Life is a Rollercoaster.
Did you know that good blood sugar balance is essential to well functioning hormones, healthy ovaries, egg quality (and sperm for that matter) and overall fertility?
Before you go raiding the kitchen cupboards and filing anything vaguely sugary looking in the bin, it's about much more than just avoiding sugar-laden treats. When it comes to fertility the last thing you want is for your blood sugar to be on a rollercoaster the equivalent of the Big One at Blackpool Pleasure Beach.
Well balanced eating helps to reduce inflammation, potentially enhance fertility and may also protect against the insulin resistance and hormonal imbalances that come along with PCOS. Before you think ‘oh heck there goes eating fruit’ - fruit (2 servings a day) is ok! In its natural state, (apple, pear, plum, etc) fruit comes as a little package of its own teamed up with fibre so it doesn't spike blood sugar levels as much as a bag of Tooty Frooties (anyone else love these as a kid?!).
Hidden sugars are commonly found in drinks so don't forget to think about your liquid intake too. A prospective study of 340 women having IVF between 2014 and 2016 found that, 'higher intake of sugared soda was associated with lower total, mature, and fertilised oocytes and top-quality embryos after ovarian stimulation' when compared to women who didn't drink sugared fizzy drinks.
Here are 6 ways to help balance blood sugar through food:
1. Include good quality protein (animal or plant-based), fat and carbohydrate with every meal. That means snacks too
2. Go for whole grain carbohydrates (the less processed the better) over refined carbs
3. Don't let yourself get hangry!
4. Ditch the sugar laden fizzy drinks and sweet treats on the daily
5. Load up on non-starchy veg
6. Go savoury at breakfast
Reference
Machtinger R, Gaskins AJ, Mansur A, Adir M, Racowsky C, Baccarelli AA, et al. Association between preconception maternal beverage intake and in vitro fertilization outcomes. Fertil Steril. 2017;108(6):1026-33.