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We hear and read around: “Don’t eat gluten!”, “Don’t eat meat!”, “Watch out for the milk!”, And so on! It seems that every day there are more and more concerns about what to eat, don’t you think?
The concern with food has grown nowadays, and not only for aesthetic reasons, but also as a health care and disease prevention . We know that our diet has a great influence on fertility , because our body needs to have the ideal nutrients to provide the best conditions to have high success rates for a pregnancy.
We also know that some vitamins are essential, such as folic acid, zinc, vitamin B6, among others. But can specific food groups, such as carbohydrates, influence the chances of pregnancy ?
What are carbohydrates?
In general, carbohydrates give energy to our cells, and are also responsible for participating in the structure of the cell wall and the formation of nucleic acids.
In addition to being commonly found in cereals, tubers and sweets, carbohydrates can also be found in vegetables, because when carrying out photosynthesis, plants store carbohydrates as an energy source to be used later. Therefore, all vegetables have carbohydrates, even if in a smaller amount, and this is true for fruits as well.
Carbohydrates can be complex or simple . The simple ones are those that are easily absorbed by our body, like sweets in general, and the excessive intake is related to insulin resistance and high cholesterol levels. The complexes are absorbed through a longer process due to their composition and, as examples of foods that contain complex carbohydrates, we can mention beans.
Due to their importance in providing energy to cells, carbohydrates are very important for the body and must be consumed frequently. Here is a list of some foods rich in complex carbohydrates.
- Fruits : plum, papaya, lemon, strawberry, tangerine.
- Whole foods : rice, pasta and breads.
- Vegetables : cauliflower, cabbage, broccoli.
- Grains : beans, lentils, chickpeas.
- Oilseeds : chestnuts, walnuts, almonds.
- Cereals : oats.
- Tubers and roots : sweet potatoes, yams, beets.
But don’t carbohydrates get fat?
Like everything in life, excess is harmful. Excessive consumption of carbohydrates can cause weight gain . In addition, the way food is prepared also helps to increase the calories present. Therefore, if you are trying to take care of your weight, instead of opting for a potato chip, the ideal would be a baked potato, for example.
In addition, the preference for wholegrain flour is also a great replacement since they are rich in fiber and nutrients, providing greater satiety. Also, avoiding the intake of refined sugars and increasing the intake of vegetables are essential to balance the amount of carbohydrates in the body.
And how does it influence fertility?
Some studies point out that the excessive intake of carbohydrates with high glycemic rates can influence fertility. Thus, the intake of foods such as rice, potatoes, among other simple carbohydrates should be carried out in moderation . In fact, for women who have polycystic ovaries, care should be taken with excessive carbohydrate intake due to the insulin resistance that this condition imposes.
Women who consume simple carbohydrates may be more likely to have ovulatory dysfunction and, therefore, consumption should always be balanced. Some studies indicate that women who follow diets with a more moderate consumption of carbohydrates are five times more likely to become pregnant.
The benefits of adequate carbohydrate consumption have been the subject of even Harvard research, which claims that eating complex carbohydrates can actually increase your chances of becoming pregnant.
Another study presented by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine found that IVF patients who ate a diet with less carbohydrate intake had higher success rates.
It is worth remembering that, as an excessive intake of carbohydrates causes weight gain , this is a variable that affects the chances of conception . For the body to have the best conception conditions, the recommendation is that women have a Body Mass Index – BMI – between 20 and 24 , or have at least up to 22% of body fat.
As we can see, eating habits do influence the chances of conception and that is why the type of diet should be carefully considered if the woman wants to become pregnant. Monitoring with a nutritionist is essential so that the substitutions and amounts to be ingested are thought out individually for each woman, taking into account their physical conditions and other specificities.
My name is Dr. Alexis Hart I am 38 years old, I am the mother of 3 beautiful children! Different ages, different phases 16 years, 12 years and 7 years. In love with motherhood since always, I found it difficult to make my dreams come true, and also some more after I was already a mother.
Since I imagined myself as a mother, in my thoughts everything seemed to be much easier and simpler than it really was, I expected to get pregnant as soon as I wished, but it wasn’t that simple. The first pregnancy was smooth, but my daughter’s birth was very troubled. Joana was born in 2002 with a weight of 2930kg and 45cm, from a very peaceful cesarean delivery but she had already been born with congenital pneumonia due to a broken bag not treated with antibiotics even before delivery.
