Not ovulating or not ovulating regularly is one of the most common causes for infertility.
There are a number of causes for ovulation problems. For example, being overweight or
underweight can increase the chances of having an ovulation problem. Women with a
Body Mass Index under 20 are 38% more likely to have an ovulation
problem compared to women with a BMI between 20 and 25. A BMI over
25 or over 30 increases the chances of an ovulation problem by over 30%
If you have a normal BMI, will eating or avoiding certain foods make it more or
less likely that you will develop ovulation problems? There is no shortage of so-called
experts who will tell you what they think you should eat or avoid. Unfortunately,
these recommendations often don't have any scientific evidence to back them up.
Several years ago, researchers tried to answer this question by surveying over 100,000
nurses. Only nurses who were married and who had no history of infertility were enrolled
in the study. The entire study lasted 8 years. The researchers would send out a questionnaire
every two years. The nurses were asked to list what they ate and how often,
on average, they consumed each of the foods and drinks on the list.
They were able to show that eating food from certain categories and
avoiding others would increase the chance for ovulation problems.
First, let’s talk about fats. The total amount of fats a person consumed was not linked with
ovulation problems. However, transa fats were. Trans fat is typically found in stick margarine,
fried foods, and yes, Girl Scout cookies. Foods produced in the United States are
required to list their trans fat content on the package. If trans fat is not listed,
look at the ingredients and look for foods that contain “partially hydrogenated” oils.
It only takes about four grams of trans fat to interfere with ovulation. That’s the amount in
two tablespoons of stick margarine, one medium order of fast-food french fries or one doughnut.
What about carbohydrates? This study found that the total amount of carbohydrate in the
diet was not connected with ovulation problems. This is extremely important!
Women with ovulation problems are frequently told to avoid carbs.
Women in the low-carb and high-carb groups were equally likely to have had ovulation problems.
Next up is protein. The researchers found that adding one serving a day of red meat,
chicken or turkey predicted nearly a one-third increase in the risk of ovulation problems. On
the other hand, adding one serving a day of fish or eggs did not have any impact,
but adding one serving a day of beans, peas, tofu or soybeans,
peanuts or other nuts predicted modest protection against ovulatory infertility.
Swapping 25 grams of plant protein for 25 grams of carbohydrates shrank the
risk of ovulation problems by 43 percent. Replacing 25 grams of animal protein with
25 grams of plant protein was related to a 50 percent lower risk of ovulation problems.
Finally, lets talk about dairy products. Women who consumed full fat dairy had a
lower likelihood for ovulation problems. This was not true with low-fat dairy, however.
Our infertility TV bottom line is this, Dietary choices do seem to
make a difference in whether people will develop ovulation problems. The dietary
choices of women who had a lower risk for ovulation problems includes choosing high
fat dairy products and avoiding red meat. Plant-based proteins were better
than animal based proteins but swapping out carbohydrates for proteins is even better.