In this article: What to feed a fetus Recipe: Fertility Fruit Salad Sources for this article

Can this fruit salad make you more fertile?

New research shows how nutrition can boost chances of conception for men and women.

bout 5 million American couples are troubled by infertility - an inability to conceive after at least a year of trying. Infertility can have many causes, but diet and supplements can increase the odds of conceiving and giving birth to a healthy baby.

6 Ways to Boost Conception Odds

• Get lots of vitamin C. Vitamin C deficiency decreases fertility in men and women. At greatest risk: smokers and those exposed to environmental toxins. Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley found high levels of damaged sperm in men who got less than the 60-milligram RDA of vitamin C daily (the amount in an orange). Studies at the University of Texas at Galveston showed that 1,000mg of vitamin C daily for two months boosted sperm counts in infertile men by nearly 60 percent; all men getting vitamin C impregnated their wives. Women need vitamin C to help the ovaries respond properly to fertilization.

• Take vitamin E. Taking 200mg vitamin E daily increased fertility in men with low fertilization rates by about 30 percent after only one month, report researchers in Israel. They credit E's antioxidant protection of sperm-cell membranes.

• Restrict caffeine. A new Danish study of 430 couples concluded that high caffeine consumption by non-smokers reduced conception almost one-third. A high amount was 300-700mg daily (from coffee, tea, chocolate and colas); low consumption was less than 300mg. A cup of regular coffee has about 100mg; a cup of regular tea, 30mg.

• Drink tea for two. No one knows why, but drinking tea may improve pregnancy odds. Research at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland, Calif., found women who drank at least 12 cup of tea a day nearly doubled their odds of becoming pregnant.

• Avoid or cut back on alcohol. Women who drink alcohol reduce their conception odds by 50 percent, according to new research at Johns Hopkins University. The more alcohol, the less the ability to conceive. Even two drinks a week were detrimental. Adding caffeine was worse. Drinking any alcohol plus more than 1 cup of coffee a day reduced women's chances of conception by two-thirds compared with teetotalers who drank less than 1 daily cup of coffee. Men: There's no proof, but lots of alcohol may damage sperm, researchers say.

• Women, watch your weight. Being too thin or too heavy can prevent conception. A woman must have body fat of at least 18 percent to produce estrogen leading to ovulation. Too much fat can overstimulate estrogen, disrupting monthly cycles.

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  What to Feed a Fetus

• Take folic acid. All women of childbearing age should take 400 micrograms of folic acid daily to prevent birth defects. It's essential to have the folic acid in the body at the time of conception.

• Eat fatty fish. Pregnant women are urged to eat fatty fish two or three times weekly to build reserves of omega-3 fatty acid, needed for fetal brain development.

• No alcohol. Pregnant women should not drink. Alcohol can harm the fetus and induce birth defects. It may increase the child's later vulnerability to alcoholism.

• Restrict caffeine. Drinking more than 112 cups of coffee a day raises the risk of spontaneous abortion by about a third and low-birthweight babies by about half, say University of Toronto researchers.

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This "fertility fruit salad" is high in vitamin C

Ginger Fruit Salad
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple
2 kiwis, peeled and sliced
1 apple, cored and diced
1 cup strawberries, sliced (or blueberries, whole)
1/2 cup orange juice
1 large banana, sliced
1 8-ounce carton fat-free lemon yogurt
2 Tbs. crystallized ginger, chopped
Toss fruit and juice together, adding banana just before serving. To serve, put in bowls or parfait glasses, top with yogurt and sprinkle on chopped ginger. Serves 4.

Per serving: 209 calories, 3.4g protein, 0.6g fat, 4.3g fiber, 51g carbohydrates, 37mg sodium.

Photo Credit: BRIAN LEATART for USA WEEKEND

Vitamin C deficiency
-- Luck, MR et al. Biol Reprod 1995 Feb; 52(2): 262-6.
-- Dawson, E.B. World Review of Nutrition and Dietetics 1990; 62:1-26.
-- Fraga, C.G. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 1991; 88:11003-6

Vitamin E
-- Geva, E., et al, Fertil Steril 1996 Sep; 66(3): 430-4.

Caffeine
-- Jensen, T.K., et al. Reprod Toxicol 12 (3): 289-95 1998 May-Jun.

Alcohol, women
-- Hakim RB, et al. Fertil Steril. 1998 Oct;70(4):632-7.

Alcohol, men
-- Cicero, Theodore J., Science News, vol. 146, July 2, 1994.

Tea
-- Am J Public Health 1998 Feb; 88 (2): 270-4. Caan B, et al.

Fetal development
-- Fish oil
Connor, W.E., et al. Lipids, vol 31, Supplement (1996): S-183-87.
-- Coffee
Fernandes O, et al. Reprod Toxicol 1998 Jul-Aug; 12(4): 435-44.