Why Preconception Nutrition is Important for Egg Health
When we are optimizing our fertility to prepare for pregnancy, paying attention to our nutrition is one of the most beneficial things we can do to get our bodies ready to make and grow our future baby. When it comes to pregnancy preparation and optimizing fertility, egg health is a particularly important area to focus on. In this post, I’m sharing with you why egg health is important for fertility, how preconception nutrition contributes to your egg health, and how you can optimize your egg health for fertility.
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Why Egg Health is Important for Fertility
When planning a pregnancy, the health of your eggs is important because it may impact your fertility: your ability to conceive and maintain a pregnancy. Egg quality (along with sperm quality) accounts for a significant proportion of fertility issues faced by women trying to conceive. But the good news is that when it comes to fertility, egg health and quality is also the area where diet and lifestyle have the biggest impact- even bigger than any medical intervention, according to studies such as this one.
So how exactly does egg health relate to fertility? Let me explain with a quick (and basic) biochemistry lesson.
Mitochondria are little organelles found in the cells of our body. We often think of them like the batteries of our body: they are the main powerhouses of our cells, and their primary function is to power our cells. Each of your eggs contains thousands of mitochondria and these mitochondria are passed onto your baby. The mitochondria in your eggs play a special role: they are essential for egg development, fertilization, and embryonic development. All of that to say, having healthy mitochondria in our eggs is vital for fertility.
When it comes to egg health, it is important to understand that oxidative stress can damage the mitochondria in our eggs. Oxygen is essential to life, but it also causes damage when it is broken down in our body through a process called oxidation: a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals during this breaking down process. These free radicals can harm, or oxidize, other molecules, resulting in oxidative stress. When oxidative stress damages the egg mitochondria, chromosomal abnormalities occur in our eggs.
Our bodies are designed with a natural filtration system that (usually) prevents eggs with chromosomal abnormalities from developing into a viable embryo- it is estimated that only 1/3 of fertilized embryos survive this filtration to become a viable embryo!
When we are faced with large amounts of oxidative stress resulting in chromosmal damage to the mitochondria in our eggs, our chances of conceiving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy decrease, and our chances of miscarriage increase.
Fortunately, the reverse is true as well: when we reduce our oxidative stress, we reduce the amount of chromosomal damage in our eggs’ mitochondria, increasing our chances of conceiving and of maintaining a healthy pregnancy. And one of the easiest and most effective ways to do that? Through nutrition.
Nutrition and Egg Health
When it comes to egg quality, diet has a significant impact because of its effect on the rate of those chromosomal abnormalities in our eggs.
We’ve just talked about the damaging effects that oxidative stress can have on our eggs. Luckily, our bodies are designed with an amazing repair system to minimize these damaging effects. But in order to function optimally, this repair system requires an ample and continual supply of antioxidants: nutrients that help our bodies combat free radicals and minimize their damage.
How to Improve Your Egg Health for Fertility
The easiest and possibly most effective way to improve your egg health for fertility? Through nutrition! In particular, eating foods that are high in antioxidants will support your body’s repair system, and reduce the possibility of chromosomal abnormalities in your eggs due to oxidative stress. These include foods that are rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, selenium, and zinc.
Increase your antioxidants by eating foods rich in:
Vitamin A: carrots, sweet potato, squash, liver, fish, eggs
Vitamin C: leafy green vegetables, bell peppers, kiwi, tomato, citrus fruits, berries
Vitamin E: nuts, seeds, oily fish, avocado, beans
Selenium: Brazil nuts, sesame seeds, tuna, cabbage
Zinc: fish, oysters, nuts, seeds, eggs, leafy greens
To Sum Up…
In thist post, we’ve covered one of the main reasons why preconception nutrition is important for egg health: eating foods high in antioxidants helps to reduce the chances of chromosomal abnormalities in our eggs due to oxidatve stress, resulting in healthier eggs, and a greater chance in conceiving and maintaining a healthy pregnancy. This is why prioritizing nutrition is a key aspect to focus on when preparing our bodies to make and grow our future baby.