Eating a healthy diet is very important when conceiving. Feeding influences fertility in both men and women, so you should know what are the vitamins to improve fertility that can not be missing in your diet if you are looking for a baby.
Needless to say, apart from eating, exercise also helps improve fertility, avoid harmful habits such as tobacco, drugs and alcohol and reduce the level of stress. We tell you below the vitamins you should take and in what foods you can find them.
Vitamins to have children
Vitamin A
Promotes fertility because participates in the formation of steroids, the base of sex hormones. In addition, vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant so it protects the cells of the male reproductive system from the premature aging process produced by free radicals.
We can find it in: butter, whole milk, eggs and liver. It is also present in the form of beta-carotene (precursor of vitamin A in the body) in carrots, squash, apricots and in most reddish-orange vegetables, as well as in leafy green vegetables.
Vitamin B
The B vitamins are essential for good female and male reproductive health. In women, the vitamin B6 It helps regulate the balance of estrogen and progesterone in the luteal phase, the third phase of the menstrual cycle that begins just after ovulation. It can be found in foods such as liver, rabbit, turkey, potatoes, red and green peppers, cashews, peanuts and hazelnuts.
For its part, the Vitamin B12 is essential for man as the sperm count increases and therefore also increases the chances of conceiving. It is found in viscera such as kidneys, liver and meat in general, eggs, dairy products and fish such as sardines, tuna, and clams.
He folic acid It is also a vitamin of group B. It is necessary to prevent malformations and neural tube defects in the baby. When you find out that you are pregnant it may be too late to prevent a congenital defect such as anencephaly or spina bifida, since the formation of the neural tube occurs in the first weeks of pregnancy when you still do not know that you are pregnant.
It is found mainly in green leafy vegetables (spinach, chard and cabbage), legumes and whole grains. Folic acid is of vital importance, therefore to avoid its lack in the body the woman must take a supplement of 400 mg daily from three months before conceiving.
Vitamin C
Vitamin C helps improve mobility of sperm preventing them from agglutinating. In addition, thanks to its antioxidant power it helps fight against free radicals that affect fertility.
It can be found in many citrus fruits such as orange, tangerine, lemon, grapefruit, and also kiwi (the fruit with the highest concentration of vitamin C), strawberries and in some vegetables such as tomatoes, broccoli and red, yellow and orange peppers.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D has important benefits in the sexual functions of men and women. Some studies conducted in sterile male patients showed an acute lack of this vitamin. On the other hand, in women it helps to improve the conditions of the endometrium for implantation. According to recent research, pregnancy rates increase when the woman does not have vitamin D deficiency.
Sunlight is the main source of vitamin D, which is synthesized in our body when we are exposed to sunlight. It is also found in few foods, including butter, eggs, milk and blue fish.
Vitamin E
It is essential for hormonal system regulation and improve the function of the reproductive system. A deficit of this vitamin in women can alter menstrual cycles, while in men decrease sperm quality.
It can be found in sunflower oil, almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, egg yolks, coconut, cachuete, soybeans and rice.
Other nutrients
In addition to the vitamins we have named, there are certain minerals that favor the reproductive function of the organism. He zinc It plays an important role, as it has been shown that low levels of this mineral can reduce semen volume and testosterone level in man. We find it in meats, whole grains, seafood, peas, oatmeal.
For its part, selenium prevents chromosomal abnormalities and increases sperm count. It is found in red meat, chicken, fish, whole grains and tuna.
Too the iodine, present in seafood products, as well as the iron, present in meats and spinach, and calcium, which favors sperm motility are beneficial minerals to improve fertility.
Photos | Thinkstock On Babies and more | How to improve male fertility?
