If you want to get pregnant, eat more fruit !

Eating more fruit has been shown in a study to improve conception.

In the study published in Human Reproduction, the researchers looked at the dietary patterns of 5,500 women from Britain, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand. It appears that those who consumed the least amount of fruit were 50 per cent more likely to be infertile. It also dispels a myth that eating fruit actually reduces the chances of becoming pregnant.

Women who ate three or more portions of fruit every day in the month before conception were more likely to get pregnant. Women who ate fruit less than one to three times a month took half a month longer to become pregnant.

Interestingly, when the amount of fast food was assessed, it appears that women who never or rarely ate fast food appeared to conceive more readily than those who ate fast food four times or more per week. It appears the latter group took nearly a month longer to become pregnant. The risk of infertility also doubled from 8 to 16 per cent with the higher fast food-based diet.

What is odd perhaps is that the amount of green leafy vegetables and fish which are all ‘healthy foods’ had no impact on conception times.

The key message from Professor Claire Roberts, of the University of Adelaide, Australia who was lead author of the study stated:-

“These findings show that eating a good quality diet that includes fruit and minimising fast food consumption improves fertility and reduces the time it takes to get pregnant.”

In the past, research focussed on diet and conception in relation to IVF treatment or countering the issues associated with general infertility. There is very little research if any on conception in the general population. This piece of research did not consider the father’s role. It also relied on midwives collecting retrospective data and that a limited range of foods was considered.

The study also took account of other factors such as a higher body mass index (BMI), their maternal age, levels of drinking alcohol and smoking. Whilst all these factors have their part to play in levels of fertility generally, women should not avoid fruit. The study has addressed an important feature of general health concerning dietary patterns in an important aspect of life – its creation.

 Reference

Jessica A Grieger, Luke E Grzeskowiak, Tina Bianco-Miotto, Tanja Jankovic-Karasoulos, Lisa J Moran, Rebecca L Wilson, Shalem Y Leemaqz, Lucilla Poston, Lesley McCowan, Louise C Kenny, Jenny Myers, James J Walker, Robert J Norman, Gus A Dekker, Claire T Roberts; Pre-pregnancy fast food and fruit intake is associated with time to pregnancy, Human Reproduction, , dey079, https://doi.org/10.1093/humrep/dey079