Fertility is tied to your health and nutrition in suprising ways. I'm sure
you know that you need to be eating well to have peak fertility. But are there
some nutrients that have a more powerful impact on fertility than others?
Ancient cultures emphasized certain foods for women trying to conceive, and
today science proves that there are nutrients in these same foods that are vital
to female fertility. The fat soluble vitamins are taking center stage in
fertility enhancement, and vitamin A is a star in the show.
Vitamin A has wide-ranging effects on female fertility. One exciting way it
boosts fertility is by promoting better cervical fluid. Getting adequate vitamin
A in your diet helps to assure you that your cervical fluid will be a
sperm-nourishing, fertile consistency. It also increases the amount of fertile
fluid.
As you know, the cervical fluid is what helps sperm travel up to meet your
egg during the time you are trying to conceive. Because vitamin A deficiency can
lead to little fertile fluid, getting enough vitamin A is vital to your
reproductive health.
Vitamin A also helps ensure that your follicles develop properly. The
follicles each hold an egg, and one follicle releases an egg every month. The
follicle then produces hormones that aid the egg in implanting in your uterus.
Without enough vitamin A, the follicle does not mature properly.
Traditional cultures did not know exactly how vitamin A-rich foods ensured
the fertility of their women, but they did instinctively pick foods high in
pure, natural vitamin A to feed to women who wanted to conceive.
Dr. Weston A. Price, for whom the Weston A. Price Foundation is named,
studied cultures all over the world and found those with fertile women and
vigorous, healthy babies gave special foods to couples trying to conceive. These
foods included fish roe, organ meats, deep yellow butter, and shellfish – all
rich sources of vitamin A!
Today vitamin A can be gained from these sources as well as through a daily
cod liver oil supplement. Plant sources of vitamin A are not as well absorbed
and converted as the body needs them to be. If you have heard that vitamin A
leads to birth defects, a careful study of the medical literature will reveal
that these are caused by synthetic vitamin A – stay away from it.
Ensuring that you get all the fat-soluble vitamins that you need (and enough
healthy fats to absorb them!) will speed your journey on the road to maximum
fertility. Vitamin A is especially vital for all parts of your reproductive
cycle. Be sure that you are including vitamin A rich foods in your diet every
week. Consider a supplement for every day - especially if you don’t have enough
cervical fluid or you’re not sure you’re ovulating!