Top 10 "Killer Foods" That Cause Infertility
[Introduction] What exactly is causing your plans to conceive to fail repeatedly? Why is there no sign of a pregnancy? Have you checked your menu? Perhaps your menu hides "killers" that are making you infertile!
You've always been healthy with no bad habits, yet you can't seem to welcome a baby. Have you ever considered that the reason for your inability to conceive might be "lurking" right beside you, and you just haven't noticed it? Below, we list the top 10 "killer foods" that can easily lead to infertility. For those of you hoping to become mothers, you'll want to be careful!
1. Long-term vegetarianism can reduce female fertility
In recent years, vegetarian diets have become increasingly popular. Especially for women with fuller figures, some have even made it a habit, hoping to lose weight. It's undeniable that vegetarianism does help with weight loss. However, recent medical research on vegetarianism has confirmed that frequent consumption of vegetarian food can affect hormone secretion in the body, and in severe cases, even lead to infertility.
Among the many studies on how vegetarianism affects female fertility, the conclusion from the Max Planck Institute in Munich, Germany, is most eye-catching. Professor Karbock at the institute divided healthy teenage girls participating in the experiment into two groups. One group ate only vegetarian foods, with the exception of small amounts of cheese and milk, while the other group ate a normal diet.
After the 6-week weight loss plan, the researchers found that 78% of the women in the vegetarian group experienced the physiological phenomenon of stopped ovulation, and almost everyone's menstrual cycle was shorter than normal. In the normal diet group, however, 67% of the women ovulated normally, and there was no significant change in their menstrual cycles.
2. High-fat foods may cause infertility
Expert studies on mice have shown that high-fat foods can damage eggs in the ovaries and prevent them from developing into healthy embryos. This research can be used to explain the infertility problems in obese women.
The experiment found that the infertility of the test mice was mainly caused by a special protein. "This protein determines the ovary's response to fat," the researchers said. "Controlling this protein plays an important role in finding out why food causes infertility."
3. Carrots
Carrots are rich in carotene, various vitamins, and other beneficial nutrients for the human body. Gynecological experts at the Rutgers Medical School in New Jersey, USA, found that after women eat too many carrots, the large amount of carotene ingested can cause amenorrhea and inhibit the normal ovulation function of the ovaries. Therefore, women who wish to conceive should not eat too many carrots.
If you want to have your own little baby, and if you don't want abnormal menstruation, then don't be like Bugs Bunny, eating carrots all day long. If you also "crunch, crunch" carrots one by one like Bugs Bunny, should you consider that you might be causing your golden ovaries to produce less progesterone, leading to amenorrhea, abnormal menstruation, anovulation, and infertility?
4. Coffee
Researchers at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in the USA studied 104 women who hoped to conceive and concluded that coffee has a direct impact on conception. Among these women, those who drank more than one cup of coffee a day had only half the chance of getting pregnant compared to those who did not drink this beverage. Therefore, they suggested that women who plan to get pregnant should drink less coffee.
5. Sunflower seeds
The protein part of sunflower seeds contains ingredients that inhibit the testicles, which can cause testicular atrophy and affect normal reproductive function. Therefore, young people of childbearing age should not eat them in large quantities.
6. Alcohol
Scientific research has proven that the main component of alcohol is ethanol. Ethanol can increase the concentration of catecholamines in the body, cause blood vessels to spasm, lead to underdeveloped testicles, and even cause testicular atrophy. This can cause structural changes in sperm production, leading to insufficient secretion of male hormones like testosterone, resulting in feminizing symptoms such as a softer voice and enlarged breasts. Such men are prone to male infertility, and even if they do conceive, the next generation has a high probability of having deformities. In women, it can lead to irregular menstruation, amenorrhea, abnormal egg production, loss of libido, or stopped ovulation.
7. Garlic
Excessive consumption of garlic can deplete a person's vital energy (Zheng Qi) and has a significant sperm-killing effect. If young people of childbearing age eat too much of it, it has an adverse effect on fertility, so it should not be eaten in large quantities.
8. Roasted beef and mutton
Eating roasted beef and mutton is a habit for residents in Inner Mongolia, Xinjiang, and other regions. Some people have found that a few women who love to eat roasted mutton give birth to children with intellectual disabilities, paralysis, or deformities. After investigation and modern medical research, it was found that these women and their deformed children were victims of *Toxoplasma* infection. People can become infected when they come into contact with livestock and poultry infected with *Toxoplasma* and eat undercooked meat from these animals.
A survey in Hubei Province once found that the infection rates of livestock and poultry supplied mainly for meat were: 11.32% for pigs, 34.5% for sheep, 11.8% for chickens, and 9.4% for ducks. If you slaughter livestock and poultry and don't wash your hands before touching other things, or taste the dumpling filling after mixing it with your hands, or touch raw meat and then touch cooked food, or use the same cutting board and knives for raw and cooked food, or take raw meat from a cold storage, sell meat, or roast meat... you can be contaminated with *Toxoplasma* trophozoites at any time. As for women who love to eat roasted meat, it is just one link in the chain of easy infection with *Toxoplasmosis*. Women infected with *Toxoplasma* may have no obvious symptoms. When they become pregnant, the *Toxoplasma* can infect the fetus through the uterus, causing fetal deformities. *Toxoplasma* infection is a major factor in fetal deformities. Therefore, it is necessary to have a *Toxoplasma* antibody test before marriage or pregnancy.
9. Crude cottonseed oil
Long-term consumption of crude cottonseed oil can cause a condition known as "sun sickness," with symptoms that appear after sun exposure, including general weakness, little sweating, hot and flushed skin, palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, numbness in the limbs, and loss of appetite. More serious effects are the damage to the reproductive system. Experimental studies have shown that after rats eat feed containing crude cottonseed oil for about 4 months, their testicles shrink significantly, germ cells decrease or even disappear, the uterus shrinks, and the endometrium and glands atrophy. The ovaries show mild atrophy, and there is mild edema in the kidney parenchymal cells. Adult men who take gossypol, an extract of cottonseed oil, at a dose of 60-70 mg per day for 40 days, will have all their sperm killed in a short period, and they will gradually disappear from the semen. In women, it can lead to amenorrhea or uterine atrophy. Therefore, young people of childbearing age should not consume it long-term.
10. Bitter melon
Bitter melon ranks first among melon vegetables in vitamin C content, and its sugar and fat content are very low, making it more suitable for obese people. However, relying solely on eating a large amount of raw bitter melon to lose weight is not only unscientific but also has certain health risks. According to scientific research, bitter melon indeed has an anti-fertility effect. Bitter melon protein inhibits endometrial differentiation and interferes with embryo implantation during the early and mid-stages of pregnancy.
Scientists conducted experiments on mice and found that during the early and mid-stages of pregnancy, bitter melon protein can inhibit the decidualization of the pregnant mouse uterus and the proliferation of endometrial and basal cells through a series of reactions. The main reactions are: blocking the continued hatching of the fertilized egg, reducing blastocyst attachment, decreasing the outward growth of trophoblast cells, and impairing the development of the inner cell mass. However, before pregnancy, neither α-bitter melon protein nor β-bitter melon protein affects the recruitment and maturation of follicles.
In simple terms, bitter melon affects people who are currently pregnant (early and mid-stages), and eating too much may lead to miscarriage. However, for people who are not pregnant, it has little effect. As for men, scientists believe that bitter melon protein affects the normal development and activity of sperm, but this effect is reversible, meaning that fertility will return to normal after stopping the consumption of bitter melon.
In addition, foods containing the following elements can also help improve fertility:
Zinc-rich foods: Among plant-based foods, beans, peanuts, millet, radishes, and Chinese cabbage are relatively high in zinc. Among animal-based foods, oysters are the richest in zinc. In addition, beef, chicken liver, eggs, lamb chops, and pork also contain relatively high amounts of zinc.
Animal organs: These foods contain relatively high amounts of cholesterol, of which about 10% are adrenal cortical hormones and sex hormones. Appropriately consuming these foods can have a certain effect on enhancing sexual function. Foods rich in protein and vitamins, such as lean meat, eggs, fresh vegetables, and fruits.
Slippery and sticky foods: Research has confirmed that arginine is an essential component of sperm formation and can enhance sperm motility, playing an important role in maintaining the normal function of the male reproductive system. Foods rich in arginine include eel, sea cucumber, cuttlefish, octopus, cod, sesame seeds, peanuts, and walnuts.