If having a baby is somewhere in your plans for the next year, there is a lot you can be doing now that most women are never told about. Fertility prep starts well before you are officially "trying," and the months leading up to conception are a chance to support your body in ways that can make a real difference.
In this episode of The Ovary Club, I sit down with Lily Nichols for a much-needed conversation about what preconception nutrition actually looks like. We talk about where the usual fertility advice falls short, the things women are doing in the name of "health" that may not be helping, and what I want you paying attention to now if pregnancy is on your radar. We also get into the part of fertility prep that should never fall entirely on the woman.
Lily Nichols is a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist, Certified Diabetes Educator, researcher, and author known for her evidence-based work in prenatal nutrition. She is the founder of the Institute for Prenatal Nutrition® and the author of Real Food for Pregnancy, Real Food for Fertility, and Real Food for Gestational Diabetes. Her books have reached millions of readers worldwide, are used in university-level maternal nutrition and midwifery courses, and have influenced prenatal nutrition policy internationally.
What's Discussed:
(6:49) Why fertility nutrition should start months before you begin trying.
(11:19) Why having a "normal" period does not necessarily tell you everything about ovulation.
(13:39) What blood sugar can tell you about fertility, even when your labs are technically normal.
(19:54) The problem with fasting and under-eating when you are trying to support fertility.
(37:06) How long an egg is actually developing before ovulation.
(39:34) Why not all prenatal vitamins are created equal.
(49:21) What hormonal birth control can do to nutrient levels before conception.
(56:45) Why nutrition still matters if you are going through IVF.
(1:03:35) Why male fertility needs to be part of the preconception conversation.
(1:09:47) What to start doing now if you want to try to conceive within the next year.
(1:16:28) Can you really improve egg quality in 90 days?
Thank You to our Sponsors:
FLO Living: Get 25% off with the code podcast25 at floliving.com
Slow Down Hormonal Aging
Want to be more proactive about your hormones as you get older? Start with Alisa's Slow Down Hormonal Aging resource and learn what you can begin paying attention to now: alisavitti.kit.com/77c59f219c
Boost Your Fertility
Trying to conceive now or in the future? Get Alisa's guide including the exact supplement protocol she used to conceive at 36 and 43, plus her essential fertility biohacks: https://alisavitti.kit.com/a2b80c30b0
Learn more about Alisa Vitti:
Instagram: alisa.vitti
Website: alisavitti.kit.com
Learn More About Lily Nichols:
Website: lilynicholsrdn.com
Substack: lilynicholsrdn.substack.com
Instagram: @lilynicholsrdn
