Possibly! Women who eat a healthy low carb diet may find that they have fewer instances of ovulatory infertility, which is when an egg is not released during the cycle. Many women who load up on refined carbohydrates like white bread, cakes, cookies, potatoes, sodas, and other similar foods may find that they don’t ovulate some months. On the other hand, choosing foods that are lower on the glycemic index may improve fertility by providing the body with fiber rich, slow digesting carbohydrates. So, it’s not that you need to eat a low carb diet, per se, but more about choosing the right carbohydrates.

Not only may eating foods high in fiber and low on the glycemic index help you get pregnant, but they may also help you ward off gestational diabetes. You may be wondering, though, what role exactly carbohydrates play in fertility. Basically, carbohydrates are responsible for determining the levels of sugar and insulin in your blood. When the level of blood sugar increases dramatically and too much insulin is produced then this can throw off the hormones that are necessary for reproduction. This means that ovulation may not occur because the hormones were not right.

So, keep in mind that while a low carb diet may help you avoid some of the hormonal imbalances that can occur from eating too many refined carbs, it’s not necessary for you to avoid carbs in order to get pregnant. In fact, you don’t even have to eat low carb foods to get pregnant. What you do need to do, though, is eat foods that are high in fiber and low on the glycemic index. These are good carbs and they will help fill you up and keep you at a healthy weight. This is important throughout life, but especially during pregnancy.

The best thing to do is print out a glycemic index of popular foods and choose as many as you can from the lower ranges. Then, choose only a couple from the foods with the higher glycemic range. The amount of carbs you eat is really not as important as the quality of the carbs you eat. Choose whole foods, grains, beans, and fiber rich carbs to help you maintain a healthy lifestyle and avoid ‘bad” carbs like cookies, cakes, candies, white breads, and the like.

• Role Insulin Plays in Conception
• Nutritional Needs Before Conception
• Nutrition and Trying to Conceive
• Healthy Eating & Nutrition - Optimizing Your Fertility
• BabyHopes.com October 2009 Newsletter
• Are There Certain Foods I Can Eat To Help Optimize My Cervical Mucus?
• Are There Any Home Remedies I Can Use To Increase Fertility?
• How does soy affect fertility?
• How Can I Optimize My Cervical Mucus for Conception?
• Benefits of an Organic Diets When You are Trying to Conceive
• Will Exercise Help Me Get Pregnant?
• What Are The Best Omega-3 Fatty Acids To Get While Pregnant?

This entry was posted under Getting Pregnant.