Answer from: Valentina Denisova, MD PhD Obstetrician Gynaecologist
First question is about what supplements I should take to increase my fertility? We know that dietary factors have been implicated in the pathology of multiple disorders and the idea that dietary changes may boost fertility appears to be promising.
First I will talk about some things that we need to consume when we try to conceive and first is folic acid or folate which is involved in the synthesis of DNA and crucial in the gametogenesis process and fertilization process and pregnancy. It may play an important role in human reproduction. Folate intake is recommended for the prevention of neural tube defects so every couple who wish to conceive should take folic acid.
The Next micro element is vitamin D and some studies suggest that vitamin D may modulate reproductive process and its receptors are widely distributed across the reproductive system including ovaries uterus and some experiments have shown that the deficiency of vitamin D can reduce fertility. Furthermore vitamin D stimulates steroid genesis the formation of hormones inside the ovaries, it promotes follicular flickering maturation and regulates expression of factors in work involved in implantation process. The deficiency of vitamin D can lead to conception failures and despite some studies have shown some promising mechanisms through which this vitamin D can affect reproduction, another studies failed to show this so now we need to probably larger studies to examine the effect of this vitamin but anyway now we prescribe vitamin D for our patients wishing to conceive.
Answer from: Ioannis John Toliopoulos, PhD
The philosophy of our foundation is not to give supplements carelessly. We believe very much that we have to have the diagnostic test specifically to give the dosage that the patient or the couple needs to fulfil the needs of what is precisely needed or for his/her physiology, organism. To do so, we need to do diagnostic tests.
Answer from: Ro Huntriss, Fertility Dietician
When we are looking from a woman’s point of view, I always advise women who are trying to conceive to take a prenatal supplement. There has been evidence to suggest that taking prenatal supplements with a range of B vitamins can reduce the risk of infertility and they are specifically designed to cover the key nutrients that you need. So a prenatal supplement being the first one and a key nutrient within that is folate or folic acid and that is involved in many of the different stages of fertility, in addition to the prevention of neural tube defects that we can associate it with more. Other things to consider are vitamin D which you should find in any good prenatal supplement. Everyone should be taking that during the winter months and also consider what nutrients are deficient in your diet, for any particular reason for example if you follow a plant based diet, then we need to think about supplementing these too.
