Nutritional needs for your changing body after birth are different from those required during your pregnancy. If breastfeeding, your caloric needs remain elevated and a variety of nutrients remains beneficial. Though breastmilk, created from mammary glands, is not made directly from your dietary intake, nutrients from your diet play a role in creating the nutritional goodness that is breast milk. This makes it crucial for lactating mothers to ensure they are prioritizing eating a well-balanced diet and nutritious foods in order to have stores to not only nourish their baby, but to also nourish themselves. 

Life is hard, and in our current world, stress seems almost inevitable. We’re expected to balance work, family, personal goals, school, finances, and social lives, which is a challenging task to say the least. Due to this perpetual pressure, many are living in a state of chronic stress. Gaining a better understanding of cortisol, the body’s stress hormone, is the first step in finding ways to tackle its negative effects and learning how to find balance.

Monounsaturated fats and omega 3 fatty acids can decrease inflammation in the body, helping to promote ovulation and overall fertility. These fatty acids also aid in increasing blood flow to the reproductive organs, aiding in implantation, and additionally can help regulate reproductive hormones such as luteinizing hormone, testosterone, and insulin.

Nutrition plays a critical role in hormone regulation, and by extension, reproductive health. The foods we consume directly influence key processes such as ovulation, oocyte quality, and overall reproductive function. The impact of nutrition on reproductive health begins as early as fetal development and continues throughout life, making dietary choices an essential factor in promoting fertility. The Mediterranean diet may improve ovulatory function and reduce the time to conception.