Women who eat too much junk food are ‘twice as likely to be infertile’ as those who eat lots of fruit

THE STORY

This one, from 2018, came off the back of an Australian study that asked 5,598 women about their diet (a notoriously inaccurate research method) and found that those who ate the least fruit took two weeks longer to become pregnant than those who ate the most, while women who had fast food four times a week took nearly a month longer to become pregnant than those who never or rarely ate it.

THE SCIENCE

Considering it’s normal to take a year to fall pregnant, that’s hardly headline-worthy. The truth is, getting pregnant depends on lots of factors – including male fertility – but there are nutritional interventions that can increase your chances. Specialist fertility nutritional therapist Melanie Brown recommends staying at a healthy weight and maintaining enough fat to support a pregnancy. ‘Your pituitary gland, the part of the brain that controls hormones, picks up if you don’t have enough body fat and decides you can’t support a pregnancy,’ she says. ‘It’s an evolutionary biological protective measure.’ The make-up of your plate matters, too. ‘All your organs, hormones, every single means of communication within your body, are made up of cells, and your cells need all the major macronutrients to be healthy,’ she explains. Her suggestions – echoed by Dr Corda – are to eat plenty of complex carbs (which contain ovulation-promoting vitamins and fibre), such as whole grains and beans, alongside healthy fats from fish oils, nuts and avocados. Plus, having a workout week that doesn’t leave you feeling rundown and your cycle disrupted – and finding healthy ways to relieve stress. Think: yin yoga and winding, nature-filled walks.