can improve chances of conception among women
having trouble ovulating. This is due to the presence
of specific hormones in milk fat, but this higher dairy
fat intake needs to be offset by cutting fatty foods
elsewhere.
In another study co-authored by Dr Chavarro,
the researchers found that a “pro-fertility diet” that
included high levels of folic acid, vitamin B12, and
vitamin D, as well as dairy, soy, and low-pesticide
produce, had a more favorable outcome on fertility
when done in conjunction with assisted reproductive
technologies compared with the Mediterranean diet.
“The adjusted odds … of implantation, clinical
pregnancy, and live birth were higher by 47%, 43%,
and 53%, respectively,” wrote the researchers.
“Being overweight or underweight can also affect
fertility, as the amount of fat in a woman’s body
GlobalHealthAndTravel.com
can influence the menstrual cycle. Overweight or
underweight women may have irregular cycles and
ovulate less often, thus lowering their chances of
conception,” said Dr H Krishna Kumar, a consultant
obstetrician and gynaecologist and past president of
the Obstetrical & Gynaecological Society of Malaysia,
to The Star.
Although such diet strategies can boost your
chances of pregnancy, “it’s not an automatic ‘you do
this and your live birth rate goes up 10 percent’,” Dr
Marie Menke, assistant professor and director of the
division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility
at UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital in Pittsburgh, told
CNN.
One word of caution: if you don’t have an
underlying ovulatory disorder, you may not get a lot of
added benefit through diet, she said.
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