Patients who eat according to Mediterranean-style diet may find less trouble when trying to get pregnant and have a healthy child, scientists say. Studies have shown that monounsaturated fats, such as olive oil and sunflower oil, nuts and seeds are much more useful for the future mothers than other fats – women who consumed the biggest quantity of fat, enjoyed 3.4 times bigger success of becoming pregnant than those who used them the least. Meanwhile, scientists have also revealed that women who consume lots of saturated fat, such as butter or red meat, matured less quality ova required for fertilization procedure.
The survey was conducted by the scientists who raised the theory that monounsaturated fats, which are already known to protect the heart, can increase the fertility because of their anti-inflammatory properties. This study was presented in Istanbul at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology Association meeting.
The leader of this study, dr. Jorge Chavarri, said that the best products for the future mother are avocados, because they are high in monounsaturated fat, and olive oil. According to him, this is the first time when scientists are trying to reveal the relationship between dietary fat and a successful pregnancy.
The body of this study included 147 women. The researchers were calculating how much fat they consume and then compared this amount with those who were consuming the most and the least fat. Women who consumed the most saturated fat had the worst quality ova. Women who used the biggest amount of monounsaturated fat received 25 percent of their daily calories from them, while the least – only 9 percent.
To sum up, different types of fats affect biological processes differently and may cause such processes as inflammation and insulin sensitivity that may additionally affect the reproductive performance.