Top Fertility Foods: A Physiology-First Approach
A Physiology First Approach
There is a lot of noise in the health and wellness world, specifically around what foods you should and shouldn’t eat. As your resident science nerd, over the years I’ve found that there is a problem with only looking at “the research” when it comes to nutrition. One of the biggest problems is, you can essentially find research to support ANYTHING you want. You want research to promote low carb dieting? You got it. You want research to support low fat diets? It’s there. You want research to support intermittent fasting? You’ll find it.
Whatever side you are looking for research on, you will find it. And this is wildly confusing.
The same is true when it comes to advice from practitioners. When I was pregnant with my son, I experienced the perfect representation of this. I had a bout of high blood pressure during pregnancy. I brought my concerns to one practitioner where I was told to reduce my salt intake and drink a gallon of water a day. I left that appointment and went to an appointment with another practitioner, not even 10 minutes later. I brought the same concerns. To which THIS practitioner told me to UP my salt intake and opt for more mineral rich drinks instead of just plain water.
Thankfully, I do a ton of research into the human body. I’m fascinated by it. But I can’t help but imagine the woman whose passion ISN’T physiology. Who is just looking to be directed by trusted people to make the best decisions for her body. I’m sure it’s incredibly confusing. Heck, I even do this for a living and I still had to pause and check in with myself, otherwise I could easily fall into that confusion.
Today’s blog is inspired by a question I received in a Q&A box on Instagram. She very simply asked about fertility foods, and so today I want to give you my top 5 fertility foods. But before I dive into that, I want to give you some tools.
When you are wading through all the research or trying to discern what practitioners may be telling you, my belief is that it is incredibly important to take a physiology first approach. Like I said before, you can find research to support EVERYTHING. So how do you know what’s true and what’s not?
Look at the body.
What makes sense in regards to female physiology? Because the truth of the matter is, female physiology is not going to respond the same to everything so we have to filter through what we read and what we’re told based on how our bodies are designed to function. It’s kind of like the Bible – as a Christian, I believe the Bible to be the ultimate authority on everything. It is THE truth. And so I filter everything I learn through the lens of scripture. If I learn something that doesn’t align with what I know to be THE truth (because truth by nature is absolute) then I simply keep the good and spit out the bad. In terms of nutrition and fertility, the body is your filter. We HAVE to have a respect for female physiology or else we are going to subscribe to information that may not actually be in alignment with your intelligent design.
This is why my top fertility foods may be a bit controversial but I wanted to give you this preface before I go into it so you get a little look into how I think – and hopefully encourage you in your research because my platform is never meant to be the final word. My hope is that you feel equipped to go and make informed decisions for yourself.
Another semi-disclaimer I am going to make: I’ll be talking about the vitamins and minerals present in these fertility foods, and what I DON’T want you to take away is that all vitamins and minerals are created equal. I don’t want you to think that popping a pill or getting a prenatal with these in them is enough. It’s not.
I don’t recommend prenatal vitamins for a couple of reasons.
1. They are one size fits all when the truth is—we are all different! We all have different deficiencies and needs.
2. They’re usually synthetic. Yes, even the organic brands contain synthetic ingredients that could actually hurt you or baby!
3. They provide a false sense of security. This is a BIG one. A lot of times, people will take them thinking they are covering all their nutritional bases, when the reality is they are deficient in quite a few areas!
4. They contain things they shouldn’t like iron, vitamin D, calcium…
5. The vitamins are in the wrong form: most of the things in prenatals are in a form your body can’t use (ascorbic acid, beta carotene, folic acid, etc.)—when you really need whole food vitamin C, retinol, and folate!
6. Improper ratios: the ratios of nutrients are all out of whack. A major example is the calcium to magnesium ratio (it’s generally wayyyyy too high!)
A prenatal does not compare to real food. You absolutely must get your nutrients from real food. Check out the research portion of my Amazon storefront to find some resources to dive into!
Ok, now the moment you’ve been waiting for. My top fertility foods. These foods are considered fertility foods because of their bioavailability and pro thyroid effects. They are foods that I consume whether or not I’m trying to get pregnant because of their nourishing properties. And I truly believe that anyone can benefit from these.
1: Beef Liver
First up: Beef liver. Beef liver has been praised for centuries as nature’s fertility food. For a couple of reasons. Our ancestors understood that eating the organs of an animal had the unique ability to improve the corresponding organ in the human body. Which makes perfect sense why the liver is considered a major fertility food. The liver is essential for the production of progesterone in the body. The liver and the thyroid have a very intricate relationship. What we can confirm now through data and testing, women of old understood this through observation. Beef liver is a natural source of folate, B12, and zinc as well as vitamin A, selenium, copper, and more. It is a powerhouse of bioavailable vitamins and minerals. If you are wanting to improve fertility or just overall metabolic function, beef liver is essential to your diet.
There are a few ways you can consume beef liver. Raw is the best – raw liver is perfectly safe to consume, there are just a few stipulations you need to keep in mind when it comes to consuming raw liver. First is that it must come from grass fed cows. This will ensure you’ve got a quality liver. Get with your local farmer and talk with them about their farming practices. Most have a deep respect for this. The next thing to keep in mind is freezing it for at least 14 days. This kills any potential parasites that could be a problem. Liver frozen for 14+ days is perfectly safe to consume. I cut my liver into little bite size pieces and freeze it. When it’s time to take them (if you’re doing raw 2-3 times a week is enough) let it thaw and then throw it back like a shot. I chase mine down with orange juice. My three year old chews it like a freaking savage.
Now, if you DON’T want to do raw liver, there are a few other options. You can cook it into your food. Force of Nature meats has an incredible organ blend of ground beef, bison, or venison. Liver from any of these ruminant animals is great. We’ll make burgers and you can’t even tell. And the last way to consume it is probably the easiest and that’s a beef liver or organ capsule. This is the most common way I take mine. I recommend the brand perfect supplements linked here. It’s an easy way to start getting the benefits of liver in your diet if you’re not ready to throw back some raw liver. Baby steps. But getting it into your diet in SOME capacity will be incredible for your fertility.
2. Eggs
The next fertility food is EGGS. Specifically pasture raised eggs. These contain choline, omega 3s, DHA, EPA, and B vitamins! These are incredibly nourishing. A trend you will find with each of the fertility foods we’ll talk about is the importance of fat soluble vitamins. Eggs, specifically the yolks, are DENSE with the essential vitamins and minerals. I recommend consuming raw egg yolks or at least runny egg yolks daily. Cooking the yolks all the through increases fatty acid oxidation and can contribute to oxidative stress in the body (mind you, I still consume scrambled eggs whenever I feel like it. The point of telling you this is not to say NEVER cook your yolks, but to simply bring awareness around it). But aim to get runny egg yolks or raw egg yolks into your diet daily.
3. Raw Dairy
The third fertility food is grass fed dairy, and raw is best! I laugh because during pregnancy, I called raw milk my “anti depressant”. I think intuitively, I knew how much my body needed it. When I am pregnant or breastfeeding I consume a quart or more of raw milk daily. Things like raw milk with the cream, grass fed butter, grass fed cheese, contain the essential fat soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K and minerals like calcium! Calcium alone drives tonsssss of physiological processes in the body and many of us are deficient. Vitamin A, in the form of retinol, is essential for thyroid health and progesterone production. There are just so many different benefits from dairy. Quality dairy does NOT cause inflammation in the body – and if you’re hesitant because you are “lactose intolerant”, I want you to know most people who are lactose intolerant can tolerate raw dairy because raw dairy contains all the enzymes necessary to digest it. The pasteurization process kills all those enzymes and strips the dairy of its vitamins and minerals. Raw, grass fed dairy is NOT the same product as conventional dairy.
4. Grass Fed Beef
=Number 4 fertility food is grass fed beef! Surely you're following a trend. Animal products are superior to anything else. They are easily digested, improve stomach acid profile, and contain bioavailable vitamins and minerals. I feel like so often we get swooped up into looking for supplements and pills to take to meet our nutrient demands for fertility, pregnancy, postpartum etc… When really we can get SO much from simply a quality steak. I recommend prioritizing eating nose to tail, meaning eating different parts of the animal to build a better amino acid profile. So getting things like bone broth into your diet daily – bone broth is rich in glycine which is essential for progesterone production. It’s an amino acid that’s not present in muscle meat, so consuming bone broth is a great way to improve your amino acid profile and thereby decrease inflammation in the body. But getting bones, tongue, offals, cheek – the “nasty bits” per se of the animal are incredibly dense and nourishing to fertility.
5. Wild Caught Fish
The fifth fertility food is fish and shellfish. These foods are rich in iodine, copper, DHA, EPA, and omega 3s. All essential for proper thyroid function, which in turn translate to ample fertility and cycle function. I personally recommend most white fish as they have a lower PUFA profile. So fish like cod, mahi mahi, scallops are great sources, as well as shell fish like shrimp, oysters, clams, etc. We also regularly consume sardines as well as they are rich in zinc, retinol, vitamin D and calcium. The most important thing when choosing fish is making sure they are wild caught. We love cod fish and eat it probably twice a week for dinner as it’s super budget friendly, high in protein, and low in PUFAs. However you get fish in your diet, consuming some sort of wild caught fish or shellfish 1-2 times a week is an excellent way to boost fertility.
Gradual and Consistent Changes
There you have my top fertility foods. These are the foods we prioritize in our budget and in our day to day. They make up the bulk of our caloric intake. Now, what I don’t want you to take away from this is that this is ALL we eat. By no means. Carbs are essential for fertility and this list I give is more so protein and fat heavy. I still recommend consuming carbs from real food sources like fresh, seasonal fruit, well cooked root veggies, maple syrup and honey. That is still incredibly important. However, when we build our plates, in order to build a more balanced plate that keeps blood sugar in check, we prioritize quality animal products FIRST. Then our carbs.
I never want you to take what I talk about as a hard and fast rule. I recommend foods that are bioavailable with a rich nutrient profile and easily digestible. Foods that make sense to the female physiology. As you are on your fertility journey, start opting for denser foods. You’ll experience more satiety, more regulated blood sugar (essential for progesterone production!!), and a higher influx of vitamins and minerals essential to fertility. If you are someone that has not prioritized real animal foods in the past, I recommend starting slow. Add a little at a time, slowly over time. Don’t try to completely change everything all at once. That in and of itself is stressful to your body. I hope these recommendations were helpful!