What are the best seeds for female fertility?
If you’ve been trying to have a baby but are struggling to conceive naturally, you may have issues with female fertility. Although it may be overwhelming to deal with these findings at first, a growing body of evidence suggests that diet and lifestyle are both significant factors influencing fertility, meaning that changes to your diet may be able to improve your chances of getting pregnant naturally. This blog post will unpack the benefits of seeds for fertility and overall health as well as ways that you can increase the amount of seeds in your diet. If you want to learn more about the ways the foods you eat can impact fertility, keep on reading!
Benefits of seeds
The seeds that we tend to consume such as chia seeds, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds and hemp seeds primarily come from vegetables and flowers (1). These seeds are nutritional powerhouses that pose a multitude of benefits both for your diet as a whole and for fertility specifically!
On a whole, seeds contain minerals and nutrients that can help support your heart, brain, muscle and immune system helping optimise your overall health (2).
Seeds are an excellent source of healthy, unsaturated fats that can help reduce inflammation and support heart health. Chia, flax and hemp seeds are especially good sources of a type of healthy fat called omega-3 ALA (alpha linolenic acid), which is then converted in the body to more beneficial compounds called EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which contribute further to supporting your heart (2). This conversion usually only happens with oily fish, so seeds can act as a great source of omega-3’s for people following a vegan or plant-based lifestyle.
In addition, seeds are also packed with fibre that is essential in supporting gut health and reducing the risk of several diseases such as bowel cancer and type 2 diabetes (2). With the average adult only consuming half the daily recommended amount of fibre, increasing our consumption of seeds may be an effective way of reaching this goal (2).
Moreover, many of the vitamins and minerals needed to support immune function are also found in seeds. Sunflower seeds are a great source of selenium, which is important for the production of new immune cells. Pumpkin seeds also contain a good amount of zinc which helps strengthen the body's response against viruses and improves communication between cells. Sesame seeds are extremely powerful in supporting the immune system, with only one 20 gram serving provind half of the daily copper requirements, which works to preserve our immune cells! (2)
Seeds for Fertility
The value of these incredible foods does not stop there, the nutritional make up of seeds also makes them extremely beneficial in supporting female fertility and may increase your chances of natural conception (3).
Both flax seeds and pumpkin seeds are rich sources of lignans, a class of phytoestrogens (these are compounds that have a similar function and structure to oestrogen) which have been shown to support a shorter time to pregnancy (4). Pumpkin seeds are also a great source of zinc, which has also been associated with faster conception (5). In addition, sunflower seeds are an excellent source of vitamin E, which has been shown to enhance implantation and improve the rates of pregnancy in women with unexplained infertility (6). The omega-3 fatty acids found in seeds can also reduce inflammation and support egg quality and the chance of implantation (3).
Nutritional content of seeds
Seeing the many benefits of seeds, you may be wondering what the best seed or seeds would be to include in your diet.
Are chia seeds best for fertility? Or are sunflower seeds a better choice?
Here we have provided a comparison of the nutritional profile of some of the most common seeds, so you know exactly how much of the beneficial nutrients and minerals you are getting from each type.
Seed cycling for fertility
If you’ve looked into ways to naturally boost fertility previously, you may have come across seed cycling for fertility. Seed cycling is a practice used in natural medicine that is thought to support hormonal balance, which in turn helps with PCOS, irregular periods and infertility. This practice basically entails eating specific types of seeds during the different phases of the menstrual cycle to support the balance of oestrogen and progesterone. Let’s look at the details and if this technique is grounded in evidence or not….
The menstrual cycle can be divided into 2 main phases; the follicular phase and the luteal phase. The follicular phase begins on the first day of the menstrual bleed and lasts until ovulation, typically around 14 days. During this phase, it is recommended to eat 1 tablespoon of both flax and pumpkin seeds daily. The second phase of the cycle, the luteal phase, begins at ovulation and continues until the next menstrual bleed. Again, this phase usually lasts for around 14 days. People who follow seed cycling consume 1 tablespoon of both sesame and sunflower seeds each day for the duration of their luteal phase (7).
Now for the most common question: does it really work? To be completely clear, there is currently no scientific evidence behind the practice of seed cycling to promote fertility or hormonal balance. However, many people provide their individual experiences with this practice and claim to have felt a difference and seen improvements.
Although we don't have any trials supporting seed cycling yet, we know that many of the minerals and vitamins found in seeds as discussed previously have been shown to support female fertility and other hormonal parameters. Therefore, seeds are definitely a food to include in your diet to boost fertility, but you don’t have to worry about when you add them, just try to consume them more frequently.
How to include seeds in the diet
Seeds are a super diverse food and can add great texture, flavour and nutritional value to your meals. Here are some ways you can try incorporating seeds into your diet:
Try sprinkling seeds onto salads, soups or toast
Add seeds to your smoothies, porridge and cereal
Experiment with new sauces and dressings - add some sesame seeds into your salad dressings or even replace the traditional pine nuts in pesto for sunflower seeds.
Try out different seed butters - drizzle some sunflower seed butter over your porridge in the morning or serve with apples for a great snack
Make this PCOS and fertility friendly granola - packed with wholegrains, seeds and nuts
Final verdict
Although we may not be able to make claims about seed cycling specifically, we know that seeds are packed with a variety of fertility boosting nutrients that may be able to support you on your journey. Including a variety of seeds alongside a balanced diet rich in fruit, vegetables, wholegrains and nuts will allow you to enhance your diet and increase your chances of natural conception. Be sure to speak to a medical professional before making any decisions regarding fertility to ensure that it is safe for you.
For more information on infertility and the factors influencing it, check out this comprehensive guide on infertility.
If you would like 1-1 support in your fertility journey, get in touch to book a free discovery call.
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