The author of the blog “Srčna mama” published her story in 2014 about her 3-year struggle with infertility. Her diagnosis was diminished ovarian reserve, which was confirmed by laboratory tests. Later, it was discovered that many of her husband’s sperm also had DNA damage. You can read more about her story on her page: “Diet for Infertility”. I also recommend reading the article “Infertile Couples Need Understanding, Support, and Compassion.”
What I would like to share with you with her permission is part of the article where she talks about a different approach to treating infertility, which American doctors tend to favor more. As they read mainly American forums, they started taking supplements, drinking “fertility smoothies,” and paying attention to what they ate and drank… She also added DHEA, which is a supplement for women with diminished ovarian reserve. This diet is supposed to have an effect after three to six months. For them, luck smiled after the second month of changing their diet and lifestyle.
What to Do?
- FERTILITY SMOOTHIE – Sample Recipe
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 apple
- 1 tablespoon of CHIA seeds
- 1 bunch of parsley
- 1 dl of water
You can find other recipes here: Link to other recipes and search for other websites as well.
They both drank these “blends” twice a day. They are supposed to help mainly with sperm DNA and better cell quality.
2. SUPPLEMENTS
They took quite a few of these in their diet every day, but you can also obtain them through food.
They consumed daily:
- 2 tablets Q10 50 mg
- 1 tablet Elevit
- 1 tablet D400
- royal jelly in the morning, 1 teaspoon under the tongue
- wheatgrass, drink in the morning
- Omega-3, 3x 1000
- Vitamin C 500 mg
- Beta carotene, 1 tablet
- Zinc, she took 1 tablet, partner 3 tablets
- Selenium
- Only she took 3x daily 25 mg micronized DHEA
3. DIET
Just as her supplements were put together based on research, she also ordered the book “Fertility Diet,” which was the result of extensive research conducted at the Harvard School of Public Health on 18,000 participants. This research claims that you need to follow 10 essential principles for eating for fertility:
- Avoid processed fats.
- Include saturated plant oils in your diet (olive, pumpkin seed…).
- Increase intake of plant protein (definitely not soy!!!), minimize animal protein (but don’t eliminate it!).
- Use slow-digesting carbohydrates with fiber.
- Drink one glass of whole milk per day (unprocessed), completely avoid skimmed or semi-skimmed dairy products, those that are diet… etc…
- Increase folic acid intake to at least 400 mcg per day (she increased it to 1000 mcg per day).
- Increase intake of plant-based iron.
- Completely stop drinking sweet carbonated beverages.
- Reduce body weight by at least 10%.
- Moderate physical activity (for those who had none).
Some links to PDF books:
