Fertility Dietitian UK

Fertility Dietitian UK Specialist Fertility Nutrition Services provided by a small team of dietitians and nutritionists

20/08/2026

đź’ś Beetroot to support embryo transfer? đź’ś

I love this study (PMID: 37459441).

Beetroot is well known for its health and performance benefits but lesser known in reproductive health . In addition to the antioxidants and beneficial phytochemicals, it contains nitrates which converts to nitric oxide in the body acting as a vasodilator, increasing blood flow including blood flow to the uterus.

The hypothesis is that it can improve endometrial receptivity. The small study shows positive results, and we include it in our implantation protocols with good success.

There are no side effects so it’s a risk free addition to an implantation protocol.

If you want more info, check our implantation guide in my bio !

16/08/2026

A world-leading fertility nutrition researcher (and one of my favourites), Jorge Chavarro, and colleagues recently published their latest insights. Here’s what stood out:

If fertility “superfoods” existed, fish and nuts would be strong candidates, particularly because of their omega-3 content.

Trials providing men with 60–75 g of nuts daily for 14 weeks reported improvements in s***m-quality parameters.

Seafood intake in men has been associated with shorter time to conception, while higher fish/omega-3 intake in women has been linked with shorter time to conception and better ART outcomes.

Mediterranean-style eating remains one of our strongest dietary directions, with evidence for both men and women. In the FAST trial, a Mediterranean diet combined with physical activity improved semen quality.

Folic acid isn’t only about preventing neural tube defects. Folate intake has also been linked with ovarian reserve, ovulation and shorter time to conception.

Higher intakes of sugar-sweetened drinks have consistently been associated with poorer s***m quality. However, evidence around artificially sweetened drinks is much less convincing.

Caffeine may have surprisingly little effect on time to conception, although concerns around miscarriage are why restriction is still recommended when trying to conceive and during pregnancy.

Moderate-to-vigorous activity may support ovulation and s***m parameters, whereas strenuous exercise alongside an energy deficit may have the opposite effect.

Cycling is specifically flagged for men because mechanical factors may negatively affect testicular function.

Any surprises? Tell me below 👇🏼

12/07/2026

TW: Miscarriage isn’t something I post about often. It’s a deeply personal and painful experience and I’m always mindful of that. But when research comes out that might help, I feel it’s worth sharing. Knowledge can be powerful, even on the hardest topics.

Most people know folic acid for its role in preventing neural tube defects, but the role of folate in pregnancy goes much further than that. Existing research has shown that folate deficiency is linked to miscarriage risk, and that it’s associated with raised homocysteine levels, which are themselves associated with miscarriage. It’s a nutrient that matters more than many people realise.

This 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis is the first I’m aware of to look specifically at high dose versus standard dose folic acid (4mg vs 0.4mg daily) for miscarriage prevention in RCTs.

The finding: high dose folic acid was associated with around a 27% reduction in the risk of miscarriage compared to the standard dose.

A few things worth knowing:
📌 The general safe upper limit for folate is considered to be 1000mcg (1mg) daily — and this includes folate from food. Some argue this threshold is too conservative, but it’s the current guidance
📌 4mg is a prescription dose (generally 5mg in the UK) — this isn’t something to self-supplement at; it needs to be prescribed and monitored by your doctor
đź“Ś High dose folic acid is already recommended for certain higher risk groups including those with a history of neural tube defects and diabetes
đź“Ś If you are in a cycle of recurrent miscarriage, this may be worth raising with your GP or consultant

This won’t be the answer for everyone — eg if your folate levels are already healthy — but it may be the answer for some.

If you want to read more, you can access the article for free by searching PMID: 41825593

If you feel this may be useful for others, please repost or share 🙏🏼

09/07/2026

Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals and Fertility

Last night I went to the premiere screening of Infertile in London — a documentary that explored how endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be contributing to declining fertility rates.

EDCs are an interesting one. The WHO acknowledges them as a concern for human health, yet they don’t feature in any public health policy; there’s no target to reduce them, no action plan.

When I worked as a dietitian before specialising in fertility, EDCs were never mentioned. Moving into the fertility space, they were all over the research. Yet they’re still rarely spoken about outside of it.

Documentaries like this help bring the topic to a wider audience, and the research does support the concern.

A 2025 systematic review of 14 observational studies found EDC exposure was associated with:

⬇️ Impaired s***m quality
⬇️ Decreased ovarian reserve
⬇️ Infertility
⬇️ Altered hormone profiles
⬇️ Reduced IVF success

PMID: 40724496

On an individual level there are things we can do to reduce our exposure — would you like a post on that? Let me know below

But also we want to see changes at policy level. Hopefully conversations like this one start to move things in the right direction.

29/06/2026

Weight loss injections and male fertility - here’s what the research says 👇

A 2026 systematic review looked at the effects of GLP-1 receptor agonists (like Wegovy and Mounjaro) on male reproductive hormones and semen parameters, across 10 studies involving 639 men.

Here’s what they found:
âś… Total testosterone consistently increased
âś… LH and FSH were preserved or increased - important because testosterone therapy actually suppresses these
âś… S***m parameters improved in men with obesity or low testosterone
❌ No significant changes seen in healthy men

GLP-1 medications should be taken as clinically indicated — for people prescribed them for obesity or metabolic health. For those men, improvements in reproductive hormones and s***m health may be an additional benefit, rather than a reason to seek them out independently.

This is early-stage evidence and we need larger, longer-term studies before firm conclusions can be drawn but it’s promising data for sure.

PMID: 41498523

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