Diet plays key role in conception
DEAR DOCTOR: I recently read that fast food interferes with a woman’s chances of conceiving. What’s the connection? DEAR READER:
The United States ranks first in the amount of money we spend on health care, but 31st in overall longevity. As much as we’d like to blame a specific industry for our unhealthy habits, the situation is much more complex than that. We as individuals are the ones who, of our own free will, order the burgers, french fries, onion rings, sodas and milkshakes.
The study you mentioned looks at different foods and the role they play in pregnancy and fertility. In it, 5,628 pregnant women from New Zealand, Australia, Ireland and the United Kingdom were given dietary questionnaires 15 weeks into their pregnancy. The questions had to do with the consumption of fruits, green leafy vegetables, fish and fast food in the month preceding conception. A midwife researcher also asked questions about the time it took for the women to become pregnant. A timespan greater than 12 months was defined as infertility.
The study did not find an association between green leafy vegetables or fish and time to pregnancy (TTP). But it did find an association between fruit intake and TTP. Compared to women who ate fruit three times per day, those who ate fruit only one to three times per month had a 19 percent longer TTP and a 29 percent increased rate of infertility.
Fast food, which included burgers, french fries, pizza and fried chicken, had an even greater association with TTP delay and infertility. Compared to women who ate fast food four times or more per week, those who ate fast food two to four times per week had an 11 percent shorter TTP and an 18 percent lower infertility rate; and those who ate it less than twice a week had a 21 percent quicker TTP and a 34 percent lower infertility rate. Women who reported no fast-food intake had a 24 percent quicker TTP and a 41 percent lower infertility rate, compared to the women who ate it four times or more per week.