For the past 25 years I have worked as a nutritionist, specialising in women’s health, and have seen thousands of people for many different reasons. But by far the most common, divisive and traumatic problem for which both men and women seek help is fertility. Each case is different, but one thing I have noticed time and again is that few people take a holistic approach to the problem. They eat the right things, but smoke. They are fit, but have never been checked out for infections.

For many of us, even the smallest changes to our lifestyle may make the difference between having a child and not. It doesn’t take long for the benefits to kick in: three months, in fact. Why? Because it takes about three months for the follicles on your ovaries to develop before one is mature enough to release an egg at ovulation. A woman is born with her store of eggs: although she cannot change the number of eggs she has, she can certainly change the quality. For men, it takes at least three months for a new batch of sperm cells to mature.

Here, I highlight the speediest and most useful ways in which you can help yourself to get pregnant, fast (the fuller version is in my new book). My plan is designed for any woman who wants to have a baby, whether she is thinking about it or has been trying with no results.

Human fertility is complex and every aspect must to be taken into account, from your diet and lifestyle to your medical history, current stress levels and any environmental and occupational hazards. The good news is that many of the factors involved are within your control.

STEP ONE:
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR DIET

If you’re sceptical about the connection between food and fertility, bear in mind that your body uses the nutrients from the food that you eat – and the supplements that you take – to repair cells, produce hormones and, ultimately, produce healthy eggs and sperm. In many ways your fertility depends upon what you eat.

If your blood sugar is not balanced, or if you are under or overweight, the reproductive hormones that control your fertility will not work properly, severely limiting your chances of conceiving. Also many of the women I treat in my clinic who are having problems getting pregnant exhibit at least one or more important nutritional deficiency.

Your aim is to ensure you include all the vital food groups – sufficient intake of carbohydrates, fibre and essential fats, healthy amounts of protein and lots of water – in your diet three months before you start trying for a baby. Try to incorporate into your diet as many of the guidelines below as you can.

Carbohydrates

These are your key energy source. There are two types: complex and simple. Complex include vegetables and whole grains, such as rye and wheat, and legumes, such as peas and beans. Simple include white sugar, fruit and fruit juices.

For optimum fertility, limit your intake of simple carbohydrates (with the exception of fruit) and eat plenty of unrefined complex carbohydrates. Whole grains are packed with fertility-boosting nutrients.

Protein

This is important for your fertility because it helps to maintain blood sugar balance and gives your body the even supply of amino acids it needs for building and repairing cells, manufacturing hormones and a healthy reproductive system.

Good sources of protein include oily fish, eggs, pulses, beans, nuts and seeds. Instead of meat, eat more legumes, such as lentils, and also nuts and seeds, which are good sources of fertility-boosting protein.

Dairy products

Some studies indicate that dairy products have a beneficial effect on fertility because of their calcium content, while others have found that milk-drinking women tend to be less fertile when older. The culprit appears to be lactose, a sugar found in milk that some people can’t digest and that could damage human eggs.

My issue with dairy foods is their production and their possible hormonal effect on your body at a time when hormones need to be functioning normally in both partners. A cow produces milk only after giving birth so, to obtain a constant supply of milk, the cow is artificially inseminated again two months after giving birth to keep the cycle going. So the cow is being milked while it is pregnant. But pregnancy comes with high levels of hormones, especially oestrogen, and these go into the milk supply and other dairy products. We know dairy foods increase concentrations of oestrogen in the blood.

Fats

Essential fatty acids (EFAs) found in nuts, seeds and oily fish, on the other hand, play a crucial role in fertility and the development of a healthy baby. Scientists have looked at their role in pregnancy and found they are vital for the developing brain, eyes and nervous system of a growing baby. If you don’t eat enough EFAs, hormone production will also be compromised. Good sources include nuts, seeds, flaxseed (linseed) oil and oily fish.

Avoid hydrogenated vegetable oils and use cold-pressed unrefined vegetable oils: five to seven teaspoons a day, made up of different oils, such as sunflower, sesame and extra virgin olive oil.

Caffeine

Researchers have found that caffeine can have an adverse affect on female fertility, so if you want to conceive it makes sense to cut it out altogether. Drinking more than 300mg a day (two to three cups) may also be associated with miscarriage and increase the risk of stillbirth by about 80 per cent.

Controlling blood sugar levels

The amount of sugar (glucose) that is circulating in your bloodstream can have a huge impact on your fertility. Blood sugar levels start to climb every time you eat; your body responds by producing insulin to move the sugar into your cells to be used for energy. Overproduction of insulin, and a resulting condition called insulin resistance, lies at the root of many problems that hinder fertility, including being overweight and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). But even if you don’t have insulin resistance, a diet based on whole foods is a good idea for your health and fertility.

STEP TWO:
CHANGE YOUR LIFESTYLE

If you smoke, quit

According to a report in February 2004 by the British Medical Association, smoking damages the reproductive system for both men and women.

Alcohol

Like smoking, alcohol can interfere with your fertility. One study found that alcohol intake was a significant predictor for infertility among women above the age of 30. In that age group, women who drank seven or more alcoholic drinks a week were twice as likely not to conceive.

Stress

Too much stress can interfere with sex hormone production. It’s not unusual for me to see women with irregular or absent periods and to learn that they are also going through some kind of stress. Also, higher than normal levels of stress hormones can lower libido in both men and women.

STEP THREE:
TAKE FERTILITY-BOOSTING SUPPLEMENTS

Standard medical advice is to get all the nutrients you need from a balanced diet. Unfortunately, even if you do try to eat healthily, your food may not always contain all you need. To ensure that you do get all you need I strongly advise taking supplements. Nutrients, including folic acid, selenium and zinc, have been shown to be highly effective for optimum nutrition, boosting fertility and a healthy pregnancy in conjunction with a healthy diet.

STEP FOUR:
SCREEN FOR INFECTIONS

To increase your chances of a successful pregnancy, it’s extremely important for you to discuss the possibility of sexually transmitted infections with your doctor. There are also a number of genitourinary infections that can stop you getting pregnant or cause miscarriages. As many of them don’t have noticeable symptoms, you may not even know that you have them.

Both partners should be screened for the following: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, bacterial vaginosis, trichomonas, cytomegalovirus, myco-plasmas/ureaplasmas, candida albicans, toxoplasmosis, group B streptococcus, mixed anaerobes, syphilis.

STEP FIVE:
GET THE TIMING RIGHT

Checking your fertility

Since an egg survives only for up to 24 hours and the sperm can live for five days in alkaline mucus, there is a short window of opportunity each month in which you can conceive. The two main changes that you can learn to observe to monitor your fertility are in your cervical mucus and in your basal body temperature.

Time for sex

Lots of sex will help to normalise your cycle and help your partner, too. Abstaining will stack up larger volumes of sperm – but at the same time it will reduce its quality so that it’s less likely to make you pregnant. It is better to have sex every alternate night than every night, as this helps to build up good-quality sperm.

The importance of orgasm

Two British biologists, Robin Baker and Mark Bellis, discovered that, when a woman climaxes any time between a minute before to 45 minutes after her lover ejaculates, she retains significantly more sperm than she does after non-orgasmic sex.

STEP SIX:
ASSISTED CONCEPTION

The aim of this three-month programme is to help you to get pregnant naturally and quickly. Some couples will need additional help though, whether because an inherent medical problem such as blocked fallopian tubes or no sperm found in the ejaculate. In such cases assisted conception is needed.

— © Marilyn Glenville 2008 www.marilynglenville.com
Extracted from Getting Pregnant Faster by Marilyn Glenville, published today by Kyle Cathie for £9.99. Available for £9.49 from Times BooksFirst (P&P included); 0870 1608080, timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst

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