I love the power of food as medicine! When it comes to walnuts you get a double whammy when it comes to fertility and the health of your baby.
Planning to have a baby needs to be done in a careful way. Having a preconception care plan for a minimum of 4 months is crucial. This is important for optimising your health and your future baby's health.
Our diet and lifestyle will impact our fertility and health during the preconception period. It is important to see your naturopath to get a tailored preconception dietary and lifestyle treatment plan. There are many nutrients that need to be increased during preconception to prepare your body.
Sperm Health
This study investigated whether adding walnuts to the diet of men eating a Western style diet would improve sperm health. What they discovered was the group consuming walnuts had improved sperm parameters. Specifically, motility and morphology (how fast they swim, if they swim in the right direction and normal shape). There was also a decrease in sperm aneuploidy (chromosome abnormalities).
The group that did not eat the walnuts had no improvement in sperm health. Therefore, it shows how important it is for men to eat well during the preconception period.
Brain Function
Another study on rats, investigated whether eating walnuts improved memory and learning and found it did; significantly. Considering the walnut is shaped like a brain, this should probably come as no surprise.
It’s quite achievable to add a handful of walnuts to your daily diet. It is recommended that you store them in the fridge to prevent rancidity.
