Swapping pizza and pasta for fish and chicken ‘will boost your chances of getting pregnant by a FIFTH’
Low-carb diet maximises the chances of having a baby, say fertility experts
WOMEN should adopt a “low-carb” diet to maximise their chances of having a baby, fertility experts say.
Swapping pizza and pasta for fish and chicken could make them five times more likely to become a mum.
White bread, white pasta and breakfast cereals should be avoided and other carbs limited to just one portion a day.
This may be brown toast for breakfast or a jacket potato for lunch, doctors at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology said.
British IVF clinics yesterday revealed they are enrolling patients on nutrition and cookery classes amid growing concerns stodgy diets are harming conception rates.
Dr Gillian Lockwood, from the IVI Midland fertility clinic, encourages her patients to eat high-protein and low-carb foods – dubbed the “stork diet”.
She said: “The results are compelling. We can genuinely say to patients that if they change their diet they are more likely to achieve what they want and that is a pregnancy and a healthy baby.
“The eggs you collect for IVF will have started growing about three months before, so it’s important people adjust their diet as soon as possible.
“They should be eating plenty of fresh vegetables and protein and limiting their carbohydrate intake to just one group and portion a day."
Dr Lockwood added: “The women’s partners also need to do their part and scrap their stuffed-crust pizza and enjoy a chicken salad too.”
Previous research shows women who eat most carbs are at 78 per cent greater risk of failing to ovulate, which makes them infertile.
And those who eat most protein are 415 per cent more likely to have a baby.
Professor Adam Balen, from the British Fertility Society, said: “We know that diet has a major impact on chance of conception and on egg quality.
“Increasingly it seems that carbohydrates play a particular role.”
Aisling Pigott, from the British Dietetic Association, said: “Paying attention to diet, encouraging moderation and portion control both pre and during pregnancy are extremely important for both mum, dad and baby.”