You likely know how great avocados are for your overall health; they’re full of vitamins, healthy fats, fiber, and antioxidants. But can this superfood boost your reproductive health, too?

While diet alone isn’t always enough to overcome infertility, eating a healthy diet is very helpful for boosting your reproductive health, and there are several reasons to give avocados a place on your plate.

Avocados Improve Your Overall Health

The healthier your body, the better it’s able to reproduce. Avocados contain lots of fiber and monounsaturated fats that help you feel full so you don’t turn to unhealthy foods. Consuming avocados regularly helps regulate your blood pressure and blood sugar, both of which can contribute to infertility and pregnancy complications. Avocados are also great for your cardiovascular health, which plays a big role in your reproductive health.

Avocados Help You Maintain a Healthy Weight

If you’ve been paying attention to the news recently, you’ve probably seen headlines about Ozempic babies. That’s because losing weight (if you’re overweight) and maintaining a healthy weight, can be a real boost to your fertility and one of the best ways to manage common causes of infertility, like polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).

Again, the fiber and monounsaturated fats avocados contain keep you feeling satisfied, so you’re less likely to overeat. Plus, they help regulate your blood sugar so you don’t constantly bounce back and forth with blood sugar highs and lows.

Avocados are Packed with Nutrition

Avocados are packed with the nutrition you need to support your reproductive health and healthy pregnancy:

• Fatty acids, which are crucial to the development of both sperm and egg cells
• Fiber, which helps prevent pregnancy complications
• Folate, which supports ovulation and is essential for your baby’s development. Just half an avocado provides you with 10% of the folate you need each day!
• Vitamin A and carotenoids, which are necessary for fetal development but can be difficult to absorb from many foods. The fat in avocados, however, makes them easy to absorb.
• Potassium, which helps regulate your blood pressure
• Vitamin C, which has been linked to faster conception

Avocados are Loaded with Antioxidants

In addition to all the nutrients, avocados are also loaded with antioxidants that help protect your body from damage caused by free radicals. As a result, consuming avocados may help the health of your sperm or eggs. Antioxidants also help your baby’s growth and continue to provide benefits through your breast milk.

Avocados May Help Reduce Pregnancy and Birth Complications

Many compounds in avocados are linked to lower rates of complications during pregnancy and birth. Eating a Mediterranean diet that includes healthy fats, like those found in avocados, has been linked to a 70% lower risk of ovulatory disorders and a 90% lower chance of experiencing preterm delivery. That’s incredible!

The benefits don’t stop there. Avocados are a low-glycemic index food that helps reduce your risk of gestational diabetes. Their high amounts of potassium help protect you from experiencing preeclampsia, and the abundance of fiber helps protect you against both gestational diabetes and preeclampsia.

When it comes to your baby, our fertility specialist recommends consuming a diet high in fruits and vegetables, including avocados, to help prevent a variety of birth defects and complications:

• Neural tube defects, like spina bifida
• Orofacial defects, like cleft palate
• Cardiac defects
• Gastroschisis (intestines or other organs being pushed through the stomach wall)
• Blindness
• Immunodeficiencies
• Low birth weight

Avocados May Help IVF Succeed

One particularly promising benefit of avocados, especially if you’re already experiencing infertility, is that they may help with vitro fertilization (IVF) success. Research has found that eating a diet high in monounsaturated fats, like those found in avocados, is correlated with a 3.5 times higher likelihood of having a live birth after undergoing an embryo transfer at a fertility clinic such as Halo Fertility.

Ways to Include More Avocados in Your Diet

Avocados aren’t just nutritious. They’re delicious and make a great addition to lots of recipes (beyond guacamole):

• Tacos and quesadillas with chopped avocado
• Omelets with avocado slices
• Mashed avocado on sandwiches
• Tuna, chicken, or egg salad with avocado
• Garnish on spicy soups and chili
• Salads and salad dressing
• Avocado toast
• Avocado sushi rolls
• Avocados as part of healthy smoothies and veggie dips
• Avocado desserts–believe it or not!

With so many ways to add avocados to your diet to boost your reproductive health AND help you maintain a healthy weight, Halo Fertility highly recommends that avocados be included as part of an overall fertility-friendly diet.

And while eating a healthy diet is an important part of your reproductive health, it’s not always enough to overcome infertility. If you’ve been trying to conceive for more than 12 months (six months if you’re over age 35), schedule a consult with a fertility specialist at a fertility clinic today.