that women trying to become pregnant naturally benefit from the addition of these vitamins and nutrients:
- Folic acid
- Vitamin B12
- Omega-3 fatty acids
- Following a Mediterranean diet
And not just in women, eating clean also helps improve the semen quality in men that further increases your chances of a pregnancy. However, do note that good semen quality is not a predictor of fertility but it does increase your chances.
Vegan Diet And Fertility: Why A Healthy Diet Is Most Important
While following a vegan diet helped Panton both physically and mentally, you can follow something that suits your taste and nutritional value rather than sticking to a vegan lifestyle.
Of course, following a plant-based vegan diet does have many benefits including losing excess weight, increasing antioxidants, and improving overall sperm count.
But these are also benefits of eating clean, which your gynaecologist will recommend anyway irrespective of plans for pregnancy.
So, saying that a vegan diet helped you achieve fertility would be a little sensational if not completely accurate. Instead, it’s about eating clean and maintaining a healthy and active lifestyle that seems to do the job.
If a vegan diet works for you, that’s great. Otherwise, you can look at options that suit your dietary choices better in order to improve your chances of conceiving.
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7 Natural Ways You Can Improve Your Fertility
For those mums out there trying to conceive naturally, here are seven things you can do to improve fertility:
- Add more foods to your diet with antioxidants such as fruits, vegetables, nuts and grain. They pack vitamins C and E, folate, beta, carotene and lutein.
- Eat a larger breakfast that should help with more energy throughout the day and will improve the hormonal effects of PCOS.
- Avoid trans fats that increase the risk of ovulatory infertility. This includes avoiding hydrogenated vegetable oils, processed foods, and baked goods.
- Avoid refined carbs such as sugary foods, drinks and processed grains including white pasta, bread and rice.
- Add more fibre to your diet that will get rid of excess hormones and keep your blood sugar levels balanced. They also help remove excess estrogen. Add more sweet potatoes, oats, fruits and avocados to your table.
- Avoid animal-based protein such as meat, fish and eggs with vegetable protein sources such as nuts, seeds and beans. This is also where a vegan diet might help in reducing the risk of infertility.
- Add more multivitamins to your diet to reduce ovulatory infertility.
While changing your diet is a great place to start your pregnancy process, do speak to your doctor for other complications too.
Your gynaecologist will be able to create a diet chart that better suits your bodily requirement and lifestyle, to further your chances of conceiving.
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