The Best Diet to Increase Fertility
When it comes to fertility, so many people are told to “just relax” or “give it time.” But as a holistic practitioner, I’ve seen how deeply food influences the ability to conceive and carry a healthy pregnancy. What you eat today lays the foundation for your hormones, egg health, and reproductive balance tomorrow.
That’s why a diet to increase fertility is about more than just calories or macronutrients. It’s about deeply nourishing your body with the foods it was designed to thrive on. Real, nutrient-dense ingredients that support hormone production, balance blood sugar, regulate cycles, and create an optimal environment for conception.
If you’ve been wondering what diet actually helps increase fertility, you’re in the right place. Let’s walk through the key principles, highlight foods to emphasize (and avoid), and even share a couple of my favorite recipes you can try at home today.
Why Your Diet Matters for Fertility
Fertility is a reflection of your whole-body health. Hormones like estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH all rely on nutrients from your diet to be produced and regulated.
If your blood sugar is constantly spiking and crashing, your body perceives stress and downregulates reproduction. If you aren’t getting enough healthy fat, your body won’t have the raw materials it needs to make hormones. If your minerals are depleted, ovulation may not happen consistently.
That’s why shifting your diet is often the most powerful step you can take to increase fertility. It directly impacts egg quality, sperm health, cycle regularity, and even your nervous system’s resilience to stress.
Key Principles of a Diet to Increase Fertility
Here are the foundations I teach my clients when building a fertility-friendly diet:
1. Prioritize Nutrient Density
Your reproductive system needs an abundance of vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Think: pasture-raised meats, eggs, raw dairy, seasonal vegetables, fermented foods, and traditional fats like ghee and coconut oil.
2. Embrace Healthy Fats
Cholesterol is the backbone of hormone production. Without enough fat in your diet, fertility hormones can plummet. Avocados, grass-fed butter, ghee, coconut oil, egg yolks, fatty fish, and nuts/seeds should all play a starring role.
3. Balance Blood Sugar
Irregular cycles, PCOS, and unexplained infertility are often linked to blood sugar imbalances. Focus on pairing protein, fat, and fiber with every meal to keep energy stable and reduce stress hormones that interfere with reproduction.
4. Support Detox Pathways
Your liver clears excess hormones and environmental toxins that can interfere with conception. Bitter greens, cruciferous vegetables, herbs like milk thistle, and plenty of hydration all support gentle daily detoxification.
5. Eat Seasonally and Traditionally
Our ancestors thrived on foods that were local, seasonal, and minimally processed. Returning to these rhythms helps the body regulate naturally. Seasonal soups, broths, and stews are not just comfort food, they’re fertility food.
Fertility Superfoods to Focus On
Here’s a snapshot of foods that are particularly powerful in a diet to increase fertility:
- Egg yolks: Packed with choline, B vitamins, and healthy fat to support egg health and hormone production.
- Pasture raised and organic meats: Some of the most nutrient-dense foods on earth are animal foods – meats are loaded with iron, zinc, B12, CoQ10and most of all protein, all essential for fertility.
- Fatty fish (salmon, sardines, mackerel): Rich in omega-3s for reducing inflammation and supporting hormone balance.
- Leafy greens and cruciferous vegetables: Help the body metabolize estrogen and clear excess hormones. The ones I recommend are ones low in oxalates – arugula, collards, mustards, boy choy, tat soi, cabbage, broccoli, brussels, lettuces of all kinds
- Bone broth: Supports gut health, immune balance, provides minerals essential for reproduction and most of all provides collagen and gelatin – easily assimilable protein that supports joints, bones, ligaments, skin, eyes, connective tissue – all helpful for getting pregnant and growing baby
- Fermented foods: Sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir, and yogurt support the microbiome, which is now understood to impact fertility and pregnancy outcomes.
- Traditional fats: Ghee, grass-fed butter, beef tallow, coconut oil stabilize blood sugar and fuel hormone pathways. I also love high quality olive oil, unrefined avocado oil in very small amounts, and actual avocados.
Two Fertility-Friendly Recipes
Ready to put this into action? Here are two of my recipes that embody the principles of a diet to increase fertility:
- Nutrient-Dense Lamb Patties with Liver
This recipe combines the richness of lamb with the unparalleled nutrient density of liver. It’s a fertility powerhouse, delivering iron, B vitamins, and zinc, all great for ovulation and hormone balance. - Cleansing Spring Soup & Salad
This light yet nourishing meal helps the body gently detoxify while providing antioxidants, minerals, and fiber. It’s perfect for supporting estrogen metabolism and keeping digestion smooth during your cycle. - Fertility Smoothie
Sometimes you need quick, energizing nourishment. This fertility smoothie is packed with healthy fats, protein, and micronutrients to fuel hormone production and brain health. It’s simple, delicious, and one of my go-to fertility staples.
Both of these recipes show how delicious and approachable a fertility diet can be. You don’t need complicated superfoods or expensive powders, just real food cooked with intention.
Foods to Limit or Avoid
Just as important as what you add in is what you leave out. Some foods create inflammation, disrupt hormones, or deplete the body of nutrients. If you’re focusing on a diet to increase fertility, try to minimize:
- Processed seed oils (canola, soybean, corn, cottonweed, safflower or sunflower)
- Refined sugar and excess sweets
- Processed carbs (white bread, crackers, boxed cereals)
- Excess caffeine – more than 1 cup or coffee or caffeinated tea/day
- All alcohol
- Non-organic animal products (which may contain hormone-disrupting residues)
These foods can burden your liver, spike blood sugar, and interfere with the delicate balance of reproductive hormones.
Lifestyle Habits That Pair with a Fertility Diet
Food is foundational, but it works best when paired with supportive lifestyle habits:
- Cycle syncing: Adjusting your food, movement, and rest to align with menstrual phases can reduce stress and improve hormone balance.
- Stress reduction: Chronic stress can suppress ovulation. Daily rituals like teas, baths, and breathing exercises help calm the nervous system.
- Sleep hygiene: Hormone regulation depends on restorative sleep. Aim for 7–9 hours in a dark, cool room.
- Movement: Gentle, consistent exercise like walking, yoga, or strength training keeps circulation flowing without stressing the adrenals.
My Approach to Fertility
In my practice, I help women and couples rebuild their health in a way that feels doable and grounded. Through my Super Baby Program, we dig into diet, lifestyle, and root causes to prepare the body for conscious conception. For women who want to restore balance before pregnancy, my Radiant Woman Program provides step-by-step support for hormones, energy, and nervous system health.
Your fertility is not random or out of your control; it’s deeply connected to how you nourish your body. By focusing on a diet to increase fertility, you’re giving yourself the gift of hormone balance, stable energy, and reproductive health that will support not only conception but also a healthy pregnancy.
The beauty of this approach is that it’s never wasted effort. Even if you’re not trying to conceive right now, eating this way will enhance your energy, mood, and overall vitality.
Start small. Try one new recipe. Add one more nutrient-dense food into your week. And notice how your body responds.
