Boosting Your Fertility After 40: Fertility Cocktail for Optimizing Egg Health for Conception
Conception After 40 May be Challenging, but You Can Take Action
I am beyond grateful to have brought to this world two beautiful and healthy children in my mid 40s. As you enter your 40s, the road to conception could feel daunting. Research indicates that egg quality and quantity decline as women age, which can lead to complications in conception and pregnancy. In fact, the chances of conceiving each month drop to about 5% to 10% for women over 40, compared to 20% to 25% for women in their 20s. (This is hard truth!)
However, here’s the encouraging part: there are effective strategies you can use to boost your egg health and optimize your chance of conceiving and delivering a healthy baby. While the importance of healthy diet and exercise cannot be overlooked, to me, these are just table stakes. We'll talk about pre-natal diet and the importance of exercise in another post. Here, today, I will focus on supplements to enhance egg health to optimize your chances.
Supplements for Optimal Egg Health
The supplement cocktail below is based on my own research, and largely based on in-depth research by Rebecca Fett. I highly recommend her book It Starts with the Egg, which has helped me bring to this world two beautiful and healthy children in my 40s.
High Quality Pre-natal with at least 800 mcg of natural food folate or methylfolate. Most of the pre-natal in in the market has inadequate amount of vitamins and minerals. I started to take Seeking Health's Optimal Prenatal months before conceiving. This pre-natal vitamin is comprehensive and potent (8 pills a day), and it's also recommended by Lily Nichols in her Real Food for Pregnancy book (another highly recommended gem).
Highly recommended reading CoQ10 (as Ubiquinol or Bio-Quinon, not ubiquione): 400 mg per day (200 mg with breakfast and 200 mg with lunch. I used Jarrow Formulas for both of my pregnancies.
High Quality DHA: 1,000 mg before bedtime.
R-alpha Lipoic Acid: 200-300 mg - taken at least 30 mins before a meal (I took before breakfast).
N-acetylcysteine: 600 mg - any time.
Açai: 500 mg - any time.
Disclaimer
This is solely based on my own research and experience. It's vital to speak with a healthcare provider specializing in fertility before starting any supplement regimen.
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