Eat Greek for a Week: Fabulous food that will improve your health in seven days - Tonia Buxton (2015)

EAT GREEK TO GET PREGNANT

EAT GREEK FOR A WEEK… To Get Pregnant is a nutritional plan for both you and your partner. Quite simply if you make yourself as healthy and happy as you can be - both of you - then with a little love you will make a happy and healthy baby.

Let’s start with what you should be avoiding. Fizzy drinks and sodas are at the top of the list of things to avoid - not just while trying to get pregnant - but because they are toxic rubbish! The same goes for trans or hydrogenated fats. Another foodstuff to avoid is high-mercury fish, such as tuna, halibut and swordfish; even the low mercury fish are best kept to one or two times a week - fish such as wild salmon or farmed trout. You should also avoid anything unpasteurised, such as certain cheeses and milk. Coffee can be drunk in moderation, but limit your intake to one or two cups a day. I believe red wine, especially organic low-sulphur red wine, is also beneficial to conceiving, but only in moderation, with a glass two to three times a week.

This is, of course, a nutrition book, but sometimes we need to be told the obvious! There are many other things to avoid if you wish to fall pregnant: studies have shown that lubricants prevent the sperm from reaching the cervical mucus and therefore they die in the acidic mucus of the vagina. Certain medications also need to be stopped, such as medicine for acne and hypertension and migraines, as they can be harmful to the foetus - but you must check with your doctor first.

It goes without saying that smoking and marijuana use are a total ‘no no’. You must stop using these drugs to have a healthy baby - that goes for BOTH OF YOU! Men need to avoid hot tubs, hot baths, and cut back any heavy cycling. A man’s scrotum is outside of the body for a reason - it needs to keep cool and even wearing too tight underwear can raise the temperature too much. It takes two to three months to produce mature sperm so men need too cool things down from January to enable conception in March!

The biggest enemy of conception is STRESS. I know this is a very difficult thing to deal with in today’s modern living, where stress seems to be part of everyday life, but we have to try to minimise it. Stress affects every cell in your body; it affects your digestive system, your hormones and your sleep. It is very important to make time for yourself to relax, to do things you enjoy and to wind down. It is no coincidence that many babies are conceived whilst their parents are on holiday, but we can’t be on holiday every day! So we have to find a way to relax without leaving the country.

Think about what makes you happy and try and make time to do that. If you can’t think of anything then take ten minutes out of your day, anytime, and count your blessings; sometimes that is all you need to put things into perspective. Try to breathe well; everything starts and ends with breath, so make sure your lungs are filling and your tummy expands as you breathe in and contracts as you breathe out. Many of us shallow breathe and this, in itself, can cause stress and panic. Go online and find a relaxation technique that works for you - there are so many to choose from.

Finally, a fabulous way to get pregnant is to have lots of sex - lots and lots of it if possible. There is a common misconception that a man has to save up sperm for the right time of the month. This is not true: it is much better to have freshly made sperm, produced because of supply and demand (i.e. lots of sex) than stale sperm that has just been festering there. I know that sometimes after a long day at work sex is the last thing on your mind, but if you do want a baby you should be having sex at least three times a week.

NUTRIENT	WHAT IT DOES	FOOD FOR OPTIMUM RESULTS
Vitamin B6	✵ Regulates hormones and blood sugar. ✵ Lack of B6 creates irregular menstruation. ✵ Can help women with Luteal Phase Defect. ✵ Eases PMS.	Tuna, turkey, lean pork, lean beef, liver, salmon, cod, bananas, spinach, bell peppers, turnip greens, collard greens, garlic, cauliflower, celery, cabbage, asparagus, broccoli, kale, avocado, Brussels sprouts, pistachio, sunflower seeds.
Vitamin B12	✵ Strengthens endometrial lining for egg fertilisation, decreasing risk of early miscarriage. ✵ Low B12 linked with abnormal oestrogen levels, low ovulation and can stop ovulation. ✵ Improves sperm quality and production.	Shellfish, liver, caviar, mackerel, crab, lobster, beef, lamb, cheese, eggs, fortified cereals.
Vitamin C	✵ Regulates hormones in women. ✵ Increases sperm count and mobility, reducing miscarriage and chromosomal problems. ✵ Can help women with Luteal Phase Defect.	Citrus fruits, peppers (red and yellow bell), dark green leafy veg, kale, kiwi, broccoli, berries, cooked tomatoes, peas.
Vitamin D	✵ Helps the body create sex hormones, leading to hormonal balance and ovulation. ✵ Links between polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) and low Vitamin D. ✵ Links between female infertility and vitamin D deficiency.	Eggs, oily fish (trout), caviar, dairy, mushrooms, extra lean pork.
Vitamin E	✵ Antioxidant found to help sperm and egg DNA. ✵ Increases sperm health and mobility in men.	Olives, olive oil, spinach, almonds, sunflower seeds, avocados, shrimp, rainbow trout, broccoli, butternut squash and pumpkin.
Folic Acid (B9) Before and During Vital for the development of the child and should be consumed regularly whilst trying to get pregnant so that when fertilisation is successful, the developing foetus will have much of what it needs during its early development.	✵ Reduces ovulatory failure. ✵ Can reduce birth defects, including neural tube defects, congenital heart defects, cleft lips, limb defects, and urinary tract anomalies in developing foetuses. ✵ Deficiency also leads to increase in homocysteine blood levels, causing several severe pregnancy complications including spontaneous abortion.	Asparagus, liver, lentils, black-eyed-peas, spinach, black beans, navy beans, kidney beans, lettuce, mango, oranges, wheat bread, chickpeas.
Iron	✵ Lack of iron can cause low ovulation rate and poor egg health making it up to 60% harder to conceive when compared to women with adequate iron in the blood.	Molluscs, liver, spinach, beans and pulses, sesame seeds, squash and pumpkin seeds (raw), venison, beef, lean lamb, nuts, egg yolk, whole grains, leafy greens, dark chocolate, berries, apricots, grapes.
Selenium	✵ Produces antioxidants which protect the sperm and egg. ✵ Prevents chromosome breakdown lowering birth defect and miscarriage rate. ✵ Necessary for the production of sperm.	Brazil nuts, oysters, tuna, salmon, cod, halibut, shrimp, wheat bread, lean pork, beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, liver, mushrooms, rye.
Zinc Zinc can easily be damaged by cooking and I recommend the cooked products for a higher success rate.	✵ Deficiency leads to oestrogen and progesterone imbalance. ✵ Low zinc linked with early miscarriage. ✵ Increases sperm levels, form, function and quality, even in infertile men!	Calf liver, oysters, beef, lamb, lean pork shoulder, chicken, venison, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, yogurt, turkey, green peas, beans, shrimp, wheatgerm, spinach, cashews, chocolate, mushrooms.
Omega-3	✵ Regulate hormones. ✵ Increases cervical mucus. ✵ Promotes ovulation and quality of the uterus. ✵ Increases blood flow to the reproductive organs. ✵ Helps develop the baby’s brain and eyes.	Tinned tuna, salmon, sardines, halibut, shrimp, snapper, fish roe, scallops, oysters, mackerel, flax seed and oil, walnuts, red peppers.
Fats Avoid hydrogenated oils and vegetable oil	✵ Facilitates the production of all hormones in the body including progesterone. ✵ Helps develop the foetus.	Olive oil, coconut oil, organic meats, fish, nuts and seeds.
Protein	✵ Aids healthy fertility as the amino acids are essential building blocks for all cells in the body.	Chicken, turkey, fish, lean pork, lean beef, cheese, yogurt, egg white, beans, nuts and seeds, sun-dried tomato.
Fibre	✵ Essential for removing excess oestrogen and xenohormones from the body. ✵ Keeps a healthy digestive system, maximising nutrient uptake and functionality.	Bran, cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage, berries, leafy greens, celery, squash, kidney beans, mushrooms, oranges, corn.
Lipoic Acid	✵ Antioxidant which protects the female reproductive system. ✵ Increases sperm quality and motility. ✵ Helps the body re-use antioxidants. ✵ Improves cell health.	Potatoes, red meat, heart, liver, kidneys, broccoli, spinach.