rying to conceive can be adventurous, pleasurable, scary, frustrating... you get the idea. Emotional upheaval – both good and bad – can wreak havoc on our bodies, even preventing the very thing we are trying to accomplish (in this instance, getting pregnant). So it’s important to remember that prioritizing your health – which includes nutrition – plays a significant role in your conception efforts.

While there are no hard and fast rules about diet during this time, a few recommendations stand out that can help improve conception efforts.

Eating for Optimal Health – Both Yours and Your Future Baby
Following the guidelines laid out for pregnant women can not only help you in your conception efforts but also to optimally manage the transition to a healthy pregnancy. Think of pre-conception as a time in which you are assembling the building materials that will be used to create the foundation of your baby.

Skip the Diets
All of them! Conception is not a time to begin a crash diet. Dramatic weight loss is challenging for the body as it releases toxins from our fat cells, and affects the balance of hormone levels. Additionally, this is the time to support your body with the complete range of nutrients, and many diet plans encourage a reduction of foods containing valuable nutrients. Some evidence even points to nutrient deficiencies (likely resulting from the increased consumption of lower nutrient density) and some preservatives as factors in both male and female infertility.

However, in some instances, appropriate weight loss under the supervision of a healthcare practitioner may be recommended to enhance your conception efforts.

Avoid Food as an Emotional Rescue
This is not to say that an indulgence here or there is harmful, but using food to comfort you through the highs and lows of conception efforts may hamper your best efforts. Maintaining a healthy weight by balancing your nutrient intake and frequency most days will leave you healthier, better rested, better digested, and with a body potentially more ready to conceive. Use activity, non-food indulgences, and good old-fashioned communication to work through this emotional time.

Partner Support
No matter how equal we’d like it to be, pregnancy has greater demands on a woman’s body, so it makes sense that most of the focus is on female nutrition. This being said, your partner can also benefit from eating optimally since good nutrition can help reduce health risk factors - including infertility. And by making dietary modifications together, you can support each other and both feel good about your health efforts on behalf of your growing family.