Increase Fertility With Healthy Lifestyle Choices

To increase fertility on your own consider: a fertility diet, alcohol and fertility, quit smoking, weight and fertility, exercises for fertility and more

If there was something you could do yourself to improve your fertility without treatment, would you do it?

Although we help many people have a family with fertility treatments, we fully support you getting pregnant on your own without our help. Lifestyle factors affect your chances of success without and with our fertility treatments.

Major considerations for both men and women are weight, nutrition, exercise, stress, environmental exposures, smoking, and drug and alcohol use.

Following is DIY advice on how to increase fertility, provided by the experts at Conceive NJ who understand infertility and the lifestyle factors that can cause it.

Related reading: When To See a Fertility Specialist

Weight and fertility: #1 healthy lifestyle choice

Being overweight, obese and underweight can affect fertility in men and women. This is probably the most common lifestyle factor affecting fertility. In the United States 73.6% of adults over age 20 are either overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

How being overweight, underweight or obese affects fertility

The primary negative effect of weight in men and women relates to how unhealthy weight alters reproductive hormone levels.

• Obesity and overweight in women can cause irregular ovulation or no ovulation (anovulation), as well as lengthened time to conceive.
• Underweight women can experience ovulation dysfunction and infertility.
• Obesity and overweight in men can harm sperm production, sperm quality and contribute to erectile dysfunction.

Action steps on weight and fertility

• Shoot for a healthy BMI (body mass index). While not the only factor in determining an individual’s healthy weight, it’s a good start.
  • Underweight: BMI of 18.5 and lower.
  • Overweight: BMI of 25 to 29.9.
  • Obesity: BMI of 30 or higher.
• Check your BMI at this CDC link.
• Follow a healthy diet and get plenty of exercise.
• Get professional help.
• Losing 5% to 10% of body weight can significantly improve a woman’s ovulation and a man’s sperm quality.

Increase fertility by following a fertility diet

A fertility diet is actually just following dietary guidelines to minimize consumption of harmful foods and drinks while maximizing beneficial items. The American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) notes that studies indicate that micro- and macronutrients can have a positive effect on fertility. Other micro- and macronutrients can have a negative effect on fertility.

Foods and nutrients that are good for you and your fertility

• Multivitamins.
• Folic acid.
• Foods with long-chain omega-3 fatty acids like salmon, mackerel, trout, herring, sardines, oysters and mussels.
• Full-fat dairy.
• Whole grains like oatmeal, whole wheat, brown rice and rye.
• Plant-based proteins: beans, lentils, chickpeas, tofu and seitan.
• Vegetables, especially fresh.
• Fruits, such as apples, bananas, berries, oranges, pineapples and others.
• Soy products with isoflavones: soybeans, edamame, soy milk and tempeh.
• Raw nuts.
• Extra virgin olive oil.

Avoid or limit these foods that can have a negative effect on fertility

• Meat.
• Trans fatty acids.
• Refined carbohydrates and foods such as sugary cereals, white bread, white rice, pastries and sugary drinks.
• Heavily processed foods.

Is there a PCOS diet that can increase fertility?

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) can cause infertility in women. As with a “fertility diet” there is no specific “PCOS diet” that can increase fertility. But there are general dietary steps that can help manage PCOS symptoms, often affected by blood sugar levels. Eating a balanced, varied diet at regular intervals helps maintain stable blood sugar levels and balance hormones, which can aid in fertility.

Glycemic index

Go with carbohydrates with a low glycemic index (GI), which is a ranking of foods with carbohydrates according to how quickly they raise blood sugar levels. The GI ranges from 0 to 100. Low to medium GI foods are good choices. For example, apples and whole grain pasta are low GI foods; French fries and white pasta are medium; and candies are high.

Verywell Health has a good index of GI food values.

Omega 3s

Omega-3 fats are good for those with PCOS. Sources include oily fish such as salmon, herring, trout and others. Strive for one or two servings a week. Seaweed, algae, flaxseeds and walnuts are good plant-based sources of omega-3s.

Related reading: PCOS and infertility

Alcohol and fertility; caffeine and fertility

Alcohol and fertility

A study noted by ASRM shows that women having two alcoholic drinks per day significantly decreases their fertility, while having less than one drink per day increases a woman’s fertility.

We recommend that women seeking to get pregnant not have more than 1 drink per day. Women who are pregnant should avoid alcohol completely.

Chronic alcohol dependency in men is associated with poor sperm health and quantity. Alcohol abuse in men and women relates to increased risk of sexual dysfunction.

Caffeine and fertility

High levels of coffee/caffeine consumption (more than 5 cups a day or 500 milligrams) can affect a woman’s overall fertility. Even 300 mg of caffeine a day (about 3 cups) can increase a woman’s chance of miscarriage.

To be safe, women should aim for a maximum of 2 cups of coffee (200 mg of caffeine) per day.

Quit smoking, vaping and using nicotine pouches to increase fertility

Smoking tobacco is a bad habit for one’s health and a very bad habit for one’s fertility – male or female. This is a problem we see often at Conceive NJ. ASRM reports that infertility rates in men and women who smoke are twice the rate of nonsmokers. The more cigarettes smoked, the greater the damage to fertility.

Today fewer people smoke traditional cigarettes, but many use alternative nicotine products such as vaping devices (e-cigarettes) or nicotine pouches. While these products are often marketed as being safer than smoking tobacco, nicotine and the chemicals associated with these delivery systems can still negatively affect reproductive health and fertility.

Smoking’s damage to female fertility

The chemicals in cigarette smoke speed up the rate of egg loss in women, decreasing their ability to conceive. It also damages fallopian tube function. Women smokers are more likely to have a child with chromosome abnormalities such as Down syndrome. They are also more likely to have an ectopic pregnancy (occurs outside the uterus) and preterm labor.

Nicotine exposure from vaping products or other nicotine delivery systems may also affect ovarian function and egg quality. Because a woman’s egg supply cannot be replenished, limiting nicotine exposure in any form is especially important when trying to conceive.

Secondhand smoke also negatively affects female infertility.

Smoking and male fertility

Male smokers damage their sperm in multiple ways, harming their ability to impregnate their partner. Smoking damages sperm shape, movement ability and the number of sperm produced. These decrease the sperm’s ability to fertilize an egg.

Nicotine exposure from vaping or nicotine pouches may also negatively impact sperm health, including sperm count and motility. These effects may reduce the likelihood of successful conception.

If I quit smoking, will it increase fertility?

Yes, it will. A woman’s fertility will improve, except for the damage done to her supply of eggs, which never replenishes. Quitting smoking also improves a man’s fertility, as it removes the toxins harming his sperm. Since the body produces new sperm within three months, improvements can occur in that time frame.

Stopping nicotine use in all forms – including cigarettes, vaping products and nicotine pouches – can support better reproductive health and improve the chances of conceiving.

Exercises to increase fertility

Guidelines on exercise and fertility are limited, but there is a definite connection, for women and men. Any specific recommendations need to be based on the individual’s fitness and health status as well as cause of infertility. Because exercise is beneficial to many aspects of health, it also has an indirect effect on fertility in that regard alone.

Exercise and female fertility

Moderate-intensity exercise for women is associated with a lower risk of ovulatory infertility. Regular exercise helps regulate reproductive hormone levels. It can also affect insulin levels, which is beneficial for women with PCOS.

• Vigorous aerobic exercise and strength training are valuable for those who are overweight or obese to improve that effect on infertility.
• Exercise also benefits circulation, which can keep reproductive organs healthy.
• Recommended forms of exercise include walking, running, swimming, cycling, yoga, Pilates and strength training.
• Women should avoid vigorous exercise of more than 5 hours a week. This can affect ovulation and the ability of the uterus to maintain a pregnancy.

Exercise and male fertility

Sedentary behavior in men is linked with poorer reproductive health, including higher rates of male infertility. Physically active men often show better sperm movement compared to inactive men.

Moderate exercise has cardiovascular and metabolic benefits that can support reproductive health in men. Excessive exercise like intense cycling can result in poor sperm concentration and movement.

Additional lifestyle factors affecting fertility

Stress and infertility

There is a link between infertility and stress, though not necessarily a direct one. Stress can reduce one’s desire to have sex, and in men it can decrease sperm production.

STDs and infertility

Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) can cause pelvic inflammatory disease and fallopian tube damage, both of which can cause infertility. STDs in men can cause erectile dysfunction. STDs can be passed from female to male and from male to female.

Related reading: Blocked Fallopian Tubes and Infertility

Environmental toxins and infertility in men and women

Toxins in the environment can reduce sperm production and sperm health in men. In women, toxins can harm egg quality, impair implantation and cause abnormalities in their reproductive system. Endocrine disruptors are a major infertility issue. Air quality is noted by ASRM as a growing concern.

Drug use and fertility

Smoking marijuana has negative effects on female fertility and on male sperm health. These effects are not limited to smoking cannabis. Marijuana use in any form, including vaping, edibles or other ingestion methods, may affect hormone levels, ovulation and sperm quality.

Use of other drugs by men and women carries increased risk of pregnancy complications and neonatal health.

For couples trying to conceive, avoiding recreational drug use is recommended to help support fertility and a healthy pregnancy.

Final thoughts on lifestyle choices to increase fertility

Without a doubt, men and women can make lifestyle choices that improve or harm their ability to conceive and have a healthy child. We understand that making changes to lifestyle factors can be difficult, particularly so when it involves losing weight, changing eating habits, quitting smoking and reducing alcohol consumption. We can put patients in touch with groups and professionals who can help them attain these lifestyle changes. For those having difficulty conceiving, having a healthy child is well worth the effort.