If you’ve typed “what should I eat to get pregnant?” into Google, you’ve probably found a hundred lists of superfoods, detoxes and rules. I want to give you something calmer.
Food can’t guarantee a pregnancy, and anyone who promises that isn’t being honest with you. But what you eat is one of the things you can influence, and it supports the foundations your body relies on: steady blood sugar, nutrient stores, a healthy gut and lower inflammation.
Here are seven simple habits to start with. You don’t need to do them all at once, and you don’t need to do them perfectly.
1. Build most meals on a Mediterranean-style plate
The strongest food research in fertility is about overall eating patterns, not single foods. In one study of women having their first IVF cycle, those who ate the most Mediterranean-style diet had higher live birth rates. The link was seen in women under 35. It’s a link, not proof, but the direction is consistent.
A simple template for most meals:
- Half your plate: vegetables and salad, in as many colours as you can
- A quarter: protein such as fish, chicken, eggs, legumes or tofu
- A quarter: wholegrains or starchy vegetables such as brown rice, oats or potato
- A drizzle: extra virgin olive oil
2. Put protein at every meal
Protein is one of the most common gaps I see in women trying to conceive. It supports steady blood sugar and energy, and it keeps you fuller for longer. A palm-sized serve at each meal, roughly 20 to 30 grams, is a good starting point. Breakfast is the easiest place to begin: eggs or Greek yoghurt are a great first step.
3. Keep your blood sugar steady
Pair carbs with protein and healthy fat: toast with eggs, fruit with yoghurt, rice with fish. Choose slower carbs such as wholegrains, oats and legumes more often than white bread. And try not to skip meals and then graze. Regular meals usually mean fewer energy crashes and cravings.
4. Eat more plants, for your gut
Your gut is where your food is absorbed and put to work. A large study of gut bacteria found that people who ate 30 or more different plant foods a week had a more diverse gut microbiome than people who ate 10 or fewer.
Plants include vegetables, fruit, wholegrains, legumes, nuts, seeds, herbs and spices. Try counting yours for a week, then add one or two new ones to your next shop.
5. Include healthy fats and oily fish
Oily fish such as salmon, sardines or trout two to three times a week, plus olive oil, avocado, nuts and seeds, are all part of the Mediterranean-style pattern. Limit high-mercury fish such as shark (flake), swordfish and marlin.
6. Look after your iron and folate
Leafy greens, legumes, and red meat a few times a week help keep your iron and folate up. A squeeze of lemon on spinach helps you absorb the iron. While you’re preparing for pregnancy, it’s also worth asking your GP about folic acid and iodine.
7. Go easy on caffeine and alcohol
Keep caffeine under 200mg a day, about two cups of coffee, and remember tea, cola and energy drinks count too. For alcohol, Australian guidelines say the safest choice when you’re trying to conceive is not to drink. These apply to your partner as well.
What you don’t need
- Miracle foods or “fertility superfoods”
- Detoxes or cleanses
- Cutting out whole food groups without a medical reason
- A perfect diet. Consistent most of the time is enough.
What a day might look like
- Breakfast: eggs on wholegrain toast with avocado
- Lunch: a chicken, lentil and roast vegetable salad with olive oil dressing
- Snack: Greek yoghurt with berries and seeds
- Dinner: salmon, greens and brown rice
Where to go from here
If you’d like to go deeper, my free guides cover egg quality, eating well before and during IVF, PMOS (formerly PCOS) and protein. And if you’d like a plan built around your body, you can book a free discovery call.
This article is general education and doesn’t replace advice from your GP or fertility specialist.
Sources: Karayiannis et al., Human Reproduction, 2018 (Mediterranean-style diet and IVF); McDonald et al., mSystems, 2018 (American Gut Project, plant diversity); NHMRC Australian alcohol guidelines; Food Standards Australia New Zealand (caffeine and mercury in fish).