Fertility Diet: How Nutrition Can Support Conception

If you're trying to conceive, you've probably wondered whether what you eat actually matters. The honest answer? It really can. For some couples, getting pregnant happens quickly, but for many others, it's a longer road. There are lots of reasons why conceiving can be tricky — hormonal imbalances, ovulation challenges, sperm quality concerns, conditions like endometriosis and PCOS, lifestyle factors like drinking and smoking, and plenty more.

Here's something that genuinely surprised me when I first looked into it: the foods you eat can meaningfully influence your reproductive health¹. Now, even the healthiest diet in the world won't fix every fertility challenge — some issues really do need medical attention. But there's solid evidence that a balanced, nutritious eating plan can help improve both egg and sperm quality and play a real role in supporting your ability to conceive. 

So let's walk through the essentials on diet and fertility together — including the best fertility-boosting foods for men and women, which foods to limit, and the nutrients worth considering as part of your daily routine to give yourself the best possible chance of getting pregnant. 

Can You Use Foods to Boost Fertility?

We all know that good nutrition during pregnancy matters — it's linked to healthy brain development², a good birth weight, and a lower risk of congenital anomalies. But what a lot of people don't realise is just how much your diet matters before you conceive. 

Here's the thing: an unhealthy diet, or one with too few calories³, can genuinely affect your fertility — and may even indirectly influence the health of your future child. 

So how exactly does diet connect to fertility? Let's break it down:

Hormonal balance: Your hormones play a huge role in reproductive function, and certain nutrients are essential for keeping them in check. Deficiencies in folate, iron, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids have been linked to hormonal imbalances that can disrupt fertility and reproductive processes⁴.

Weight and body composition: Your weight and how your body distributes fat can also make a difference. Both carrying excess body fat and being underweight can throw off hormonal balance⁵, leading to irregular cycles, ovulatory dysfunction, and reduced fertility. Adipose (fatty) tissue — especially visceral fat (belly fat) — can trigger the release of hormones and inflammatory factors that may interfere with conception and reproductive function.

Insulin sensitivity and metabolic health: Insulin resistance, where your body becomes less responsive to insulin, can lead to hyperinsulinemia (elevated insulin levels), which can disrupt ovarian function⁶ and raise the risk of conditions like PCOS in women and reduced sperm quality in men. Diets heavy in refined carbs and sugars can make insulin resistance worse, while balanced diets that keep blood sugar stable tend to support metabolic health and fertility.

Inflammation: Chronic inflammation is linked to several reproductive disorders⁷, including endometriosis and other conditions that may affect fertility. Eating too many processed foods, refined sugars, and unhealthy fats can fuel inflammation in your body. On the flip side, a diet rich in anti-inflammatory nutrients like omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytonutrients can help lower inflammation and potentially support your fertility.

What Are the 6 Best Foods for Fertility?

I want to be upfront with you: there aren't any magical foods that guarantee pregnancy, especially if you or your partner have underlying issues that need medical attention. But one of the simplest, most practical things you can do is make sure you're consistently including healthy choices from all the major food groups. 

What's really encouraging is that the foods that tend to support fertility are largely the same ones that improve your overall health. And if you're looking for a specific approach, research suggests⁸ that anti-inflammatory diets — like the Mediterranean diet — may boost general health and improve fertility outcomes. 

The Mediterranean diet is a primarily plant-based way of eating you build around whole grains, healthy fats (particularly those in certain fish and seafood), plenty of vegetables, beans, nuts, and legumes. You'd only eat dairy, red meat, chicken, and eggs in smaller amounts. Here are some of the best fertility-supporting foods you can take inspiration from:

Fruits and Vegetables

This one probably won't surprise you, but it's worth highlighting just how much fruits and vegetables can do for your fertility. Fresh produce may help support hormonal balance, reduce inflammation, and protect your reproductive cells against oxidative damage — making them some of the best fertility foods when you're trying to conceive. Here are some great options to work into your meals:

• Dark leafy greens like kale, spinach, broccoli, bok choy, and mustard greens
• Asparagus, which is rich in folate, an essential nutrient for your reproductive health
• Brussels sprouts, which are high in vitamin C, an antioxidant that supports hormonal function
• Tomatoes, which contain lycopene, a powerful antioxidant that protects against oxidative stress
• Avocado, which is packed with healthy fats and vitamin E, a nutrient that supports your hormone production
• Citrus fruits, like lemons, oranges, grapefruits, and tangerines, are high in vitamin C and other antioxidants
• Watermelon, which is also rich in lycopene and other antioxidants that support reproductive health
• Pomegranate, which contains polyphenols that protect against oxidative damage
• Dates, which are high in fibre, potassium, and other essential nutrients
• Sweet potatoes, which are rich in beta-carotene, an antioxidant that supports your reproductive health.

Complex Carbs

Carbs get such a bad rap, don't they? But if you're looking to support your fertility, complex carbohydrates are genuinely your friend. Found in whole grains, legumes, fruits, and vegetables, they're vital for regulating blood sugar levels and keeping your hormones balanced. And they're packed with essential nutrients that your reproductive system needs. 

Unlike simple carbs, complex ones digest slowly, preventing the blood sugar spikes¹⁰ that can mess with your hormones. They also offer a range of essential vitamins, minerals, fibre, and phytonutrients that support reproductive health. Fibre aids digestion and hormone regulation, while vitamins and minerals play important roles in reproductive processes and your overall wellbeing. 

Seafood Rich in Omega-3 Fatty Acids

This one really stood out to me, and it may surprise you too. According to a study¹¹ from Harvard University, couples who eat more seafood are more likely to conceive than those who don't. Researchers followed over 500 couples trying to get pregnant, and here's what they found: when both partners ate eight or more seafood servings per cycle, they had a shorter time to pregnancy (61% higher fecundability ratio) compared with couples eating less.¹¹ Single-partner intake was associated with smaller but still meaningful improvements. So if you and your partner can both increase your seafood servings, you may both benefit. Fecundability reflects the probability of conception per cycle averaged across cycles, rather than per any single cycle. 

Fatty fish like salmon, mackerel, sardines, and trout are excellent additions to your plate, whether you're a woman or a man. They're rich sources of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid), which play vital roles in your hormone production, inflammation modulation, and cell membrane integrity. 

Omega-3 fatty acids are well known for reducing inflammation, which can contribute to infertility. They also help maintain the structural integrity of your cells, including those in your reproductive organs. On top of that, omega-3s have been shown to improve blood flow to your reproductive organs, supporting your fertility and healthy pregnancy outcomes.

Raw Nuts & Seeds

If you're looking for a fertility-friendly snack you'll actually enjoy, nuts and seeds are a fantastic choice. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios, chia seeds — they're all packed with nutrients and make a delicious, crunchy addition to salads, smoothies, and soups. They're an excellent source of anti-inflammatory monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids¹² and are loaded with fertility-supporting nutrients that play vital roles in the production of both sperm and eggs. 

Different nuts and seeds bring different nutrients to your plate, so mixing up your choices is a great way to cover your bases. For example:

• A handful of walnuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, and flaxseeds gives you plant-based omega-3 fatty acids, a type of healthy fat that helps regulate your hormones whether you're male or female
• A single Brazil nut a day meets your daily needs for selenium, which supports your thyroid function as well as sperm health and follicle development
• Pistachios, almonds, cashews, sesame seeds, and flax seeds all help you build your iron stores, preparing you for the increased demands of pregnancy
• Pine nuts, cashews, almonds, and sunflower seeds are a few of the many nuts and seeds rich in zinc, which is necessary for your healthy egg and sperm development

Folic Acid and Vitamin B12

You've probably heard that folic acid matters for pregnancy, but it's worth understanding just how important these two nutrients really are. Folate¹³ is essential for DNA synthesis, cell division, and neural tube development in the early stages of pregnancy. It's particularly important if you're planning to conceive, because a deficiency can lead to congenital disabilities, such as spina bifida, in developing fetuses. 

Vitamin B12 works alongside folate to support your neurological function and red blood cell production. It also helps in the development of the spinal cord, brain, and nervous system of the foetus. A deficiency in vitamin B12 can affect your red blood cell production and homocysteine metabolism, which may be relevant to reproductive function, though evidence in well-nourished women is still limited.¹⁴

The good news? You can get both folate and vitamin B12 from a variety of everyday foods. Some of the best sources of folate include leafy greens like spinach and kale, as well as legumes like lentils and chickpeas. 

Fortified cereals, eggs, and seafood like salmon and shrimp are also excellent sources for you to lean on. You'll find vitamin B12 mostly in animal-based foods — meat, poultry, fish, and dairy. If you're vegetarian or vegan, don't worry: you can still get vitamin B12 from fortified cereals, plant-based milk, and nutritional yeast.

Important: If you are undergoing fertility treatment, discuss any supplements with your fertility specialist before use, as some supplements may interact with fertility medications.

Fertility Supplements

While they're technically not a food, adding a female fertility supplement to your diet can be a really helpful way to support your conception efforts. That's because several vitamins and minerals found in high-quality fertility supplements can have a meaningful impact on reproductive health.

One of the most important nutrients for fertility is folic acid, which can help prevent congenital disabilities and support healthy foetal development. While you can get some of your daily requirements from food, it's recommended¹⁵ that women trying to conceive take at least 400 micrograms of folic acid per day. Women with a previous neural-tube-defect-affected pregnancy, diabetes, BMI over 30, or those taking antiepileptic medications may need a higher dose under medical supervision. Another key nutrient is iron — it may help support healthy ovulation¹⁶ — particularly nonheme iron from supplements, which has been associated with a lower risk of ovulatory infertility — and can help prevent anaemia, which can have a negative impact on fertility. 

Magnesium plays a role in your normal hormone regulation and energy metabolism, which are relevant to your reproductive health. Evidence for direct fertility benefits from magnesium supplementation is limited and primarily based on observational studies in IVF populations.¹⁷ It can also help ease your stress and anxiety — something many of us on this journey could use. CoQ10 supports mitochondrial energy production in your eggs. In a 2018 RCT, CoQ10 pretreatment improved ovarian response¹⁸ in young women with diminished ovarian reserve. Whether the same benefit applies to age-related fertility decline in women without diminished reserve is still being studied. Furthermore, L-arginine, an essential amino acid, can increase blood flow to your ovaries and help boost your cervical mucus production, which is vital for conception. 

If you're the male partner (or your partner is), Male fertility supplements can also be really valuable for improving sperm health and filling your nutritional gaps. For example, L-carnitine plays a role in sperm energy metabolism. A meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials found L-carnitine supplementation may improve sperm motility in men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia.¹⁹ L-acetyl-carnitine, an acetyl-ester derivative of L-carnitine that is highly concentrated in the epididymis, has been studied for its potential role in supporting sperm membrane stability and energy metabolism. Finally, in a small, uncontrolled pilot study of 9 men, oral maca was associated with increases in semen volume and sperm motility,²⁰ though larger placebo-controlled trials have produced mixed results.

Important: Supplements can interact with medications. Vitamin E and fish oil may increase bleeding risk if you are on anticoagulants; iron can reduce absorption of thyroid medication if taken at the same time; and metformin (commonly prescribed in PCOS) can lower B12 levels over time. If you are taking any prescription medication or undergoing fertility treatment, discuss any new supplement with your doctor or pharmacist first.

Which Foods Should You Avoid in a Fertility Diet?

Knowing what to add to your plate is really helpful, but it's just as important to understand which foods might be working against your efforts to conceive. And I want to say this gently: being flexible and allowing yourself a treat now and then — without guilt or anxiety — is just as important during what can already be a stressful time²¹. You don't need to be perfect. You just need to be consistent with the good stuff. 

That said, if you're trying to get pregnant, it's worth cutting back on or avoiding these:

• Red and processed meats
• Processed baked goods and refined carbs
• Sugary soft drinks
• Alcohol
• Too much dairy
• Trans fats

Supporting Your Fertility with FertilitySmart

If you and your partner are trying to conceive, building more fertility-friendly foods into your meals is one of the most practical steps you can take. And alongside a balanced diet, you might want to consider adding FertilitySmart's non-prescription formulas to your routine. 

At FertilitySmart, we offer formulas for both women and men that contain folate, vitamin D, zinc, selenium, CoQ10, and other nutrients discussed in this guide. You can explore our range of fertility supplements, formulated with the dose ranges used in current research, to find the right fit for your routine.

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Marina Carter

Fertility Health Writer at FertilitySmart

Marina Carter is a specialist health writer with nearly a decade of experience in reproductive health, fertility nutrition, and research-informed conception support. She has authored over 30 in-depth articles for FertilitySmart, translating peer-reviewed research into clear, practical guidance to support you and your partner on your fertility journey. Read full bio →