Many people believe that a low fat diet is a healthy diet. This is not entirely true. What is important to focus on is the kind of fats that you are eating. This becomes critical when you are building another human! (or trying to). First, that cute little baby’s brain is the best part, and we have to feed it the right stuff. This is the number one thing I harp on with pregnant mommies and mommies trying to conceive. Fat is vital for proper function of the body. You need fat and cholesterol to make cell membranes. You also need cholesterol to make hormones. You need nutrients from fat to reduce inflammation. If you eat processed fats, you are building your cells with unnatural materials. If you are having a baby, you need to make sure you are making all of their cells and brain tissue with fats that actually exist in nature. And remember, your body feeds a baby fats that you have been eating for the last 3 months, so it matters before you conceive, too.
Remember that fats in a box / bottle feed the inflammatory process in your body. This is especially detrimental in people whose fertility problems are related to inflammatory processes. The right fats are even needed for the egg to be released from the ovary!
Omega 3 fatty acids are significantly deficient in the American diet, but are optimal for nearly every aspect of health and well-being. Deficiency in Omega 3’s can result in depression, anxiety, heart disease, menstrual problems, and excessive inflammation. We don’t just need the Omega 3’s though. Low Omega 6’s have been implicated in spectrum disorders. Do you need to take a capsule of those too? Instead, why not just eat whole foods with fat in them?
Because fish have become such a significant source of toxic exposure in our diet, it is important to make sure you are getting a clean source of fish oil. That means eating wild caught fish. If you do take a fish oil supplement, you MUST supplement with a high quality oil that is molecularly distilled, tested for purity, and kept temperature controlled. This is one supplement that should be purchased directly from your doctor to ensure quality. Low quality fish oil can be rancid and polluted, which is ultimately more detrimental to your health than helpful.
Interested in receiving my information on fertility in a series of emails? It’s free, and organized for your convenience. Contact my assistant at DrJohson@aspirehealthkc.com and ask to receive the optimizing fertility series. This includes the blogs on the website and a few extra tips.