Fertility Foods

I am a reader. Much to my wife's dismay, I read things, and then I want us to change because of them. I

often start conversations "So, I was reading today..." to which she groans, then listens, and usually goes along with whatever ridiculous thing I have just discovered is very important. Mostly it has to do with environmental things, chemicals that we should avoid, how most sunscreens cause cancer etc.

Being somewhat of an observer in this baby-making adventure I've been enjoying reading things about how to increase our chances, and make our baby a super healthy genius. My first stop on this journey was to learn about fertility foods.

Some things I have learned:

• Sometimes full fat dairy is best. This includes whole fat yogurt, and ice cream. (I've decided to skip the full fat yogurt and stick with it's non-fat alternative, but Ali's enjoyed the upgrade.) Apparently women who consume full fat dairy have more regular ovulation. WAHOO!

• Asparagus has something like 65% of your daily dose of folic acid. That mixed with the pre-natal vitamin is basically like liquid gold for a baby. We've been eating it a few times a week.

• Red pepers have more vitamin c per serving than citrus fruit.

• Farm raised salmon has antibiotics in it, and artificial coloring. Better to stick to the wild kind. Plus the omega-3 fatty acids help to regulate reproductive hormones, increase blood flow to reproductive organs, and relieve stress. (Not that there is anything at all stressful about this process.) 

• Blueberries and raspberries have a ton of  antioxidants, which can help with happy, healthy eggs! 

Then of course there is a long list of foods to avoid. For example: sandwich meats, raw fish, hot dogs, coffee, soda, sugar (cough, cough). 

Basically, we've discovered that the so called "fertility diet" is basically the same as eating healthy. We've been indulging in lots of organic fruits and veggies, happy farm raised antibiotic free chicken, wild haddock and salmon, whole fat organic yogurt (for Al, I still stick to the fat free kind). We are excited that summer has arrived and our food options are becoming more plentiful.