Focus on fertility | Nourishing egg health
nourishing egg health
The health of eggs is a really important factor when it comes to conceiving and having a healthy baby too.
Females are born with all the eggs they will ever have, and as we approach menopause, the number AND quality of our eggs starts to decline, which may impact on the chances of conceiving and carrying a healthy baby. So whilst age is one of the most important factors when it comes to fertility because of the impact on egg quantity and quality, it isn’t something that we can actually change.
Instead, let’s focus on what is modifiable when it comes to egg health - diet and lifestyle.
Why is diet important for egg health?
Whilst we cannot change the underlying genetic code of the eggs, we can help protect eggs from damage by reducing exposures to smoking, alcohol and drug use which may negatively affect fertility health and egg health too. Increasing the amount of antioxidants in the diet may also help protect the egg from exposures we have potentially less control over like pollution, environmental exposures and stress (because sometimes we can’t always be on top of stress management in every single moment!).
Research has shown that higher exposure to reactive oxygen species (ROS) which may cause damage to all our cells, including both eggs and sperm, may negatively impact fertility outcomes.
There are a few key dietary components we want to increase our focus on to help support egg quality:
- Antioxidants - these are a group of compounds found in fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, wholegrains, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil that help protect cells from damage caused by reactive oxygen species (or ROS). Filling your diet with antioxidant rich foods is a key element for conception to help support egg quality and fertility health, overall.
- Healthy Fats - foods rich in healthy unsaturated fats like avocado, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, nuts, seeds and oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids such as salmon, sardines, mackerel, ocean trout and anchovies are important to help support the health of your eggs, and also for your fertility too!
Our expert tips
To help inspire you to include more colour from fruit and veg, and healthy fats in your day, here are some expert backed tips from fertility dietitian, Stefanie Valakas
Get colorful
top a mix of berries on your porridge, or add grated veggies (zucchini, carrot and onion) into your omelette to boost your morning antioxidants!
Cook with extra virgin olive oil
use extra virgin olive oil to cook and dress your salads and veggies. It’s safe, and has the highest antioxidants! Learn more from this interactive oil comparison tool.
Aim to incorporate 2 serves of oily fish each week
try some tinned sardines on toast or a baked salmon fillet with roasted veggies for a boost of omega-3 fatty acids.
Fertility diet tracker
Use the fertility tracker to help ensure you are staying on track with your nutrition each day!
Additional Resources
You can find out more about age and fertility outcomes at Your Fertility.
Keep an eye on your inbox
That’s all for today! Stay tuned for more tips, tricks, advice and insight to help you on your way to well:
- Help boost sperm health using diet & lifestyle
- Track and support ovulation
- Learn about implantation and how you can help support it
