Dr. Marc Sklar: What to eat if you want to get pregnant. I
started this conversation last week, but I felt like we needed to continue it because this is
one of the most commonly asked questions that I get, especially for those women who are over 40,
really want to do everything in their power to try to get pregnant now and as fast as possible.
So what is the best fertility diet? What are the foods that I should be avoiding if I want to get
pregnant now, or as soon as possible? I want to talk about this and so much more in this video,
and I have a feeling that you're not going to like everything that I have to say. So let's
get into it right now. Dr. Marc Sklar:
Hi, my name is Dr. Marc Sklar, also known as The Fertility Expert, and I've been working
with couples for over 19 years through my online coaching programs and right here in San Diego at
both of my clinics. And diet is such a common question, which is why we're diving deeper into
it today, and why I'm always talking about it because I want to make sure you're doing
everything that you can to get pregnant. Dr. Marc Sklar:
This channel is about fertility and making information available to everyone who wants
to get pregnant. I believe that many of you who are trying to become moms have been misdiagnosed
and misled, who have lost hope because you don't have the right answers to get you the results that
you need. And that's why my mission has been to provide you with all the information that I think
you need to help you on your journey. And a small thing that you can actually do to help women and
couples from all over the world is actually comment on this video and like this video,
and even share this video so that we can reach more couples and they can get the information
that they need as well. Dr. Marc Sklar:
So during last week's video, I spoke about the basics of nutrition, how your meal plate should
look in terms of percentages. I talked about meal planning schedule and my fertility food pyramid.
I included a lot of detail into that. So if you missed that video, I am going to include the link
in the description below in the show notes so that you can easily get to it after you're finished
watching this video. In this week's Fertility TV episode, I want to dive deeper into some of the
intricacies that we didn't discuss last week. And especially for those of you who already feel like
you're doing all the right things with your nutrition, you've got the meal planning down,
you've got your shopping list, you know what you need to be doing and what things you need
to be cutting out of your diet. So I want to find a way to dig deeper for all of you
into some of the fine details having to do with refining your diet based on your specific needs.
Dr. Marc Sklar: So instead of diving right
into diet recommendations, I want to actually take a step back and come back to testing. You know me,
I always start with testing because that's really what allows us to understand what each one of us
needs individually. So taking a step back and looking at testing, then we need to find a way
to understand what our digestive tract is doing properly and what it's not what, it's influenced
by, and using that information to customize a dietary plan for each one of us. And this is where
we dive deeper with stool testing. That's right. It's a stool test. And what the stool test will
start to do is look at maybe some of the bacteria levels, the microbiome of our intestines, of our
GI, look for some of the unwanted infections and unwanted bacteria and bugs that are living
potentially within our digestive tract. Dr. Marc Sklar:
And these are big things. You've often heard me talk about candida or yeast. So this is
also included by the way in this test that I'm discussing, but it's a much more comprehensive
test than just looking for yeast. It's looking for all the things that I just mentioned and how
impactful would that knowledge be for all of us. It would be hugely impactful for us because it
would allow us to understand what our digestive system is doing properly and what it's not,
what bacteria, bugs, parasites, whatever it might be, infections, are influencing how it's
functioning, which in the end, as you've heard me say many times is also going to impact the
way your hormones are in the body. How well you're excreting those unwanted hormones or those excess
hormones and how well you're able to balance and metabolize those hormones. So coming back to our
gut is really, really important. Dr. Marc Sklar:
And if we are over 40, especially impact egg quality, or we've had real your current pregnancy
loss, and we suspect that there might be some sort of autoimmune issue. This also starts in the gut.
So this is such a foundational piece. I've often said to all of you that if we find something,
especially those women who are in my Hope Program, who I've been coaching, they want to know if
they should be doing some testing, or if we're waiting for a plan. I always say our plan and our
guidelines might change for you, our suggestions might change if we find something in this test.
And so that's really important because that starts to go to the top of the list. We need to address
our digestive system first. And if we do that first, then everything else has a solid foundation
to build upon, which is why doing a stool test and more advanced gut testing is so valuable.
Dr. Marc Sklar: The other thing that this
test does is it checks how well you're absorbing your nutrients. So many of you want to understand,
are you absorbing and using the nutrients in the food that you're in-taking? Do you get everything
out of it that you should? Well, this comes down to absorption, how well your digestive system
actually digests that food and breaks it down and takes out, extracts those nutrients. Well, this is
also something that can be found in this test. Dr. Marc Sklar:
So for all of you who want to, or have always wanted to dive deeper, get a better
understanding for what your digestive system is doing. If you've already been doing a lot of those
foundational things, then I think this stool test is really valuable for you. And I'm actually going
to give you a resource. Finally, a resource that you can use, that you can order the test
all on your own, do it at home and get the results straight into your inbox. That's right. They email
you the results. So you can use the link in the description below to actually check out
the test and order it yourself and finally get the answers that you need and deserve.
Dr. Marc Sklar: Now you might actually be saying, well, Marc,
you have even talked about diet. This video's supposed to be about diet. You haven't told me
what I should be eating. Well, here's the thing. As I mentioned in the beginning of this video is
we have to take a step back and do the testing first. And once we get that information for the
testing, the results of that, that's actually going to guide you in what you need to do. It's
going to tell you if you find yeast, or you need to do a candida detox and get rid of all of that
unwanted yeast. If you find unwanted bacteria or parasites, it's going to tell you what you need
to do and how you need to move forward with your diet. Do you need to eat less sugars? What do you
need to incorporate into your diet? This is going to set the stage for this phase of your diet.
Dr. Marc Sklar: And I want to be clear. This is a temporary phase
because whatever you find there is also what you want to clear out. We need to do that in a short
period of time, hopefully, and then move on to a different process, which means changing your diet.
Dr. Marc Sklar: Now, the other benefit of this test is it shows
you that maybe I do need some additional help digesting my food and breaking it down. Maybe I'm
not digesting my fats. Maybe I'm not digesting my per protein properly. What do I need to do that?
So that will help support you and help you start to balance out your diet, and maybe some of the
supplements that you might be taking or need to help break down those foods. So I do believe this
is going to be really important and impactful for your diet overall. But no, I'm not specifically
saying no, eat this and do that, or don't eat this because that's not exactly how this needs
to be approached. You need the information first. Then you could move forward with modifying your
diet to accommodate for your findings. But this is a diet video after all. So I am going to give
you some key tips that I do think are important and that I started to discuss in previous videos,
but I'm going to expand upon right now. Dr. Marc Sklar:
So recently, one of the bigger questions that I've been getting is all about plant-based foods.
Should I be a vegan or vegetarian, switch to all plant-based foods? While some of the research
is actually in favor of this in moderation to a certain degree.
And so this is going to be actually more important for those of you who have PCOS. The research does
show that the more red meat that you eat, the more disturbance you have with your cycles,
the more irregularity you have with your cycles. And so eating a more plant based or heavily plant
based diet can be beneficial for you. Dr. Marc Sklar:
Now, I'm not a big fan of alternating out all these meat products, so hamburgers and so forth
with these kind of fake meat products. I think we can do that in moderation and in small amounts.
But what I mean by a plant-based diet is eating a lot of plants, eating a lot of vegetables. Yeah,
I want that to be a bigger part of your diet. And when we start talking about carbs in your diet,
I want them to come from plants and fruit. We also do see that increased plant diet is better for
embryo development when we are looking at IVF. So that's interesting as well. But why is that? Well,
plants are really important for us. We do need a lot of plants in our diet, and most of us
don't eat enough of that. Dr. Marc Sklar:
So this would lead us to believe that meat is bad, that the more meat we eat, the less,
or the poorer quality our eggs are, and the more irregularities we might have with our cycles. Now,
yes, that is exactly what the research is showing. But I believe that's because the research has
not specified the quality of the meat that we're eating. Now, as I've mentioned previously, quality
is super important. And if we are not getting good quality food, then that is actually the first
thing that you need to change in your diet. But with that being said, we do tend to eat much more
meat in Western society and much less plants and vegetables. And so I do want us to switch a little
bit more and balance our plates out a little bit more in that direction. And I do think overall,
for all of our fertility needs, regardless if you're going through IVF,
embryo development needs, or PCOS or any other reproductive issue, I do think that's going to
work in your favor overall. Dr. Marc Sklar:
Now you've heard me talk about inflammation many, many times. What we want, a more anti-inflammatory
diet. One of the overall diets that is really geared towards this is a Mediterranean diet.
Now again, always we have to modify and make it specific to our needs. And a lot of these diets
that we hear about, paleo, Mediterranean, they're all very similar. It's about eating fresh food,
good quality food, low inflammatory foods. And I talked about a lot of that in the previous video.
Again, that link is in the description below. But one of the benefit it's of
an anti-inflammatory diet is that it increases our essential fatty acids that we're taking in,
increasing the fat intake. Yes, we can get that through an omega oil supplement,
but we can also get that through consuming a bit more fish in our diet as well, and adding in good,
healthy fats. Dr. Marc Sklar:
And every time we talk about fats, we can't ignore dairy because dairy tends to be a big part of our
diet. Well, there is some misconceptions or misunderstandings when it comes to dairy.
The first part is most of us say, should I be avoiding dairy? I think for many of us,
we should. But again, this comes back to quality of the dairy products. Where does it come from?
Does it have a lot of antibiotics and hormones, or is it grass fed and healthier? Is it low fat
or is it high fat? Actually the research shows that the more low fat dairy products you consume,
the more problems you're going to have with your fertility and reproductive system. And the higher,
whole fat, full fat diet you consume, it's going to be better, which is contrary to the marketing
and information you're constantly fed. Dr. Marc Sklar:
So I do think overall, we need to take a step back from dairy products and it shouldn't be such a big
part of our diet, but if you are going to consume it, we need to look at quality and the amount of
fat. So full fat and whole fat is going to be more important than low fat or no fat. And if you're 40
or older, diet might not be enough. Again, this has to be a big part of what you're doing, and it
has to be a foundational piece, but it might not be enough. And I can't miss the opportunity to
talk about individuality and digging deeper. What are the other variables that might be impacting
your fertility and your reproductive system? Dr. Marc Sklar:
Well stress is number one. Now, we don't often think about stress and diet together. But the
reality is if your diet is poor and crappy and a standard American diet, then you are impacting
the amount of stress on your body. It's causing more stress and more inflammation. So they do go
together. But stress also comes in a lot of other forms that does need to be addressed and managed.
Dr. Marc Sklar: After stress, we do need to look at
hormone imbalances. What do your hormones tell you? Now, I started talking about testing
as a means to refine your diet for you. And today, I specifically talked about testing as it relates
to your digestive system, but hormones can't be left out either. We need to do additional testing
on our hormones to better understand them, to also better understand what sort of diet we should be
doing, or how to refine our diet in more detail. And anytime I talk about hormones, diet, and women
who are over 40, I can't ignore your thyroid. Dr. Marc Sklar:
Thyroid is so, so important. And having the right diet based on our thyroid health is
valuable. Like, do we have an autoimmune thyroid? Do we have Hashimoto's? Do we have hypothyroid,
a hyperthyroid? Testing to understand what your thyroid function is, is going to be
super valuable to understanding how to refine your diet and also valuable for your fertility
and reproductive health. And most of us just have one thyroid hormone tested typically,
TSH or thyroid stimulating hormone. We do need to dig deeper to refine your diet a little bit
more for your needs. And that's why a full thyroid panel will really come in handy.
Dr. Marc Sklar: Now I have dived deeper into all of these topics
on other videos. Stress, hormones, thyroid. You want to look deeper into all of those, then you
can check out some of my other videos about these topics, using the links in the description below.
Have you been trying longer than you've wanted? Have you been trying to figure out what's the best
diet for you and still struggling? Well, hopefully you found some information, some guidance and some
insight in this video. If you have, please comment below and let me know. I want to hear from you.
What was insightful and what's going to impact your fertility moving forward, based on what you
learned in this video? Dr. Marc Sklar:
Additionally, if you want more guidance on how to refine your diet, how to dig deeper to your
specific needs, and maybe you decide that you want more testing, or you did the testing on your own,
but you need help interpreting it. That's where my Hope fertility coaching program really comes
in handy. If you want more information on the program and how it can support you,
then I want to invite you to apply for a discovery call. All you have to do is use the link in the
description below. If you found this video helpful, I want you to give me a thumbs up,
let me know by giving me that thumbs up. If you're not already a subscriber to my YouTube channel,
then you need to be. Just hit that bell to subscribe and get notified when I
put out a new video for all of you. All right everyone, until the next video, stay fertile.