A small study presented at this week’s meeting of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) suggests that diet may matter more than we might have thought. The study, which included 120 patients, showed that a diet richer in protein seems to improve fertility in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF). Specifically, patients whose daily protein intake was 25 percent or more of their diet, and whose carbohydrate intake was 40 percent or less of their diet, had a four-fold higher pregnancy rate compared to patients who ate less protein and more carbs daily before and during an IVF cycle.Hmmmm. I wonder who told them to eat like that.
Dr. Russell said he decided to do the study because although having a high body mass index (BMI) has been shown to hurt fertility, he had also seen healthy, thin women whose eggs and embryos weren’t of good quality for a healthy pregnancy. He wondered why and decided to ask these patients to log what they ate and how much. After looking at the food logs the women kept during their IVF attempt, Dr. Russell was surprised to see that the daily diets of some of the women were more than 60 percent carbohydrate and 10 percent or less protein.
High carbohydrate intake lowers orexin levels.
Orexin is crucial to follicle development.
Low orexin levels are associated with ovulation dysfunction.
