#1 Soda

When you wake up and start your day, do you reach for a bottle of bubbly to make your morning a little easier? No, we’re not talking about champagne (although we’ll have more to say about that later). We’re talking about non-diet soda.

Whether you’re a fan of Coke, Pepsi, or Dr. Pepper, there’s a reason to believe your soda consumption might be affecting your fertility. Interestingly, this potential disruption in fertility has more to do with the added sugar content of non-diet sodas than their caffeine content.

The research on this is still being explored, but studies have shown that estrogen levels can increase with sugar-filled sodas. Although estrogen is a female reproductive hormone, having too much estrogen in the body can actually prevent ovulation—the all-important release of a mature egg.

• One study found that consuming at least 300mgs of caffeine in a day (or 3 cups of coffee) doesn’t meaningfully impact your fertility while you’re trying to conceive. However, if you drink a half serving of soda every day, you could experience a drop in fertility of up to 19% in just one month. And if you drink a full serving daily, your fertility levels could drop by up to 50%.
• Research demonstrates that sugary sodas and energy drinks have a significant impact on conception, while diet sodas (even those with caffeine) have little to no impact. This is because diet sodas lack sugar. Instead, they rely on artificial sweeteners (i.e. synthetic sugar substitutes), which studies have confirmed are safe to consume in moderation.

So, while you may be relying on your daily Coke or Red Bull to give you energy, try switching to diet soda, natural fruit juice, tea, or sparkling water while you’re attempting to conceive to keep your reproductive hormones happy.

#2 Anything with Trans Fats

We all love a good home-cooked meal, but if your family dinners always end with a batch of your Grandma Trudy’s famous butter cookies, you might start passing the dish and opting for the fruit, instead.

This is because Grandma Trudy’s butter cookies are chock-full of trans fats—a type of fat that’s made when you add hydrogen to vegetable oil, turning a liquid fat into a solid one. Along with butter, trans fats can be found in the following foods:

• Dairy foods, like Cheese and milk
• Certain meats, like beef and lamb

The problem with trans fats occurs when they account for more than 1% of your daily caloric intake. At this rate of consumption, trans fats can increase your risk of ovulation issues by up to 73%. So, what should you eat instead?

To reduce your risk of ovulatory disorders and improve your fertility, research suggests choosing healthy fats, like monounsaturated fats over trans fats. These are found in foods like:

• Avocados
• Nuts and seeds
• Olive oil

Luckily for you, both avocados and olive oil can be used as substitutes for butter in baking recipes, along with applesauce, Greek yogurt (a fertility-boosting superfood), and mashed banana. There are also plenty of alternatives for dairy products, like plant based milks or even low-fat dairy options. Even Grandma Trudy might not mind switching up her recipe for the sake of her future grandchild.

#3 High-Mercury Fish

While you may consider fresh fish to be a healthy alternative to trans fat-laden red meats, it’s important to know that not all fish are created equal.

In fact, some fish have high levels of mercury in them—a heavy metal that can seriously affect your body and cause fertility issues if it builds up.

The fish with the highest mercury levels tend to be on the bigger side because mercury moves up the food chain. When big fish eat little ones, they ingest the heavy metals in those smaller fish. All the mercury from those tiny fish then stay trapped inside the bigger ones, so when you eat those big fish, you absorb that mercury.

The offenders with the highest mercury levels that can affect human reproduction tend to be:

• Chilean sea bass
• Mackerel
• Swordfish
• Tilefish
• Tuna

Why exactly is mercury harmful if you’re trying to become pregnant? It can have the following effects:

• Sperm damage – For all the men out there reading this over their partner’s shoulder, this one’s for you! Mercury can create abnormalities in your sperm’s DNA, sperm production, and impair its swimming ability, decreasing male fertility.
• Increased rate of menstrual issues – Eating fish high in mercury has been connected to higher rates of menstrual issues. When trying to get pregnant, menstrual issues can have a significant impact on the timing of your menstrual cycle. If menstrual issues cause cycle irregularity (meaning your ovulation window and menstruation window aren’t the same every month), you won’t be able to accurately predict the time of the month you’re most fertile, making it hard to know the best time to have sex to conceive.
• Fetal nervous system damage – This concern may seem like putting the cart ahead of the horse. After all, you’re trying for a baby; you’re not pregnant yet. But mercury stays in your system for a while, so if you’re eating a diet high in mercury while you’re trying to conceive, there may still be excess mercury in your system when you do get pregnant. Because mercury can adversely affect your little one’s developing nervous system, it’s best to avoid these mercury-laden fish before and during your healthy pregnancy.

If tuna handrolls or Chilean sea bass were your go-tos on date night, don’t worry—there are plenty of other delicious, low-mercury seafood options you can choose instead, including:

• Atlantic mackerel
• Catfish
• Crab
• Pollock
• Salmon

Bonus: salmon is an excellent source of essential omega-3 fatty acids, which are believed to help protect your eggs from age-related decline in quality.

#4 Alcohol

Remember earlier when we mentioned bottles of bubbly? Well, just like soda, champagne, prosecco, and other alcohols are best reduced or avoided when trying to conceive.

Why?

Research has found that women who drank alcohol while trying to conceive had a harder time getting pregnant than women who did not drink. However, how much you drink is also important. One study saw a stronger association between heavy drinking (i.e. more than 6 alcoholic drinks a week) and reduced female fertility than moderate drinking (3 to 6 drinks per week) and reduced fertility. This may be due to the fact that women who drink heavily are more likely to have irregular periods.

Another reason why trusted sources, such as the CDC, suggest pausing alcohol consumption when you’re trying to conceive? If you successfully conceive, but you don’t find out you’re pregnant for another week or two, you could be unknowingly drinking alcohol while pregnant. Doing so can potentially lead to a birth defect called Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD).

FASD is a group of chronic disorders that occur when your little one is exposed to alcohol in utero. Since he’s still growing, absorbing alcohol through the placenta—aka the organ in your uterus that passes nutrients from you to your baby—can affect how his brain and organs develop.

FASD-related damage can cause a variety of physical, behavioral, and learning-related problems, with symptoms such as:

• Memory loss
• Hearing issues
• Smaller head size
• Learning disorders
• Attention issues
• Lower weight
• Heart, kidney, and bone issues

Fortunately, by significantly reducing or avoiding alcohol intake in your fertility diet, you can easily prevent FASD diseases while simultaneously increasing your likelihood of getting pregnant.

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