Sign Up for my FREE Fertility eBook & eCourse

Animal Protein To Increase Fertility In Vegetarians

by Ellen
(Los Angeles)

Hi there! Your site is wonderful! I am lucky to have stumbled upon it.


I live in Los Angeles and am being treated by one of the best fertility docs and also acupuncturist around. I have a four year old son who was created naturally :-)

My ovarian reserve is low (FSH 16 one month) and I am 41 years old (I would like to think a "young" 41 in every other way except my ovarian reserve :-) Usually I have 6 - 9 follicles that can be seen on day 2 of my cycle (one failed IVF three months ago with 7 eggs retrieved, 4 fertilized). But these last two months with tons of stress (we are moving to NYC - not happy about that) she has only seen 2 eggs on my day two (this last cycle ended up it a very early miscarriage).

I have been a hard core vegetarian for 24 years. Recently I have had three nutritionist/acupuncturists tell me that I need to start eating land animals again. What are your thoughts on this? The lady today told me that if I started eating animal protein today I could be pregnant in 90 days..... ????!!!!!

I do not think I can do it, but do you think it is true?

I just question why my reserve would be low when I am so healthy otherwise. YES, I have tons of stress... We are working on that little aspect :-) But could there be some truth to this need for animal protein?

Thank you for your time!
Ellen

Comments for Animal Protein To Increase Fertility In Vegetarians

Click here to add your own comments

Protein Increases Egg Quality
by: Maria Gioia Atzori

Hi Ellen,

I am glad you asked this question because it is very confusing for many people. There are two elements to eating animal proteins for poor egg quality: amino acids and iron.

Proteins are broken down into single amino acids once digested. A full supply of all essential amino acids is important for egg production. Studies have shown that inadequate protein intake results in poor egg quality.

Cystein is very important and it can be found in white meat, beans, lentils, brown rice, quinoa, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and nuts. In order to boost your fertility you may need 60-70 g of protein a day.

Beans and rice are a good source of proteins for vegetarians, they do not have to be eaten together. Provided that you meet the daily requirements you should be fine. Make sure to supplement with zinc if you do not eat red meat of fish, because zinc helps digest proteins while increasing fertility and supporting the immune system.

Make sure not to overdo it. Too much protein can deplete the body from calcium and increase ammonia in the body. This becomes a serious problem in pregnancy.

Read more about natural ways to boost poor egg production.

Fertility Blessings!
Iron Increases Egg Quality
by: Maria Gioia Atzori

Animal protein contains readily available iron (heme iron) that seems to increase fertility and address infertility due to ovulatory disorder. When the iron molecule is chemically bound with animal protein, the human body can easily uptake it into the body.

Taking iron supplements sometimes does not help as much unless is a form of iron that can easily up taken. The body has a tendency to store iron and too much iron is not good either, but it you have heavy periods you may need extra help. The best way to know is through a blood test by consulting with your doctor.

It is interesting to know that researchers have found how insufficient iron storage in the body can be related an inability to produce healthy eggs, but this research also demonstrated that supplementing with non-heme iron (from plant source) and supplements is still effective in boosting ovarian health.
According to this research, women need more than 41 milligrams of iron a day in order to lower their risk of an ovulatory problem by 70 percent.

To improve egg quality by eating more iron containing foods is a good idea because you need to prepare for pregnancy.

I believe that you can easily increase your iron intake by eating vegetables, but certainly eating meat will speed up the process.

If you decide to eat meat in order to improve egg quality, please consider that meat and dairy are connected acid conditions in the body and non-organic meat and dairy contain chemicals that stimulate endometriosis and fibroid growth. Dairy is also related to poor mucus production.

So, if you do, eat meat in small amounts and with lots of vegetables to maintain your body alkaline.

Eat superfoods to boost egg quality like Maca.

Add Foods rich in non-heme iron like prunes , raisins, figs, beans, leafy green vegetables such as turnip greens, kale, black strap molasses, broccoli, and spinach. Oatmeal or cream of wheat and cereals. Iron is better absorbed in the presence of Vitamin C, which is contained in oranges tomatoes, broccoli, red peppers, kiwi, strawberries, lemons, apples, etc.

Fertility Blessings!

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Fertility Diet.

Comments are posted only after approval. For medical related questions, please talk to your health care practitioner. I will not answer questions on conventional fertility medications, medical test results or other. If you are taking any prescription drugs for fertility, talk to your doctor. With this website my job is to educate and support you in learning more about natural therapies that can help boost your fertility and prepare for a healthy pregnancy. Please do not submit medical tests or results. If you have questions on your fertility or medical results talk to your doctor. Those questions will not be answered. I receive a lot of submissions, so I may not be able to answer all.