Approaches to Nutrition and Fertility

The main goal in boosting fertility through nutrition is achieving hormonal balance. Some key principles must be observed to reach this balance.

PRINCIPLE ONE: Determine your energy needs for fertility based on an assessment of your caloric needs.

Step One: Determine your BMI which is a rough estimate of your fat stores. Your calculation will help to tell you if you need to lose or gain weight or stay at your current weight to optimize fertility. The calculation for BMI= your weight (in pounds) /(your height in inches X height in inches) X 703. The ideal “Perfect Balance Fertility Zone” is 18.5 to 24.9.

Below 18.5 Underweight

18.5 to 24.9 Perfect Balance Fertility Zone

25.0 to 29.9 Overweight

30.0 and Above Obese

Step Two: Calculate Your BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is the rate at which you burn calories while at rest. “Your BMR accounts for approximately 60 to 75 percent of the calories you burn each day just to stay alive”. To calculate your BMR:

1) Multiply your weight in pounds by 4.3

2) Multiply your height in inches by 4.7

3) Multiply your age in year by 4.7

4) Add the numbers from #1 and #2, then subtract #3

5) Now add 655 to #4 = BMR

Step Three: Input your Activity Level to determine how many calories your are burning per day. To calculate the total calories burned per day:

Sedentary (desk job, little or no exercise) BMR X 1.2

Light Activity (light exercise 1 to 3 days/week) BMR X 1.375

Moderate Activity (Moderate exercise 3 to 5 days/ week) BMR X 1.55

Very Active (6 to 7 day/week) BMR X 1.725

Extreme (hard every day, endurance training) BMR X 1.9

The Bottom Line

If you consume the amount of calories that you burn each day, you will maintain your current weight. If your BMI is too high, you will need to consume 250 to 300 calories per day than your total calories burned and increase your exercise so that you burn 250 calories more per day, to create a 500 calories deficit. If you need to gain weight, consume 500 calories more each day of healthy food. The goal is to reach the Perfect Balance Fertility Zone and promote optimal fertility. The weight change should ideally be 1 to 2 pounds per week—anything more rapid may trigger hormonal imbalances.

PRINCIPLE TWO: Eat Organic foods to minimize intake of chemicals that can be hormone disrupters.

Organic food is grown without artificial pesticides, herbicides and fungicides, and is free of other chemicals and genetic manipulation. The chemicals in nonorganic food can act as hormone disrupters are BioMutagens that mimic a hormone, blocks a hormone receptor or triggers a hormone imbalance.

PRINCIPLE THREE: Consume Power Carbs which include on fruit, vegetables and complex sugars such as whole-grain flour, potatoes and brown rice. These type of carbs, as opposed to processed carbs, are used by the body to fuel the brain and muscles. Its recommended that 40 to 50 percent of your calories come from Power Carbs to promote stamina, alertness, and appetite control throughout the day.

PRINCIPLE FOUR: Eat More Fiber and Whole Grains which promotes slower absorption of sugars and improves digestion. They also help in eliminating of waste, include excess hormones like estrogen and testoterone, and help maintain balance of these hormones. In order to maintain ideal hormonal balance, we should be having 30 to 40 grams per day (average Americans get 5 to 15 grams per day).

PRINCIPLE FIVE: Intake of healthy fats is preferred to a no-fat diet. Fluid fats, fats that are liquid at room temperature, are usually plant-based and preferable sources of fat. Saturated fats in animal products are typically unhealthy fats are are typically gelatinous at room temperature. They have been shown in certain studies to an increase in ovulation issues.

PRINCIPLE SIX: Reduce the amount of animal-based protein and shift to plant-based sources of protein. By lowering the amount of animal-based food you consume, you lower the key trigger of hormone imbalance from BioMutagens that are present in meat.

PRINCIPLE SEVEN: Add nutritional supplements that enhance fertility.

(1) Robert Greene, Perfect Hormone Balance for Fertility